[Strategic] getting started

Emilie Laffray emilie.laffray at gmail.com
Fri Jun 4 11:12:40 BST 2010


On 4 June 2010 10:13, Frederik Ramm <frederik at remote.org> wrote:

> Kate,
>
>
> Kate Chapman wrote:
>
>> Another possibility with the relationship between the local chapters
>> and the OSMF could be assistance in setting up the local chapters.  We
>> went the "cheap" route in creating an entity in the United States.
>> The overall cost was under $200 and we didn't utilize a lawyer because
>> a couple of us had incorporated before.  Perhaps there are other
>> countries that would need assistance in forming as an entity and that
>> would be something the OSMF could help.
>>
>
> Agreed that OSMF should help if a local community asks for it. But I don't
> think that local chapters are very important, especially in smaller
> countries. You already gave some examples where a local chapter might come
> in handy (people giving money only to US based entities etc) but we have to
> be careful not to think that having a local chapter is an achievement per
> se. A local chapter is not a precondition, nor a logical consequence, of OSM
> success in that country; it is purely an administrative side effect.
>
> The German community have built almost everything they have without the
> involvement of a local chapter; we have affiliated ourselves with an
> existing organisation (FOSSGIS e.V. which is also the local OSGeo chapter, a
> pattern repeated in some other European countries by the way), and that
> organisation has been used by us a few times to sign a contract or receive
> sponsorship but it never was instrumental (in a sort of
> you-won't-get-it-without-a-chapter).
>
> FOSSGIS is not (yet) an official OSMF local chapter but intending to become
> one once the details have been worked out; the initial plans for local
> chapters were geared more towards organisations which are exclusively an
> OSMF chapter and not "among other things an OSMF chapter".
>

That's exactly how we are proceeding in France too.

Emilie Laffray
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