[Ambassadors] Broadening how we empower community action - opening a dialog for change

[Igor Pires Soares]

Em Ter, 2011-02-15 às 16:34 -0600, inode0 escreveu:
> > Whether that would entail just enabling FAmSCo, as it stands now, wider
> > authority over funding or whether it would mean restructuring FAmSCo in
> > order to avoid crearting a separate funding body -- and believe me, I'm all
> > for NOT creating a separate entity -- would probably be the best way to
> > proceed, if this is the course of action we take.
> 
> Let's think about it from a different angle. How many individual
> funding decisions are now made at the FAmSCo level as opposed to at
> the regional levels in NA, EMEA, LATAM, or APAC? During all the years
> I have been spending money on ambassador activities there has been
> only one single occasion that I opened a ticket with FAmSCo, and that
> was only because it was an odd request. Normally FAmSCo is not
> involved in any way that I am aware of in the funding decisions we
> make regionally.

>From the LATAM side I can say that regional FAmSCo members have been
pushing funding decisions forward since the first ones from our region
were elected. People expect FAmSCo members to deal with it since they
were elected to do it. At least this is the way people think.

> Now we are working to empower even more ambassadors to not need to ask
> anyone. We have been steadily pushing the decision making point
> farther and farther away from our central governance bodies. This has
> tremendous benefits but it does need to be done with some care, so the
> funding sources know that money is spent wisely on Fedora activities.
> 
> While creating a non-ambassador source of funding for non-ambassador
> groups to reach out to for help does involve some duplicated effect
> but it allows us to empower and involve more contributors in how the
> Fedora Project uses its resources. Initially, this empowerment would
> extend to those on the new body but in time, just like as has happened
> within the ambassador community, this would branch out as trust
> develops to other groups and individuals to make these decisions for
> themselves.

I'm really not sure if creating a non-ambassador body will address this
issue. The person would have to ask another body anyway. I do recognize
that some people have problems asking FAmSCo for money, even inside
ambassadors. But IMHO this is more due to misinformation or because they
don't know someone who might help. This is where regional FAmSCo members
enter, to make a bridge between community needs and the committee. If we
want to create a separated body, it will have to take into consideration
that it should include people who have great understating of regional
communities. And I do believe that FAmSCo members play this part quite
well. If FAmSCo is not the most appropriated body for this task, I am
sure that it has aspects that are good examples for a new body.

-- 
Igor Pires Soares
Fedora Ambassador (Brazil) - Member of FAmSCo
Fedora I18N/L10N QA
https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/User:Igor