== Agenda September 9 Meeting == * Place: Brecht Forum ([http://brechtforum.org/events/n-directions.php directions]) * Date: Sunday, September 9 * Time: 10:00 am (bagels, coffee), 10:30 am (meeting starts), to 5:30 pm (meeting ends) * Time (continued): Dinner and hang out: 6:00 pm - === Goals === * Redefine the relationship between May First/People Link and the group formerly known as mf-staff * Develop the role of May First/People Link in the broader ecosystem of progressive politics and the Internet and plan how to perform that role over the coming year * Plan how to open and expand the leadership of the organization in a way that challenges and works through forms of oppression, particularly sexism, racism, and classism. * Project realistically a timeline for financial solvency * Continue developing the idea of what membership means, how a membership organization is different than a regular ISP, and what roles we want our members to play in the organization === Agenda === Item 0: Introductions * How would you describe your role in the organization over the last year? * Introducing the facilitator (Bette) * Review/add to goals, agenda, and ground rules Item 1: Describe * Mapping the ecosystem: Put up large poster paper on the wall, hand out post it notes to everyone. Everyone rights down the major players in the ecosystem on individual post it notes, calling out the name of the player as they write it down (to avoid duplicates), and then places the post it note on the poster paper on the wall, attempting to group them according to community. * Discuss (see questions below), with the goal of listing: * What are the valuable ways MFPL is currently contributing to this ecosystem? * Trends: What changes should we be expecting in this ecosystem? Where is it going? * What are ways the MFPL could be contributing, but is not? Item 2: Fine tune afternoon agenda Item 3: Lunch, financial review Item 4: LEADERSHIP * What would be the ideal role for the leadership of MF/PL to assume within this ecosystem? * What does the leadership need from MF/PL in order to fill this role? * What does leadership look like currently at MF/PL? * How do these two forms of leadership compare with one another. What is the ideal? Item 5: STRATEGY * Membership / Marketing / Education * Needs / Dependencies * Goals (1 + 5 year) * Paths forward * Leadership * Needs / Dependencies * Goals * Paths forward * Finances * Needs / Dependencies * Goals * Paths forward Item 6: Roles of people in the room in this effort * Who might be available to help with respect to moving froward, and what would these folks require of this process and of MF/PL? * Who do we need to bring into this discussion to help us move forward realistically? What will their needs be? * STRATEGY: what happens next? * Next Meetings: Who, What, When? * Plans of Actions. * Beer anyone? Yes - on to Dinner! Item 7: Dinner! Please join us for dinner in the neighborhood === Agenda Questions === Item 1 discussion questions: * ECOSYSTEM: What is the ecosystem in which May First/People Link operates? * How do we define the ecosystem that we operate in and what are the boundaries? * What are the different stakeholders that exist in this ecosystem? * What is needed to strengthen progressive movements and build a stronger ecosystem? * What types of constraints exist in within this ecosystem in general and specifically with respect to information technologies? * What, coming from the perspective of someone in this ecosystem who is somewhat technologically illiterate, is valuable? * As technologists, are there values we are assuming or imposing? What are they? * IDEAL: Once we have a clear picture of that, we want to imagine this ecosystem being connected and served in a powerful way, and what that would look like. * What are the benefits that might be gained from connecting and networking progressive organizations? * Which of these would be obvious to the members of the ecosystem? * Of the benefits that would not be obvious to these folks, what would be required to educate them? * MEMBERSHIP: Then we want to look at how MF/PL manifests it services currently, and how that measures up with the above thinking. We want to ask ourselves: * Does a membership model fit well with the needs, constraints and values listed above? * Why is the membership model important? * What has membership traditionally meant to MF/PL and how might it be re-ordered to satisfy the needs of all stakeholders better?