[Linux-aus] Choosing the LCA '07 host city

[Andrew Cowie]

Overt the past few years, I've minded the shop about selecting the
conference-after-next. [This is not some holy anointment or anything.
It's just in the someone-has-to-do-it category, especially seeing as how
most people in our wonderful community are quite reasonably focused on
making sure *this* year's conference goes well]

So: for LCA '07 we have had serious expressions of intent from three
communities:

- Melbourne, Victoria
- Wollongong, NSW
- Sydney, NSW

(By serious I mean a booking has been penciled in with the venue, a team
organized, and budget roughed out)

Decision Process
----------------

The decision of where to host Linux.Conf.Au rests with the Linux
Australia Managing Committee.

For three years now I have encouraged a process whereby the decision of
where to go has been made by the very simple mechanism of teams dropping
out in favour of the one that all the bid organizers collectively
thought was best prepared. [Yes, there is great subtlety and tact
required to get this notion across to the teams and to get the to
communicate with each other, but it has worked so very well that until
someone tells me to stop I'm going to keep at it. :)]

Before the decision is finalized, it has been my practice ask for
comments from a selection of significant players from the community -
including various past LCA organizers, past LA board members, a key
sponsor or two, and even a couple of my least favourite rabble rousers -
in short, the heart of the LCA tradition. If they're happy, then I know
our compass is pointing in the right direction.

Reclusion
---------

With any luck the decision will again be obvious. But, because decisions
on process and determination rest with the Board, this year there is a
bit of trickiness because members of two of the bidding teams are on the
Managing Committee. [Pia Waugh, Sydney; Jon Oxer and Stewart Smith,
Melbourne]. All three have already themselves acknowledged that they
will have to recluse themselves from any votes on the issue.

[I would note that reclusion works fine in practice as well as theory -
Stewart Smith of Melbourne was on the Committee last year and despite
this you'll observe that LCA '06 is not in Melbourne. Professionalism,
trustworthiness and ethical behaviour in action]

One final note: there is no fixed "rotation order" between cities. As
far as I can see never needs to be. Should Sydney host in '07 it does
not mean automatically that Brisbane will host '08, etc. Where LCA takes
place is entirely up to the quality of bid teams that offer to host in
any given year.

Timing
------

If you're not one of the three cities listed above and you are serious
about hosting LCA in 2007, then you need to get in contact with me
*immediately*. Care of committee at linux.org.au please.

Next I will invite candidate cities to make a bid. The form of this is
entirely open to your choice; be creative and inventive. For '03, Perth
made a video! (Now THAT was cool... but also way above and beyond the
call of duty). Sydney has already made its "bid" by email to linux-aus.
(nudge nudge, Melbourne!).

General discussion is welcome on the linux-aus mailing list until 30
November. After that, if we still have more than one candidate, I'll get
the teams talking together to see if they can, as has been our
tradition, decide amongst themselves who is best prepared to host
Linux.Conf.Au 2007.

If we still have more than once candidate after 23 Dec, then the
Committee will do a final round of consultation and then take a
decision.

The host city for '07 will be therefore be announced at the beginning of
January 06. The timing is deliberately intended to allow the '07 host
city a chance to prepare some initial promotional material for
presentation to the crowd at Dunedin.

AfC
Sydney
On behalf of the Managing Committee
Linux Australia

-- 
Andrew Frederick Cowie
Managing Director
Operational Dynamics Consulting Pty Ltd

Australia: Office 02 9977 6866, Mobile 04 1079 6725

Management Consultants specializing in strategy,
organizational architecture, procedures to survive
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and systems behind the mission critical enterprise.

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