Loomio
Mon 2 Dec 2019 3:09AM

Purpose(s) of this group

P pospi Public Seen by 53

I wanted to try to elucidate more what I am hoping for this group to be, as I don't feel it's entirely clear yet. We may also have different ideas about what we want to offer. So I'm going to provide some opinions and see where agreement and disagreement surfaces (:

  • I don't think funding stuff is particularly relevant here. To me, funding sources and agreements are things that happen outside of this group and the funds just end up on CoMakery by whatever process makes sense for those offering.

  • Strategic direction feels important. Funding is relevant here insofar as it applies to the group's broader strategy, but I don't think it's a focus. "Strategy" in the context of this group simply feels like holding a vision, and providing gentle nudges to funders and projects to keep them aligned.

  • I'd like to see us offer a set of ethical guidelines and practical processes that can keep us aligned with those guidelines. There's precious little consideration given to ethics in tech and this is a group with a lot to offer in that area.

  • I also think governance is critial, and I think together we can offer a governance framework based on a strong set of ethics that projects in the "new economy" space can either adopt or tailor to their needs. This includes both external governance (how we engage with stakeholders, collaborators and clients) and internal governance (how we make decisions, support marginalised voices, care for each other and create a harmonious work environment).

  • Would also like this to be a place to work on collaborative marketing: articles, press releases etc with a view to our stories inter-relating and mutually supporting each other's goals.

  • Eventually I would also like us to create a brochureware-type website that showcases the projects we incubate, links into their documentation and provides information for integrators and developers aiming to use the tools we offer in unison.

That's all that comes to mind now- please comment or add anything else you'd like to see us do!

SS

Sid Sthalekar Mon 2 Dec 2019 6:24AM

That's a good articulation (and helpful). Will add some more thoughts to this thread as they emerge.

JMR

jean m russell Mon 9 Dec 2019 11:09PM

That sounds great @pospi and I am eager to see what we can do around ethics and governance particularly. Sounds like mostly this is strategy, comms, and governance which are good shared activities for standards and mutual benefit in an ecosystem.

E

Emaline Thu 12 Dec 2019 6:02AM

Thanks @pospi. This is helpful orientation, and I'm realizing just how much intersection there is with the vision of CE! I think it'd be delightful for this to be a space of collaborative storytelling and sharing approaches to ethical tech consulting...

Personally I am able to hold more space in the place where strategy meets funding, if only to be sure not to shy away from needs around stories, pitches, best practices for approaching funders and projects, and the like.

P

pospi Sat 14 Dec 2019 4:28AM

That sounds really useful RE funding, I think it makes sense to spin up a working group with (at least) @Tom & @Noah Thorp to start working through what is necessary in the context of this group?

RE CommonsEngine vision- totally agree! Personally I see this as a shared space where we get to bounce embryonic thoughts off others with similar ideologies close to us. A goal of the material we generate should be for it to be widely shareable, remixable, and for relevant sections to make their way in to other groups' governance documents. One day I'd like to see a federated wiki of governance processes and inherited cultural norms...

P

pospi Sat 14 Dec 2019 5:32AM

I'm also taking this as a nod that those interested should push back on "I don't think funding stuff is particularly relevant here". What are the important ways that funding intersects with the other goals I've outlined which we need to elucidate? Are there purposes missing that others feel are important to include?

NT

Noah Thorp Sat 14 Dec 2019 6:11PM

Would be good to talk to Christina Bowen about the process wiki especially. She’s building for that and we are collaborating a lot in adjacent climate focused groups.

NT

Noah Thorp Sat 14 Dec 2019 6:13PM

I think funding is extremely relevant. I suspect Thomas does too. Would be great to be in dialog with Funders and Fundraisers to validate or invalidate our beliefs about what infrastructure is needed.

P

pospi Mon 16 Dec 2019 12:02AM

RE Christina, I'm a fan of the tools DigLife are building for managing social protocols, in particular. Catching up with her this week to riff on some of this stuff (: