Call for Applications: 2024 GOSH Ambassador Program
Note: The deadline for applications has been extended to June 15!
If you have any questions about the Ambassador Program, please ask them in this forum thread or via email.
As part of the drive to mobilize collective action to achieve the goal of ubiquity by 2025, GOSH is excited to announce a call for applications for our inaugural Ambassador Program. This initiative seeks to empower and expand our community of researchers, educators, and practitioners passionate about promoting open science hardware (OScH) principles. We aim to foster a global network of ambassadors who will lead efforts to promote the OScH movement.
For more information on the GOSH Ambassador Program, check out our program framework.
Please note that this is a volunteer position within the GOSH Community.
Key Dates
- Applications Open: April 15
- Nominations Close: June 1
- Applications Close: June 15
- Review Process Begins: June 16
- Review Process Ends: July 5
- Applicants Notified: end of July
- Launch of the Program: August 1st
Expectations of ambassadors
The Ambassador Program WG acknowledges many different ways of being an ambassador. However, there are a few activities that we do expect ambassadors to partake in as part of the program. These expectations include:
- Defined and published work plan for the first phase of term 1-3 months that is scoped to (1) sharing the GOSH Manifesto, GOSH Roadmap, and example current projects and (2) gathering information from other OScH communities. The work plan will specify which communities, organizations, institutions, portions of universities, individuals, and/or audiences will be approached.
- After completing this first phase, ambassadors met with the community council to share information and define the second phase of work. Examples of the next phase of work are documenting the types of collaboration being pitched to GOSH and the parameters so that GOSH may compare across opportunities.
- After completing these first two phases, Ambassadors will participate in regularly scheduled (quarterly) meetings with the Ambassador WG to share updates from their communities, report back on activities via the GOSH Forum, and attend an annual showcase where ambassadors share their accomplishments with the broader GOSH Community. These accomplishments could be shared as a short video, presentation, etc.
Application process
To apply to the 2024 GOSH Ambassador Program, please complete the following application form by June 15:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScNN4_ky9gRb68iEkgLXH3DUE26CKX8uRbKLIkXYOM2IZAg6A/viewform
As part of the application, applicants will be expected to answer 3 short answer questions and upload a one-page motivation letter or short video expressing their interest in being an ambassador.
We also welcome nominations for ambassadors; find out more at the bottom of this post!
Selection Criteria
For the first iteration of this program, we will select 10 ambassadors from the application pool. To ensure a diversity of regions and disciplines, a maximum of 1 ambassador will be from each regional or topical OScH community. You can see a list of these communities here. Other regional and topical OScH communities may still not be mentioned, and ambassadors will be allowed to name them.
In future rounds, we will adjust the number of selected ambassadors based on the number of applications from previous rounds.
After remaining in the program for one year, ambassadors will be asked to reapply.
The following selection criteria will be used to evaluate applicants. Each criterion is weighted on a scale of 1-3, with each criterion being scored on a scale of 0-5.
- Strong connections to relevant open science hardware networks and stakeholders (3x)
- Values strongly aligned with Manifesto and GOSH Code of Conduct (3x)
- Experience working in communities and comfortable communicating and/or public speaking (3x)
- Experience with open hardware (3x)
- Involved in academia, research and/or innovation (2x)
- Experience with open science (2x)
- Team player (1x)
Diversity Criteria
Ambassador positions will be awarded as follows to ensure the ambassador program is as equitable and representative as possible. This model was adapted from the 2023 GOSH Governance Plan for Seating the 3rd GOSH Community Council. The final group of ambassadors must have at least one person who identifies with each of the following:
- Individuals who are Women, Trans or Gender non-conforming, and/or those who have historically marginalized sexual orientations
- People of Color and/or Indigenous
- From a low-income country or/and community in Asia or elsewhere
- Differently abled people/persons
- People who contribute to youth participation in governance, e.g., people younger than 25 according to the United Nations definition.
Review Process
The Ambassador Program WG will be responsible for recruiting ambassadors. Ambassador recruitment will consist of an application process with three review phases to select the final list of ambassadors.
- Phase one: Once the application window closes, a list of all applicants will be published on the GOSH Forum.
- Phase Two: The review committee (selected by the Ambassador Program WG) will review applications to the program and provide a shortlist of 10 candidates.
- Phase Three: The GOSH Council will review and approve the shortlisted candidates.
The call for applications will happen annually, with ambassadors fulfilling their positions for one year. If an ambassador can no longer fulfill their duties and must drop out, a new ambassador will be selected from a waitlist.
We encourage coordinators of various regional and topical OSH communities to be involved in the review process. We understand that the various regional and topical OSH communities associated with GOSH are not clear-cut. Therefore, we will ask reviewers to name any communities they are representing as reviewers.
The application and review process will also be a learning experience. We will accept feedback from the community on each application round to help us shape future calls.
*Please note that if a reviewer is part of a specific topical community (such as AfricaOSH or reGOSH), they will not review applications from their respective communities.
Nominate someone to apply!
If you know someone who would make a great ambassador, we invite you to nominate them to apply! The nomination process is similar to the one that takes place during GOSH Community Council elections. Once someone is nominated, the GOSH Ambassador Program WG will notify them immediately so that they have enough time to apply.
Nominations will open on April 15 and close on June 1.
Nominate someone to apply to the program here!
Contact the Ambassador Program WG
You can contact the Ambassador Program WG via the GOSH Forum or email. You can view a list of the WG members here.