To clarify and comment on some of this for the thread…

‘private discussions happening elsewhere’ – I think you are referring to the basecamp project that was setup for community and collaboration discussions. Private is a fair assessment, but the discussions aren’t closed. Anyone can join in that basecamp project and contribute comments. It isn’t anything too special, just a few discussions and not a lot of activity. The mail list is more active, for sure.

‘those people who opted into a closed management system’ – I’d like to clarify that the basecamp project is not intended to ‘manage’ OKAU, and it is actually open for anyone to join in too. However it is true that it is not open for anonymous access. Managing OKAU, inasmuch as that is occurring, is via the Board meetings which we are discussing here openly. The Board meetings themselves are via hangout on air and open for people to comment as they run. The only reason we are trying to use basecamp is for collaboration – similar to how a phone call between people helps them collaborate. It does require people to ‘dial in’, but the intention is not to be a closed group 🙂

‘I think a cooperative would be a better as a formalized structure for open knowledge aus’ – as mentioned in the list discussion, I don’t think a cooperative was dismissed for any major reason. There is just a practical step to take in forming an association and then doing the work to setup the sort of rules that would support a cooperative association. Without people involved there wouldn’t be either an incorporated association or a cooperative, so a chicken comes before the egg in such a case.

‘longer terms make sense’ – coolio, thanks for the input 🙂

This view won’t be reflected in discussions among those people who opted into a closed management system, so how widespread it is isn’t possible to know, as most wouldn’t take the time and effort to engage as I am, if they’re already feeling disengaged.

I think a cooperative would be a better as a formalized structure for open knowledge aus, but I respect that a different decision has already been progressed. I think a rotating board wouldn’t overcome power imbalances, as few would opt to nominate, so I agree with Fiona that the administrative hassle means longer terms make sense.

These are the default rules of an association registered in Victoria.

Each individual has the responsibility to be informed (read board papers and such) so that they can contribute constructively within Board meetings.

For the benefit of people such as myself who have never had anything to do with Boards in the past, can you describe the role and responsibilities of OKAu Board members please? Is it the same in every organisation or are responsibilities determined by each organisation?

thanks Rosie

For example, we could retire half the Board every six months in a similar way. That would reduce the frequency of running nominations and elections.

Or, we could retire the entire board Annually and do wholesale nominations – it could be standard practice for exiting Board members to ‘buddy up’ with those taking their position in order to handover and provide some continuity.

Also – there is the question of voting. Who gets to vote? We don’t actually have a list of members. We have some people in roles, so I was suggesting those folk as the ‘voters’. Of course, we could easily establish a membership list to solve that problem. If that were the case, do we do free membership? Do we do a nominal fee, such as $3.50 (indexed to the price of a flat white in Melb CBD)? Or, do we do a town hall style election? One where you need to be ‘in the room’ to vote, virtually speaking of course.