[@OKau] change to event planning

[Rosie Williams]

Hi all, 
If you've been reading my posts to the list you will be aware that I was planning a one day event for the end of May as an Australian effort toward the International Open Data Conference. I did end up being offered a venue in the city Mon to Thurs for 60 people. Despite this, I've ended up changing my whole approach to event planning with regard to open data events. 
Originally I was trying to make the projects fit the event that I had volunteered to organise (when the topic came up on Twitter) but the more I thought about what open data projects need, the less sense a large one-off f2f event made to me.
I set up a process/model for nurturing open data events from conception to implementation beginning with sourcing problems that open data can help solve at the InfoAus.net wiki. There are already several questions identified through engagement with communities. 
The more I thought about the problems identified, the less sense it made to me to try to plan solutions for all of them on the one day. Each of these problems seemed to be worthy of their own dedicated event and each of these events needed to be prefaced by consultation and planning which would best be carried out online prior to getting down to more concrete action face to face. 
I did try to think of uses for a large one-off f2f event occurring on a week day but realised I was still trying to fit the needs of a project into the event rather than the other way around. I've decided there's little sense in putting myself under pressure to organise an event just for the sake of coinciding with a particular date when that, in and of itself, does not seem to have any benefit to the actual problems or the open data projects that might emerge.
I will be holding virtual events to refine and source ideas for specific problems and when people interested in working on the specifics have been identified I can move forward with helping these people plan f2f events to carry out these plans.
regards,

Rosie Williams BA (Sociology)________________________________________

 NoFibs.com.au - Open Data Reporter InfoAus.net - Founder and Developer 
                                                                 

 		 	   		  
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