[Discuss] [OH Updates] Survey about whether an education program would be a good OSHWA member benefit

[malcolm stanley]

Hello everyone

The education survey is complete.

I have complied the results into a short presentation and uploaded it to
Slideshare at
http://www.slideshare.net/amstanley/oshwa-education-survey-1-2012-09-15
It is available for download under a CC
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
Included is some simple analysis of the data gathered, graphs and charts of
the results, and complete text of the comments provided by participants.

In Summary:

   - There were 44 respondents from more than a dozen different countries.
   - Approximately half of respondents felt that an education program would
   be an important benefit of membership in the OSHWA
   - The Top 10 'Very Important' topic responses focus on arranging for
   manufacture, and issues related to commercialization of manufactured
   products. Commercialization sub-topics were predominant, comprising 5 of
   the top 10 'Very Important' topics.
   - Content Delivery via Wiki was favoured by respondents

Our hypothesis, based on the data gathered:

   - Education programs are a concern for a minority of those interested in
   OSHWA
   - Information regarding commercialization challenges:

– reliable suppliers,
– import and commercial regulations, and
– business operations such as supply chain management and customer
relationship management,

are most relevant to the majority of members who signalled they are
interested in education


   - Some members are concerned about the tension between commercialization
   interests and ‘free and open’ philosophy
   - Members seek credible information *from other members* who have
   already encountered and overcome these challenges

I'd like to thank everyone who contributed to the survey; the information
gathered is enlightening regarding the concerns and interests of the
community. Hopefully this will spur additional discussion about how we can
collectively meet the identified needs of the community.

Looking forward to seeing you all at summit!
_________________________________________
malcolm stanley

google.voice:  215.821.6252
Cell: 267.251.9479   <------------- new
email: a.malcolm.stanley at gmail.com
twitter / linkedin: amstanley
Read my blog at http://soaringhorse.blogspot.com
_________________________________________



On Wed, Aug 22, 2012 at 9:31 PM, malcolm stanley <
a.malcolm.stanley at gmail.com> wrote:

> There is a conversation going about what the value of a membership in the
> OSHWA is comprised of. Some have suggested that education programs *could*
> and *should* be part of the membership value.
>
> However, a number of things about this are unclear. It is unclear:
> - whether a majority of potential members desire education benefits
> - what these education benefits could or should consist of,
> - how education benefits should be offered,
> - who should be able to benefit from the offering (members? anyone?)
>
> My name is Malcolm Stanley and I am one of the potential members
> suggesting that an education program could be beneficial to the association
> and to its membership. After an email discussion regarding what an
> education program might look like, I volunteered to set up this simple
> survey and gather feedback on what potential members think about it. After
> some further discussion, I was told it was ok to go ahead with the idea.
>
> Accordingly, here it is: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6MRQQY9
>
> A few notes:
> - This survey will be open until the week before the summit. I will,
> before the summit, collate and distribute the results so people will have
> them for discussion at the summit.
> - This is a volunteer effort focussed on learning from you. We not
> dictating a program and setting priorities. No decisions have been made. We're
> trying to understand if a program is worthwhile and if so, and what people
> might want in it. Please help us do that.
>  - Personal information is not required to fill out and submit the survey,
> but we do ask for a minimal amount of personal information as it will be
> helpful information to have.  If you do provide personal information, know
> that it will not be made publicly available.. I will give a copy of it to
> Alicia Gibb at OSHWA, and she will use it only to further develop programs
> for OSHWA. It will not be shared with anyone else.
> - Every question is a guess and we assume we got a lot of it wrong. Please
> make good use of the comments and help set us straight.
>
> Of course, if you have feedback regarding the survey itself, we want to
> know about that right away. I can be reached at
> a.malcolm.stanley at gmail.com if you think something about the survey is
> off and needs to be fixed.
>
> Finally, thank you for participating. The more feedback the OSHWA gets,
> the more likely it is to meet your needs. That's what this is all about.
>
> _________________________________________
> malcolm stanley
>
> google.voice:  215.821.6252        <------------- new
> email: a.malcolm.stanley at gmail.com
> twitter / skype: amstanley
> Read my blog at http://soaringhorse.blogspot.com
> _________________________________________
>
>
> On Sat, Aug 11, 2012 at 9:38 AM, Catarina Mota <catarina at openmaterials.org
> > wrote:
>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> Alicia started this discussion a few weeks ago and, since then, more OHSW
>> enthusiasts have joined this list, so I just wanted to bring back this
>> thread so they can read what was discussed before.
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Catarina
>>
>>
>> On Sun, Jul 8, 2012 at 11:11 AM, ashfaq farooqui <
>> ashfaq.farooqui at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Hey,
>>>
>>> Im a student from india, and 100$ would not be affordable here in my
>>> country. Though we have a lot of support for open hardware at the student
>>> level nd the quite a few hobbiysts...but i have not come across many
>>> companies running OHW.
>>>
>>> Having an OHW association is a brilliant idea but will you guys be able
>>> to cater to an international audiance?each region having thier own set of
>>> drawbacks?
>>>
>>> My suggestion would be to have a decentralized system. Each reagion
>>> having thier own group would have to register. And keep registrations at a
>>> nominal rate. The money required to run the association could be obtained
>>> in the form of tee shits,stickers etc. Comeing to the voting system each
>>> group would be allowed one vote which should be given to the person getting
>>> highest votes given by the group.
>>>
>>> Key events of the summit like talks and presentations can be aired
>>> online for all members across the globe. By havibg it aired only to the
>>> groups internationally we can conserve a lot of bandwidth...it will also
>>> benifit the local group.
>>>
>>> This would also encourage people.from developing countries to
>>> participate. I belive such countries require more OHW support to help them
>>> grow. So that they are not taken for a ride by coporates.
>>>
>>> For start we could.collaborate with FREE SOFTWARE organisations which
>>> are already established in various regions. For example, I am a student nd
>>> my contribution to the OHW movement is by educating my peers. My team a
>>> group of 3 regularly conduct various workshops for students, on various
>>> electronics based ideas. Basic arduino to image processing and to build
>>> robots etc...we are provided with space and othe requirements by the Free
>>> Software movement association here..
>>>
>>> Also, since the summit and other activities would not take place in the
>>> local region i think many interested people would not register as they
>>> wouldnt b reciveing maximum benifit.
>>>
>>> P.S:can anybody tell.me from where i can order stickers and other
>>> goodies??
>>>
>>> --
>>> Ashfaq H F
>>> +918553480886
>>> http://www.flickr.com/photos/ashfaqfarooqui/
>>> http://sneakpeakintomyworld.blogspot.com/
>>> http://photoelectricchefs.weebly.com/
>>> On Jul 8, 2012 7:47 PM, "Andrew Back" <andrew at carrierdetect.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Jul 6, 2012 6:53 PM, "Alicia Gibb" <pip at nycresistor.com> wrote:
>>>> >
>>>> > YEs! And we want to do all of what Malcolm mentioned too - seminars
>>>> in various places that are not only San Francisco and New York.
>>>>
>>>> Outside the US too?
>>>>
>>>> Best,
>>>>
>>>> Andrew
>>>>
>>>> >
>>>> > Alicia
>>>> >
>>>> >
>>>> >
>>>> > On Fri, Jul 6, 2012 at 11:38 AM, Alicia Gibb <pip at nycresistor.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>> >>
>>>> >> Thanks - these are great suggestions. I also like the radio show
>>>> approach - donate what you can, though that will have to get into tiers as
>>>> we can't give Summit tickets away for a donation of $1, for example. In the
>>>> past, we've had the self-selecting starving artist ticket Catarina
>>>> mentioned which works well and always sells out quickly, perhaps we can
>>>> have a similar starving artist member level.
>>>> >>
>>>> >> Benefits right now that we are thinking of are as follows:
>>>> >> Benefits:
>>>> >> + Voting in board members (we hope to vote in 3 more board members
>>>> via membership in Sept.)
>>>> >> + Voting on other topics that require a broader community vote
>>>> >> + Reduced ticket prices for the Summit
>>>> >> + Opportunity to chair a program for OSHWA
>>>> >> + Sticker?
>>>> >> + Suggestions? What would you like to see?
>>>> >>
>>>> >> The money will be used to make the organization run, including the
>>>> Summit. The Summit costs around $60,000 and that's running it with
>>>> volunteers, it would be really nice to pay folks for their time. We'd also
>>>> like to be able to support taking the Summit other places around the world.
>>>> Another thing that would be nice is to assist with travel to events that
>>>> directly impact open source hardware, such as the OH/DC event this past
>>>> spring where US lawmakers were invited to talk to the makers of open
>>>> hardware.
>>>> >>
>>>> >> Rest assured we would never ever charge for your project to be named
>>>> open hardware or to use our standards - that would be criminal. The
>>>> definition / any standards / best practices will always be open and
>>>> available to everyone for free. The membership is by no means any sort of
>>>> parallel to the USB financing scheme. In fact, I think that's a good thing
>>>> to include in our bylaws so that five years down the road, who ever is
>>>> running the organization cannot every do that. The funding would only be to
>>>> support us if you wanted a vote for who the next board would be /
>>>> discounted Summit access / show financial love to keep the org running if
>>>> you can.
>>>> >>
>>>> >> We have however opted to be a 501c3 with goals of educating people
>>>> about open source hardware, rather than a 501c6 which is more of a good ol'
>>>> boys club for companies. We wanted to involve more than just companies as
>>>> well. So involving companies who are profitable, such as enabling them to
>>>> use our blog to show their products/projects that they make money off of
>>>> could be considered an advertisement and would be frowned upon for the
>>>> non-profit status we're requesting. In that sense I'm also not sure how or
>>>> if commercial members are legal.... I think they can donate but I don't
>>>> think a company can have membership. As well, board members can only act on
>>>> their own behalf, not on the behalf of the company they are with. I'll have
>>>> to look over the legal documents on membership and companies again from the
>>>> IRS.
>>>> >>
>>>> >> There are already lots of blogs that are great at showing off
>>>> people's products and announcing when a new open source widget is out, they
>>>> do a great job, we don't want to step on their toes. I don't think we could
>>>> come close to giving all the projects out there justice.
>>>> >>
>>>> >> Thanks again for all the suggestions. Sounds like tiers may be the
>>>> way to go - and maybe there's member tiers of say $25 and $50 and then a
>>>> broader donation level if you can afford it. Not sure how that will work
>>>> for Summit tickets, is that a benefit you all are really looking forward to
>>>> or would you be okay leaving that behind? Other things at various levels
>>>> could be t-shirts (that would also come in female sizes!!) or cloth bags? I
>>>> always opt out of prizes because I'm not really one for wearing
>>>> advertisements and because I want more money going to the organization than
>>>> the prize, but that's just me. Do you all want more stuff along with the
>>>> membership? We could absolutely offer it - and yes please tell us what
>>>> other benefits are that you want. This organization is all about you! We
>>>> want to cater to your needs for creating open source hardware.
>>>> >>
>>>> >> Cheers,
>>>> >> Alicia
>>>> >>
>>>> >>
>>>> >>
>>>> >> On Fri, Jul 6, 2012 at 11:27 AM, malcolm stanley <
>>>> a.malcolm.stanley at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> >>>
>>>> >>> Alan
>>>> >>>
>>>> >>> if there were something useful to you that could be provided by
>>>> >>> membership in an organization, what would it be?
>>>> >>>
>>>> >>> I'm personally thinking that I'd like to try to get education
>>>> >>> benefits, like a program to design and manufacture a widget start to
>>>> >>> finish to learn how to do it. Or some sort of mentor access to the
>>>> >>> guys at incubators like HAXLR8R or Lemnos without having to move to
>>>> >>> the west coast and eat noodles. or seminars with people like Eric
>>>> Ries
>>>> >>> on how to apply lean to hardware startups. Or a pairing program
>>>> >>> between hardware geeks (us) and design professionals, so we can
>>>> learn
>>>> >>> how to manufacture to design...
>>>> >>>
>>>> >>> Any one of those would be worth $25 to me, even if I had to
>>>> volunteer
>>>> >>> to set up stuff like that myself....
>>>> >>> _________________________________________
>>>> >>> malcolm stanley
>>>> >>>
>>>> >>> google.voice:  215.821.6252        <------------- new
>>>> >>> email: a.malcolm.stanley at gmail.com
>>>> >>> twitter / skype: amstanley
>>>> >>> Read my blog at http://soaringhorse.blogspot.com
>>>> >>> _________________________________________
>>>> >>>
>>>> >>>
>>>> >>> On Fri, Jul 6, 2012 at 1:10 PM, Alan Wood <folknology at gmail.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>> >>> > To be honest I would rather put my $100 towards something more
>>>> useful
>>>> >>> > like a hackspace, this seem to be the wrong approach for an
>>>> OpenSource
>>>> >>> > Hardware organisation IMHO.
>>>> >>> >
>>>> >>> > regards
>>>> >>> > Al
>>>> >>> >
>>>> >>> > On Fri, Jul 6, 2012 at 6:02 PM, malcolm stanley
>>>> >>> > <a.malcolm.stanley at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> >>> >> If you look at the root message of this thread, it says:
>>>> >>> >>
>>>> >>> >>>> We're working on putting our by-laws together and introducing
>>>> >>> >>>> membership. The main reason for membership is so that you all
>>>> can vote
>>>> >>> >>>> for things like future board members!
>>>> >>> >>>>
>>>> >>> >> [deletia]
>>>> >>> >>>> Benefits:
>>>> >>> >>>> + Voting in board members (we hope to vote in 3 more board
>>>> members via
>>>> >>> >>>> membership in Sept.)
>>>> >>> >>>> + Voting on other topics that require a broader community vote
>>>> >>> >>>> + Reduced ticket prices for the Summit
>>>> >>> >>>> + Opportunity to chair a program for OSHWA
>>>> >>> >>>> + Sticker?
>>>> >>> >>
>>>> >>> >> So unless we all start proposing that we will create some sort
>>>> of web
>>>> >>> >> of value by offering discounted services to each other (I
>>>> volunteer
>>>> >>> >> that as a non-commercial member, nice I know) then I would
>>>> suggest
>>>> >>> >> that membership right now is to vote on who runs a trade show,
>>>> maybe
>>>> >>> >> get discounted tickets to said trade show which you may nor may
>>>> not
>>>> >>> >> attend, and to maybe get a sticker somehow.
>>>> >>> >>
>>>> >>> >> so the nominal $ value of membership is the nominal value of the
>>>> show
>>>> >>> >> discount + $1.50 for the sticker, postage in. But this to me is
>>>> not
>>>> >>> >> the real question. to me the real question is how do we make it
>>>> more
>>>> >>> >> like a master card commercial: trade show: $xx bucks, Sticker,
>>>> $1.50,
>>>> >>> >> membership in a movement that will change the world: priceless.
>>>> >>> >>
>>>> >>> >> in the end you cannot justify a $# this way. We will all
>>>> perceive the
>>>> >>> >> intangible value differently.
>>>> >>> >> I see it as an investment opportunity, and think I can make
>>>> return on
>>>> >>> >> it, so I volunteer for a $25 personal membership, and will offer
>>>> to
>>>> >>> >> donate time to help develop programs for personal members, to
>>>> help
>>>> >>> >> develop them into commercial members, if there is a committee
>>>> for that
>>>> >>> >> (anybody?) and anyone wants such things.
>>>> >>> >>
>>>> >>> >> _________________________________________
>>>> >>> >> malcolm stanley
>>>> >>> >>
>>>> >>> >> google.voice:  215.821.6252        <------------- new
>>>> >>> >> email: a.malcolm.stanley at gmail.com
>>>> >>> >> twitter / skype: amstanley
>>>> >>> >> Read my blog at http://soaringhorse.blogspot.com
>>>> >>> >> _________________________________________
>>>> >>> >>
>>>> >>> >>
>>>> >>> >> On Fri, Jul 6, 2012 at 12:16 PM, Kurt Tomlinson
>>>> >>> >> <kurt at openhardwarehub.com> wrote:
>>>> >>> >>> How is this membership money going to be used? As I understand
>>>> it, this
>>>> >>> >>> association/organization is going to be non-profit. In which
>>>> case, it would
>>>> >>> >>> make more sense to define what the organization will be paying
>>>> for and
>>>> >>> >>> providing to its members, and then create the membership rates
>>>> based on the
>>>> >>> >>> organization's needs. We should be putting our members first,
>>>> not trying to
>>>> >>> >>> figure out how to get the most money from them.
>>>> >>> >>>
>>>> >>> >>> What are the benefits of membership, and why should I join?
>>>> What will be
>>>> >>> >>> offered, and how much will it cost the association to provide
>>>> those
>>>> >>> >>> goods/services? Once we know those things, we can determine our
>>>> pricing
>>>> >>> >>> schemes more accurately.
>>>> >>> >>>
>>>> >>> >>> Best,
>>>> >>> >>> Kurt
>>>> >>> >>>
>>>> >>> >>>
>>>> >>> >>>
>>>> >>> >>> On Fri, Jul 6, 2012 at 11:07 AM, John Griessen <
>>>> john at industromatic.com>
>>>> >>> >>> wrote:
>>>> >>> >>>>
>>>> >>> >>>> On 07/06/2012 08:19 AM, malcolm stanley wrote:
>>>> >>> >>>>>
>>>> >>> >>>>> Tiers are a good idea so long as you do not have too many.
>>>> >>> >>>>> You may want to consider tying it to the nature of the
>>>> membership
>>>> >>> >>>>> holder and not an income level.
>>>> >>> >>>>> You could create a commercial tier and a personal membership
>>>> tier, and
>>>> >>> >>>>> make it clear that revenue generating entities are expected
>>>> to sign up
>>>> >>> >>>>> for the higher level.
>>>> >>> >>>>
>>>> >>> >>>>
>>>> >>> >>>> Yes, and it's such an odd business, a middle tier of "not
>>>> making money
>>>> >>> >>>> yet, even though trying to"
>>>> >>> >>>> would be good :-)
>>>> >>> >>>>
>>>> >>> >>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> >>> >>>> updates mailing list
>>>> >>> >>>> updates at lists.openhardwaresummit.org
>>>> >>> >>>>
>>>> >>> >>>>
>>>> http://lists.openhardwaresummit.org/listinfo.cgi/updates-openhardwaresummit.org
>>>> >>> >>>
>>>> >>> >>>
>>>> >>> >>>
>>>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________
>>>> >>> >>> updates mailing list
>>>> >>> >>> updates at lists.openhardwaresummit.org
>>>> >>> >>>
>>>> http://lists.openhardwaresummit.org/listinfo.cgi/updates-openhardwaresummit.org
>>>> >>> >>>
>>>> >>> >> _______________________________________________
>>>> >>> >> updates mailing list
>>>> >>> >> updates at lists.openhardwaresummit.org
>>>> >>> >>
>>>> http://lists.openhardwaresummit.org/listinfo.cgi/updates-openhardwaresummit.org
>>>> >>> _______________________________________________
>>>> >>> updates mailing list
>>>> >>> updates at lists.openhardwaresummit.org
>>>> >>>
>>>> http://lists.openhardwaresummit.org/listinfo.cgi/updates-openhardwaresummit.org
>>>> >>
>>>> >
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>> On Mon, Jul 2, 2012 at 4:46 PM, Alicia Gibb <pip at nycresistor.com> wrote:
>>
>>>  Hey all,
>>> We're working on putting our by-laws together and introducing
>>> membership. The main reason for membership is so that you all can vote for
>>> things like future board members!
>>>
>>> We've looked at a lot of membership strategies. Unfortunately, the law
>>> around non-profits won't allow public votes on issues - only the members of
>>> the group, so we want to have the most inclusive membership possible. Some
>>> memberships are fee based, some are merit based. Since we didn't want to
>>> get into judging merit, we are considering moving towards a fee-based
>>> membership. We are hoping to cover costs from domain hosting to assisting
>>> the Summit costs with membership fees. Please give us your feedback on the
>>> amount we're asking and the benefits of membership.
>>>
>>> Annual membership: $100 per year
>>> Student rate: Suggestions?
>>>
>>> Benefits:
>>> + Voting in board members (we hope to vote in 3 more board members via
>>> membership in Sept.)
>>> + Voting on other topics that require a broader community vote
>>> + Reduced ticket prices for the Summit
>>> + Opportunity to chair a program for OSHWA
>>> + Sticker?
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> Alicia
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> discuss mailing list
>>> discuss at lists.oshwa.org
>>> http://lists.oshwa.org/listinfo/discuss
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> updates mailing list
>> updates at lists.openhardwaresummit.org
>>
>> http://lists.openhardwaresummit.org/listinfo.cgi/updates-openhardwaresummit.org
>>
>>
>
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