Draft mail to OSGeo lists re developer access and prices
Last saved by Steven Feldman on March 8, 2013
Hi
I've been following the conversation that was prompted by Paolo's comment about FOSS4G pricing
The FOSS4G 2013 LOC discussed this in our regular team call and have asked me to respond to the various lists.
The pricing for FOSS4G is as was proposed in our bid to run the conference and is also at the level that was indicated in the OSGeo call for proposals i.e. ca $600 (bear in mind that we have 20% sales tax in the UK so our net receipt is actually $500). The rate is low for a large high quality event run in a purpose built venue with decent catering, AV and other facilities.
As Daniel said and I agree, inevitably attending a 3 day conference (plus potentially some workshops and a codesprint) will be an expensive outing when accommodation and travel are added in particularly if you are travelling from far away. My guess is that for many people travel and accommodation will exceed the cost of the conference fees. I know that has been the case for me when considering events in Denver and Tokyo recently.
We are trying to balance the need to have an economically viable conference that covers costs and returns funds to OSGeo (which is what we were asked to do) with making the event as affordable and accessible as possible. We consulted with the OSGeo Board on how to balance these objectives before finalising our prices.
Perhaps this is a topic that the OSGeo Board should decide upon before issuing the call for FOSS4G 2014?
STOP HERE
Of course the committers are massively important to OSGeo and the conference but many of them work for companies or earn a living as freelance contractors in the open geo arena. Surely these developers can afford to pay the conference fee?
So the question is how do we identify those who genuinely cannot afford to pay the full fee whom we feel ought to be at the conference and then assist them? We in the LOC cannot do that, someone with more knowledge needs to do that.
A possible solution. We already offer a highly discounted student rate (just covering our direct costs per delegate) which with the OSGeo Board's approval we could extend to a limited number of special case developers, say 15 or 20 places. We would need someone to step up to undertake the selection of applicants for those places.
Incidentally we already have a sponsor for some Academic Bursaries and a sub-group are in the process of working out how those bursaries will be allocated. Perhaps there is an opportunity for a sponsor to be found to support some Developer Bursaries?
I've been following the conversation that was prompted by Paolo's comment about FOSS4G pricing
On the other hand, I still have problems with annual FOSS4G, which has a cost that scares away many top developers. IMHO (sorry to insist, I raised this point earlier) the meeting should be free for developers (committers to OSGeo projects), and more expensive for businessman.
The FOSS4G 2013 LOC discussed this in our regular team call and have asked me to respond to the various lists.
The pricing for FOSS4G is as was proposed in our bid to run the conference and is also at the level that was indicated in the OSGeo call for proposals i.e. ca $600 (bear in mind that we have 20% sales tax in the UK so our net receipt is actually $500). The rate is low for a large high quality event run in a purpose built venue with decent catering, AV and other facilities.
As Daniel said and I agree, inevitably attending a 3 day conference (plus potentially some workshops and a codesprint) will be an expensive outing when accommodation and travel are added in particularly if you are travelling from far away. My guess is that for many people travel and accommodation will exceed the cost of the conference fees. I know that has been the case for me when considering events in Denver and Tokyo recently.
We are trying to balance the need to have an economically viable conference that covers costs and returns funds to OSGeo (which is what we were asked to do) with making the event as affordable and accessible as possible. We consulted with the OSGeo Board on how to balance these objectives before finalising our prices.
Perhaps this is a topic that the OSGeo Board should decide upon before issuing the call for FOSS4G 2014?
STOP HERE
Of course the committers are massively important to OSGeo and the conference but many of them work for companies or earn a living as freelance contractors in the open geo arena. Surely these developers can afford to pay the conference fee?
So the question is how do we identify those who genuinely cannot afford to pay the full fee whom we feel ought to be at the conference and then assist them? We in the LOC cannot do that, someone with more knowledge needs to do that.
A possible solution. We already offer a highly discounted student rate (just covering our direct costs per delegate) which with the OSGeo Board's approval we could extend to a limited number of special case developers, say 15 or 20 places. We would need someone to step up to undertake the selection of applicants for those places.
Incidentally we already have a sponsor for some Academic Bursaries and a sub-group are in the process of working out how those bursaries will be allocated. Perhaps there is an opportunity for a sponsor to be found to support some Developer Bursaries?
Comments
Steven Feldman on March 7, 2013:
Barry has suggested that we discuss this at tomorrow's call. To aid that discussion I have drafted a possible response to the lists in this doc which you can read, comment on or edit. If you think I have this all wrong then tell me and we can work out a different route in the call.
Peter Batty on March 7, 2013:
I also disagree that the fee "scares away many top developers". Based on previous FOSS4G events, I think it's the primary event that all the top developers come to.
Jeremy Morley on March 7, 2013:
Jeremy
Jo Cook on March 8, 2013: