[Linux-aus] Communication and conferences.

[Kathy Reid]

Sure do. You're all about scrutiny and transparency, right? I didn't 
think you'd mind.

Kathy

On 18/10/2022 9:26 pm, Marcus Herstik wrote:
> You realise you just went from private to public right?
>
>>
>> On 18 Oct 2022, at 8:15 pm, Kathy Reid <kathy at kathyreid.id.au> wrote:
>>
>> 
>> Hi Marcus,
>>
>> I can only comment on my time in Council so things may have changed, 
>> however there is usually a Council "face to face" - pandemic 
>> permitting - in March or April following the AGM, where new Council 
>> members are briefed on their responsibilities and strategic direction 
>> is discussed. From memory there is a Council Induction doc floating 
>> around, but don't hold me to that .
>>
>> We investigated in about 2017 - I think - of having Council Members 
>> go through the AICD course, but it's about $11k per person and we - 
>> it would have been me responsible at the time - decided it wasn't 
>> financially feasible - largely because we could invest that amount in 
>> someone who might only be on Council for a year and then move on. 
>> Should we be investing profits in one or two people rather than the 
>> community? There are arguments on both sides.
>>
>> In my view, and this is my view only, the AICD course would be a wise 
>> investment for someone who has given several years' service to the 
>> organisation and indicates they would give several more. But it's a 
>> large expenditure - perhaps one for the Grants budget.
>>
>> Additionally, the Council Members each have Position Descriptions 
>> outlining their roles on GitHub, linked previously.
>>
>> Council Members are voluntary - and so their capacities and 
>> capabilities vary - and so often it's a balancing act for Council of 
>> who does what. There is always more LA would like to do than we have 
>> capacity to do. In terms of growing capability (life tends to 
>> constrain capacity), we find LA Council is a rich training ground, 
>> where Council members tackle complex, contentious and challenging 
>> problems.
>>
>> The next question that is often asked at this juncture is "why don't 
>> you get paid support?". It's been discussed several times - getting 
>> someone high calibre on what we could afford to pay would be 
>> challenging, plus managing staff or contractors comes with a large 
>> overhead - which Council is actually trying to reduce. For example, a 
>> 0.2 FTE Exec Officer role would probably set LA back about $20-$25k a 
>> year - that's two thirds of the Grants budget. Would that role show a 
>> positive return on investment higher than $25k or would it just "help 
>> Council"? Not sure, and it's not for me to speculate as to Council's 
>> current position. That might be a great investment. But the 
>> discussion has been had several times.
>>
>> There's a fantastic slide Sae Ra and Julien showed at their LA talk 
>> earlier in the year that outlined all the things LA has to govern and 
>> manage - does anyone have it to hand?
>>
>> Regards,
>> Kathy
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On 18 Oct 2022 20:27, Marcus Herstik <marcus at herstik.com> wrote:
>>
>>     Hi Kathy,
>>     As an ex-council member can is ask what kind of governance
>>     training council members go through?
>>     In previous organisations I have been involved with most have
>>     some training they put people through.
>>
>>     Regards,
>>     Marcus Herstik
>>
>>     M: 0405-569-466
>>     A: P.O. Box 2443, Burleigh Waters, QLD, 4220
>>
>>         On 18 Oct 2022, at 6:40 pm, Kathy Reid
>>         <kathy at kathyreid.id.au> wrote:
>>
>>         
>>         None of what I wrote indicates that they are absolved of
>>         responsibilities, Marcus, however I was clarifying exactly
>>         what responsibilities they *do* have.
>>
>>         Kathy
>>
>>         On 18 Oct 2022 18:00, Marcus Herstik via linux-aus
>>         <linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au> wrote:
>>
>>             Hi Kathy,
>>             Thank you for your response.
>>
>>             The fact that the council is a volunteer group does not
>>             make them immune to scrutiny or absolve them of
>>             responsibilities under the Constitution or the Act
>>
>>             I will get back to you (and all the members on this list)
>>             after I have received more information.
>>
>>             #######
>>             Remember - Questionnaire at https://bit.ly/3eBse4t
>>             Members can also email me directly instead.
>>             #####
>>
>>             Regards,
>>             Marcus Herstik
>>
>>             M: 0405-569-466
>>             A: P.O. Box 2443, Burleigh Waters, QLD, 4220
>>
>>                 On 17 Oct 2022, at 11:50 pm, Kathy Reid
>>                 <kathy at kathyreid.id.au> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>
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