TDWG Infrastructure Project 8. Long-Term Support Model Lee Belbin

Membership

Funding Options Ideas are based on ‘current process’ and ‘best practice’ reports, TDWG Survey, discussions Increase membership? –Institutional (briefings, tools to raise profile, vote…?) –Personal (meeting discount, vote…?) Increase membership fees? –Members require value Make a profit from meetings? –Fee-based training courses (+- annual meeting) Donations? –Need to setup infrastructure (other standards agencies have) Sponsorships –Student projects –Special projects (e.g. GUIDs, deployments)

Similar Standards Agencies Membership$ GGF –Individual: $1,000 –Organisation: $3,000-$50,000 IETF –Free OASIS –Individual: $250 –Organisation: $6,000-$45,000 OGC –Associate: $500-$4,400 –Technical, Principal, Strategic: $11,000-$250,000 (in kind) WSI –Associate (SDO): Free –Contributing: $3,000 W3C –Country & Agency dependent: $12,000-$70,000

Ahead Build a quality TDWG (process, architecture, documentation, ‘environment’ Expand outreach Identify what would attract institutions to support TDWG –Influence, recognition, insight Identify potential institutional members Seek more on funding models of parallel standards agencies and motivations used for membership (see standards review paper) Identify agencies and specifications for supportable projects Review paper (#34: October 2006) Provide an update at TDWG 2006 Executive meeting on funding brochure (#37: November 2006)

Adrian’s Discussion Points 1.Getting people (and especially institutions) to pay up at the start of the membership year. It is very common that people only pay up at or soon after the Annual Meeting, under threat of losing their voting rights. 2.The level of membership fees. 3.Membership fees relative to Annual Meeting registration fees. 4.What "benefit" can we offer Corporate members? (Lee: this is a fundamental issue)