OSE Regional Charter/Europe Correspondence

=Correspondence on Creating an OSE Europe=

Will Cleaver - 7/3/11
Hi Marcin,

We are about ready to register OSE Europe as a foundation.

The summary of OSEE can be found on the mindmap. All we need is the go ahead form you and to know if you have any questions, suggestions of objections?

Marcin Jakubowski - 3/7/11
I'd like to see a charter, so the accountability remains full to the mission of OSE. I'd like it to be a branch of OSE International, the standards-maintenance body that I should head. I like Mark's OSE International idea.

Can you produce the charter for OSEE, and I can sign off on it? Basic principles would be: adherence to ose goals as determined by OSE International; allocation of funding to prototyping under OSE International directorship; revocability at any time upon violations of duties.

For the period of now till year-end 2012, unless otherwise noted, I'd like to direct the project to completion - ie, all prototypes up to full product release. From then on, we can reevaluate where we stand - when the enabling toolkit is available. My only concern is endless discussion on the exact choice of tools - as opposed to building them out and seeing if they really work - that is perhaps the number one nonproductive time sink I run into all the time. To address this, I would like to remain at the Chief Technical Director position (prioritization of allocation of resources to development priorities, with assistance of advisory board), unless of course there are others who demonstrate the merit to take this role.

So prototyping can take place anywhere, but results must be tested as a complete package in one place, such as Factor e Farm, to test the completeness criterion of the OSE package. Some mechanism should be set up for this - complete fabrication documentation and BOMs would suffice.

Nikolay Georgiev - 7/4/11
what we are trying to do is more like a Regional Group by your definition - OSE Europe. and if we buy land and prototype then we become a Local Chapter, is that correct?

As a Regional Group we are promoting OSE by allocating funds and finding collaborators in Europe. We are also organizing OSE networking events in Europe.

As a Local Chapter we are either connecting locally and presenting OSE locally, or/and we are prototyping and/or building OSE machines locally.

So what we need now is a Charter for the Regional Group - OSE Europe.

Mark Norton - 7/4/11
> what we are trying to do is more like a Regional Group by your definition - OSE Europe. > and if we buy land and prototype then we become a Local Chapter, is that correct?

Yes, that is correct. OSE Europe would be a part of OSE International focused on the promotion of OSE concepts and goals in European countries. As such, it's activities would include:


 * Encouraging the formation of local OSE chapters within it's region and coordinating their operation.
 * Representing OSE at European events (like you did with the Open Knowledge Conference recently)
 * Organizing, sponsoring, and hosting OSE conferences, faires, regional meetings, etc.
 * Govern OSE projects specific to Europe (like the OSE village in Europe)
 * Raise funds to support both European OSE efforts, and OSE International ones - like the GVCS projects.

Local chapters and villages are similar in their relationship to OSE as a whole, but there are some differences in focus and goals. Local chapters allow people to meet face to face on a local basis. So folks in Berlin might decide they want to be a local chapter, get together, talk about OSE stuff, maybe build one of the GVCS tools as a group. Note that a local chapter also eases some of the language challenges we face as an international organization - the Berlin chapter would naturally conduct their meetings and local work in German.

OSE Europe's desire to create an OSE village is wonderful, and is an appropriate project for OSE Europe as an OSE Regional organization to do. After we set up OSE Europe as a regional group within OSE International, I would suggest that you establish the village as a project (http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/Starting_an_OSE_Project covers technical projects, but can be adapted to other kinds of projects - more writing is needed on this topic). The village project would include:


 * Fundraising
 * Land search
 * Recruitment
 * Start-up planning
 * Training (leadership, governance, participation, etc.)

To illustrate the relationship of the new village to OSE Europe, let us assume for a moment that the village fully launched (big party, buildings under construction, fields getting cleared, etc). For the sake of illustration, let's assume the village will be based on land purchased about 30 km south of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. We'll call the village Hoopdorp (village of hope in dutch).

Hoopdorp would be chartered as a local OSE chapter with the focus of living the principles of OSE. Creating a local chapter in the new village establishes an organizational relationship to OSE Europe and OSE International. While the governance structure of the new village is separate from the Hoopdorp OSE chapter (likely needed for legal reasons), there is a high overlap in the participants.

While I'm on the subject of OSE villages. I would encourage you to have a look at http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/Karmic_Debt_for_OSE_Villages. All OSE villages will need help getting started. Once launched, the have a kind of debt to those who helped them get started. Instead of repaying that debt to those people (such as OSE Europe), we should charge them to help 3 or more other villages get started - any where in the world.

> As a Regional Group we are promoting OSE by allocating funds and finding collaborators in Europe. > We are also organizing OSE networking events in Europe.

Yes, that's right. As Marcin pointed out in his previous message, OSE International will be focused (in part) on building out the GVCS technology, prototypes, and tools. OSE Europe can help that effort in a number of ways:


 * Gathering funds to fuel GVCS development
 * Watching for talented people and recommending them to a GVCS development team
 * Making GVCS tools in Europe to further test the concepts, designs, and build instructions
 * Promoting the use of GVCS technologies in Europe at events, to other organizations, etc.

Hopefully you can see that OSE Europe is a very important part of OSE International and essential to it's overall growth. As the OSE movement grows, scaling the organization and dealing with that growth will be a mission-critical process. By off-loading some of the administration work for European chapters, events, etc., it frees OSE International to pursue it's primary goals: developing the GVCS technologies and coordinating global efforts.

> As a Local Chapter we are either connecting locally and presenting OSE locally, or/and we are prototyping and/or building OSE machines locally.

I think it might be better to say that we are talking about the formation of an OSE regional organization for Europe that will (as part of it's duties) will foster the creation of local chapters that might engage in prototyping and building. The hierarchical structure we are assembling (International - Regional Group - Local Chapters) pushes activities that require hands-on work and face to face meetings downwards, and pushes coordination efforts upwards.

> So what we need now is a Charter for the Regional Group - OSE Europe.

I have created a skeleton charter document at http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/OSE_Regional_Charter. It might serve as the start of a regional charter draft. I would be happy to work with you on the further development of a the OSE Europe charter document.

I have also created the draft of the European Regional Charter at http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/OSE_Regional_Charter/Europe. Let's make this a bit more transparent and work on the language of the charter document there.

- Mark

Robert Anteau - 7/4/11
Marcin,

By law we will have to create a charter and the foundation will have to adhere to that charter. Unless there is an existing entity called OSE International, the foundation could not be attached to it. We can however create positions in the foundation with responsibilities. For example you as Chief Technical Director could decide where the funds allocated for development by the OSEE are spent, i.e. which project gets funding.

We could state that in the charter. I have been under the assumption so far that we are not going to be busy with development but that we would initially create products to sell to raise money with and in the process of building you could see small incremental improvements.

What would you like to be revocable? The OSEE? Would you like to have the ability to dissolve the Foundation?

I think it will be easier at this point to create a foundation with a Charter states the goals and objectives of the movement in general. Then when an OSE International comes about make some changes in the charter to tie it together. I do agree that we need to get a draft charter to you as soon as possible.

Regards, Robert

Marcin Jakubowski - 7/4/11
Marcin,

By law we will have to create a charter and the foundation will have to adhere to that charter. Unless there is an existing entity called OSE International,

What about OSE itself? We are currently an unincorporated project under the fiscal sponsorship of Terra Foundation in the US.

the foundation could not be attached to   it. We can however create positions in the foundation with responsibilities. For example you as Chief Technical Director could decide where the funds allocated for development by the OSEE are spent, i.e. which project gets funding. We could state that in the charter. I have been under the assumption so far that we are not going to be busy with development but that we would initially create products to sell

What do you mean? You want to be a fabricator organization?

There's ony full release. It was my impression that the goal would be simply to raise money to develop products -funded via nonprofit sector. Remember that we don't have much to offer yet - you're putting the cart before the horse.

to raise money with and in the process of   building you could see small incremental improvements. What would you like to be revocable?

The charter in case of not adhering to core mission - such as core mission of DEVELOPMENT until year end 2012. I think it's premature to talk of sales right now in general - we have 1/50th the product. Once the products are there, we are talking of world change, but it takes the development of the products first - so all other discussion in my opinion is misdirected.

The OSEE? Would you like to have the ability to dissolve the Foundation?

Once again, to cut any discussion off at the knees if that does not lead to prototypes and GVCS completion. We need to be absolutely clear on this point - as I've said, this has been the major sink in the project, where people love to talk about all types of things while forgetting that we're after a buildout of prototypes.

The movement needs to be aligned right now at the prototyping/package completion. Everyone needs to understand that the true power of the set comes from the 50 tools being available, not a subset thereof. That is one of the core elements- sufficiency - that makes the package relevant to societal disruption.

I think it will be easier at   this point to create a foundation with a Charter states the goals and objectives of the movement in general. Then when an OSE International comes about make some changes in the charter to tie it together. I do agree that we need to get a draft charter to you as soon as possible.

Sure.

I thought a couple of things as trivial requirements for OSE branches:

1. A charter group of 3-4 as Mark says. 2. Subscription as a True Fan ($10/month membership dues) 3. Until 2012 year-end, agreement to stick to the GVCS 50 - see GVCS

For official 'OSE Facilities' or 'Villages', we should keep true to the vision, not water it down like the ecovillage movement is watered down today (people working for the man checking out into an ecological setting while the world burns).

For an 'OSE Facility' to hold that renown, I'd like to have it as

'Directly testing the feasibility of village-scale postscarcity creation - ie, a relatively complete economy created as a disruptive force in human cultural advancement' - not some bullshit where the village uses LifeTrac and calls itself an OSE facility.

The core vision is defined as demonstrating the feasibility of a new way of living. So the experimental community must be engaged in active progress toward creating a complete economy focused on local resources, allowing trade for exotics, and contributing to the greater global cultural and scientific advancement.

I think the standards should be high and clear - otherwise we're just watering down the OSE concept.

Once again, let's align around the timing:

Till 2012 year end - prototyping the complete GVCS; approximate $2M budget required. 2012-2014 - prototyping a single or multiple real village based on the GVCS. It's a brave experiment, not to be confused with watered-down implementations as I suggest above. It's not for everybody, it's to test the limits of human experience and capacity. We can reevaluate at year end 2014 - for now, there's plenty to do.

Marcin