[Linux-aus] Grant Application - Gold Coast Tech Space

[Kathy Reid]

I strongly support this grant application on the following grounds;

1. Steve has a strong track record, and has organised several (I think
they're up to 7?) BarCamps at the Gold Coast / Brisbane.

2. The Gold Coast is a regional area, and although well populated it would
be great to FOSSter (haha) more open source communities in regional areas.

3. The planning and community support around this appears strong - Steve
already has other partners on board, and Linux Australia would not be the
only supporter.

4. LCA has never been held on the Gold Coast. An active LUG is usually a
prerequisite to being able to hold LCA somewhere.

5. Open hardware is huge - there's clearly a need for more support of open
hardware in the community.

Kind regards,
Kathy

> Date: 9/2/12
>
> Project Name: Gold Coast Tech Space
>
> Aim of Project: Promote Open Collaboration in tech community on the Gold
> Coast
>
> Person Responsible for Request: Steve Dalton
>
> Request: We recently formed the Gold Coast TechSpace (late 2011) - a
> collaborative space based on the Hackerspace Model. The project is going
> quite well, we have a large unit in Southport, have incorporated as a
> Association and have an active committee. We also have a small but growing
> membership base. Our setup is slightly different to other hackerspaces;
> half of the space is typical hackerspace projects - Electronics, hardware
> hacking, 3D printing (we just finished our first Reprap) etc. The other
> half is more of a "Lab" for people to come and spend time working on their
> projects (predominantly Open Source) and learn (workshops and community
> based training are in the works)
>
> Part of the way we helped setup the space was to offer Founding
> Partnerships to local businesses and institutions to help us bootstrap the
> space. We initially had 3 partners which helped pay for the Bond on the
> property, ongoing rent while membership built to sustainable levels,
> benchtops and some equipment.
>
> Our 4th partner that has just come on board is Griffith Uni, and we did
> have a 5th, a local web mobile development company that were going to base
> themselves from the space but this fell through. I was going to replace
> this 5th one with the Gold Coast City Council, but with local elections
> looming it seems that purse strings are tightly drawn!
>
> Founding membership costs $3500 per year and with that they get
> - Full membership for 3 of their employees/members/students (normally
> costs
> $100/month)
> - Your logo on the sign on the front of the space for the lifetime of the
> space (not just 1st year)
> - Logo and links on main website gctechspace.org and
> meetup.com/gctechspace
>
> I am looking for another local partner, but as we are planning on doing a
> :LOT of Linux and FLOSS advocacy at the space nd our local LUG also meets
> at the space, I was wondering if having Linux Australia as a partner might
> be a possibility.
>
> I realise that LA is not National and the 3 membership are not really
> useful, but I was thinking these could be gifted to local Gold Coasters
> doing good work in the Linux/FLOSS community. 2 local nominations I could
> think of off the top of my head are Ben Martin who is a committer to
> Abiword and libFerris file system (speaker at recent LCA on this topic)
> and Triffid Hunter who is heavily involved with RepRap.
>
> A lot of people in Australia think of the Gold Coast as all about Tourism
> and property development, and this is partially true, our economy is very
> narrow at the moment. However, there is also a thriving tech community
> just
> desperate to break out. I am hoping the Gold Coast TechSpace will be a hub
> for this. A large Cultural Precinct is currently being planned on the
> Coast
> for 2015, final completion 2018 when the Commonwealth Games arrives. Part
> of this precinct is a 6000m2 cultural centre and I have a (loose)
> commitment from the  Council that the Gold Coast Tech Space will get a
> decent amount of space in this precinct. Until then, we just need to prove
> the concept and get it nicely sustainable.
>
> In terms of what the money would probably be spent on - we currently do
> not
> have anywhere enough power points, so around $1000 would be paying the
> electrician. We would also like to get a projector for user groups to
> present with and use at Barcamps (which I am regular organiser of). We
> will
> also have a full lab of PCs (donated from City Council) which I am hoping
> to get extra monitors for so that we can do full pairing with our
> programming workshops. Lots of other thing - but this gives you an idea.
>
> If you have any further questions - feel free to email me back. I can also
> be contacted on the mobile on 0414 464564
>
> Regards
> Steve Dalton
> President, Gold Coast TechSpace
>