[Talk-us] U.S. Local Chapters (Christian O. Petersen)

[Christian Petersen]

Hi All

I think there are quite a few advantages to a local chapter for the US - the ones I think are the most important are the ones that help us all map the US.

- As a local chapter we can do a drive focused on getting the US OSM community and map to catch up with Europe - we could use both PR and social networks for this
- As a local chapter we can better coordinate data imports and make sure they fit the specific US needs
- It makes it easier to deal with government and local agencies, large companies, other non-profits and NGOs
- A legal entity is able to receive/own donated goods and services from companies that can help build the map

While it may be possible to work under the OSM-F to achieve the same benefits, a local entity will have a stronger focus on mapping every one of the United States

I do see a few cons to creating a local chapter:
- We should only do it if there is enough local support for it to start with
- We need to ensure enough cash flow to pay for incorporation, Directors' Liability Insurance, etc.

I am certainly willing to put in some work helping with the creation of a local chapter for the US, and have already posted some initial thoughts to the wiki page started by Sarah today:  http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Foundation/Local_Chapters/United_States

Looking forward to hearing more on what everyone thinks.

- Christian
cop at cloudmade.com