FOSS4G 2009 Governance

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The FOSS4G 2009 conference shall be managed by the FOSS4G 2009 Organising Committee (which is distinct from the OSGeo Conference Committee). The discussions of the FOSS4G 2009 Organising Committee shall take place primarily on the public foss4g2009 mailing list http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/foss4g2009 on IRC #foss4g and by conference calls. Sensitive issues, such as some financial matters, are discussed by the FOSS4G 2009 Organising Committee on a private email list.

Decision Making

• All non-material decisions can be taken by the FOSS4G 2009 Organising Committee chair or his delegates. The FOSS4G 2009 Organising Committee can refine the distinction between material and non-material from time to time. Where not clearly defined, it will be at the Chair's discretion.
• All material decisions must be passed by the FOSS4G 2009 Organising Committee, to ensure acceptance. In the interest of efficiency, absence of disagreement to a request will be interpreted as acquiescence.
• Material decisions where there is a split in opinion will be handled by a majority voting system.
• All material financial decisions must be accepted by the OSGeo board rep (ie, OSG has veto). So the FOSS4G 2009 Organising Committee can approve them "in principle" but the decision cannot be acted upon until the board rep actually signals it is OK (or vetoes it and returns it to discussion).
• The FOSS4G 2009 Organising Committee may open some questions to the OSGeo Conference Committee, but this will be a solicitation for feedback, and the decision will still be made by the FOSS4G 2009 Organising Committee.

Membership

The intent of membership is to have an effective FOSS4G 2009 Organising Committee (who get the work done) and have broad experience.

Representatives are expected to monitor FOSS4G 2009 email lists and vote on issues brought forward. Others who are seen to be making notable contributions to the development of FOSS4G 2009 will be offered a position on the FOSS4G 2009 Organising Committee. The FOSS4G 2009 Organising Committee is responsible for changing their membership.

FOSS4G 2009 Organising Committee

Committee membership list is kept at: http://2009.foss4g.org/committee/ and maintained by Simon Hope.

OSGeo Representatives

• Jeff McKenna, OSGeo Conference Committee Chair
• Paul Ramsey, OSGeo Board Representative
• Tyler Mitchell, OSGeo Executive Director
• To Be Determined: FOSS4G2008 Representative

The OSGeo board of directors can replace the FOSS4G 2009 Organising Committee if it is determined not to be operating appropriately.

Professional Conference Organiser

Tour Hosts has been selected as the Professional Conference Organiser (PCO). They are participants on the FOSS4G 2009 Organising Committee but not voting members. The Tour Host principle representatives are:

• Jannelle Driscoll
• Denisa Adamova

The PCO will maintain a working bank account for the conference from which conference related financial activity will be operated. The PCO will be responsible for providing a detailed accounting of transactions on a regular basis to the FOSS4G 2009 Organising Committee. The FOSS4G 2009 Organising Committee will approve all budgets and authorise all payments as per the decision-making hierarchy described above.

The FOSS4G 2009 Organising Committee and OSGeo will enter into a separate agreement to define their relationship.

Specific Task Groups

Professional Conference Organiser Selection Task Group

• Shoaib Burq (Australia)
• Bruce Bannerman (Australia)
• Cameron Shorter (Sydney, Australia)
• Jeff McKenna
• Paul Ramsey
• Tyler Mitchell
• Arnulf Christl
• Dave Patton
• Mark Leslie (Sydney, Australia)