Hi! Andy from the new Gosh Community Council here! We are scrambling fast as the council to address a lot of our challenges as a new council to get decisions made, and funding structures created! And of course one of the targets most near and dear to our hearts is THE NEXT GOSH GLOBAL GATHERING!
In order to put on a GOSH 2022 Global Gathering, we will need to assemble a Core Organizing team that will be in charge of organizing the Logistics, Programming, Local partnerships, Fundraising, Sponsorships, Communications, Participant Selection, and event facilitation! The general plan would be to get started organizing now to put on a Global event sometime in August-December 2022.
**** Right now we simply want to informally survey who in the community might have the availability to help join the core organizing team. If you think you would be able to help with this project, please add your name to the form below****
Some additional points:
Diversity of participants is what makes GOSH events special, and we strive to have the core organizing committee reflect this. We will have an emphasis on organizers ensuring underrepresented groups have a place in organizing this large event, with an intentional mix of of international and gender balanced participation. This is why there are also optional questions on this survey about demographic information (adapted from http://open-demographics.com/ )
These positions are unpaid. The core organizing team is an entirely volunteer service.
This, in no way, should be thought of as a direct sign up sheet for organizing this event, we are simply gauging the availability of people in our community.
Also note that Covid-19 has the potential to shut down or drastically alter any plans we try to make
A common question could be: “But WHERE will GOSH 2022 happen?”
That’s a great question! and the answer is, WE DON’T KNOW! It’s up to you all! In putting together this working group, we are also looking for a regional host! So that’s part of this search as well!
Thanks to those who have signed up on the form already! if you are interested in potentially volunteering let us know, or feel free to ask any questions in this forum post!
Update on organizing the new gathering! This lets you know the background information, roles, responsibility, and compensation:
We are excited to try to put on another fun, informative gathering to connect the community together.
Background Information
The Global Open Science Hardware non-profit based in the USA has received a grant from the Sloan Foundation to help with the GOSH Community’s goal of “making open science hardware ubiquitous by 2025.” This grant includes funding for:
community grants,
paid coordinators,
admin fees,
and also holds a budget of around $100,000 USD to help put on a fourth GOSH Global Gathering in 2022.
There have been three GOSH Global Gatherings so far, in Switzerland, Chile, and China. We try to move the location of this large gathering from year to year to try to give more, different people the opportunity to join us. The Sloan grant originally had this fourth Global Gathering Scheduled for 2020, but the pandemic caused major delays.
Team: Six Core Volunteers + Community Coordinator
We have created SIX (6) volunteer positions for a “core team” that will plan and organize the entire event. They will be joined by the paid GOSH community coordinator (Bri Johns), who will help in handling the logistics and preparations for the gathering.
There will be at least one position on the Core Volunteer group held by a person currently serving in the GOSH Community Council who will help report back to the council, and facilitate information flow between the groups. All members will need to respect the GOSH code of conduct (GOSH Code of Conduct | Gathering for Open Science Hardware), and in general be nice and helpful to each other! The Community Council will hold the ability to remove or replace anyone working on this core volunteer group.
Responsibilities
The people joining these Core Volunteer groups will be responsible for:
Attending regular meetings with the working group pre- and post- event
Dividing and delegating tasks between themselves and the full time coordinator (Bri Johns)
Responsibly and Equitably spending the budget for the event
Choosing a host location for the event
Connecting with local interesting individuals and groups at the host location
Figuring out logistics for the location, people, activities, documentation, and safety protocols
Being the “go-to” set of people for those who have questions about the GOSH Gathering
Attend and be helpful during the live event
Compensation
In order to help them complete their tasks, these volunteer positions will receive:
Flight to the conference
Registration
Housing
Regional Stipends
In addition to the above compensation we are offering two stipends of $750USD. One for a member of AfricaOSH, and one for a member of REGOSH. These regional stipends are to ensure that our most active regional groups are represented on the organising team, and that their representatives have the resources and time to advocate for their communities.
Event Details
Timeline
Due to covid, this event has been delayed at least 2 years, and we have requested extensions on our funding. We have a little over a year to plan this event with the anticipated dates currently set at the first week of November (Nov 1-4).
We have put together a full, color-coded timeline of anticipated dates and deadlines for hosting this event.
We also have a handy checklist of all the tasks that need to be done to help put on an event like this:
Perhaps the most important document for people interested in helping us put on this event is the GOSH Community Framework. This is a beautiful illustrated guide assembled by GOSH to help plan helpful, respectful events that push forward the community of Open Science Hardware.
Participants
Historically these GOSH events have attracted hundreds of diverse interesting people from every continent on earth. They will have many different needs, backgrounds, and abilities. We anticipate around 200 individuals joining for this next event, but of course the actual attendance may vary.
Tricky Things
As we are all aware, putting on a large, in-person, international gathering will be especially tricky because of COVID-19. We know that international borders can shut on short notice, and plans can be drastically re-arranged. On top of that, there will be several many factors to consider when choosing a location to host and run the event including, but not limited to:
COVID-19 situation
Visa Policies
Participant safety (especially for LGBTQA+, Racial minorities, women, etc..)
Ways of Participating
Volunteering for the Core Team in the GOSH working is no small undertaking, so take time to consider if you are able to join the team in this capacity. There are currently two ways of joining the working group and both are very important:
Core Team volunteer
Ad-hoc volunteer
If you want to join as a Core team volunteer, please review this email and the documents it references, and ensure you will be able to meet the responsibilities set forth. Then let us know!
If you want to help the group setting up this event, but are unable to commit, that is fine! We will still include you in our planning groups and welcome the feedback and work you are able to provide!
Also if you find that you have overcommitted after volunteering for any of these tasks, that is fine and totally understandable. The most important thing will be to let the rest of the team know, as soon as you can, that you will have to back down from these commitments so others can take them on.
Thanks for your interest in joining us, and please let us know any thoughts or questions!
Sincerely the members of the GOSH Community Council Gathering Working Group,