Foundation/AGM2024/Election to Board/Answers and manifestos/Q04 Strategic Vision and Sustainability
Strategic Vision and Sustainability
What are your thoughts on the OSMF’s strategic plan, and what changes would you suggest to ensure OpenStreetMap’s long-term sustainability? If elected, what would be your top priority? Do you think the OSMF should proceed with the planned relocation outside the UK?
Craig Allan - Q04 Strategic Vision and Sustainability
The current published OSMF strategic plan is fairly comprehensive. There is a longer more detailed plan available if you’re interested, but that larger plan was sensibly cut down to a version with just the priority projects because there are far more things to do than there are people to do the work.
Implementation is the hard part. I have been preparing for this by copying the plan to GitLab and building it out for implementation. You’ll find the beginnings of the implementation plan on our GitLab at this link. OSM will be sustainable if we can (a) ensure a good supply of volunteers, (b) maintain the OSM culture and (c) keep the servers running. Those actions are already in the strategic plan, with a lot more detail than I can provide here because to implement them you need to unpack them into many achievable actions. My top strategic priority is to continue my work on ensuring full implementation of the strategic plan.
Relocation outside the UK is being implemented because Brexit changed the way the our databases are protected by law. I do support the move and if re-elected I will be carrying on Sarah’s great work on the move. We have come a long way and will putting our work before the members for a final vote in October 2025. We have also already moved our banking to EU banks because UK banks would not allow us to receive funds from certain UK blacklisted countries.
Brazil Singh - Q04 Strategic Vision and Sustainability
I appreciate the plan’s emphasis on community engagement, data quality, and technological innovation. While the plan touches on inclusivity, I would like to see a more explicit focus on increasing diversity within the community and leadership. This includes targeted initiatives to involve underrepresented groups, regions, and communities in OSM activities. The strategic plan should place greater emphasis on diversifying funding sources to ensure long-term financial stability. This could involve exploring new partnerships, grants, and revenue models that align with OSM’s open and community-driven ethos. There should be more focus on building the capacity of local communities, especially in regions where mapping activities are less developed. This could include more training programs, resources, and support for local leaders and contributors. I could say continue to invest in improving the OSM platform’s infrastructure, ensuring it remains user-friendly, scalable, and capable of handling the growing volume of data and contributors. If elected, my top priority would be to enhance community engagement and inclusivity. I would work towards creating a more welcoming environment for new contributors and ensuring that all voices, particularly from underrepresented regions, are heard and included in decision-making processes.
Thoughts on Relocating OSMF Outside the UK
The potential relocation of the OSMF outside the UK due to Brexit limitations is a complex issue that requires careful consideration. While there are valid concerns about the challenges posed by the UK’s current regulatory environment, the decision to relocate should be made with input from the entire community and after thoroughly assessing the implications. If the relocation is deemed necessary to ensure OSMF’s operational efficiency and ability to continue its mission without legal or financial hindrances, then it should proceed. However, the process should be transparent, with clear communication to the community about the reasons, benefits, and potential challenges of such a move. Additionally, the impact on OSMF’s current staff, volunteers, and partners should be carefully managed to minimize disruption.
Courtney Cook Williamson - Q04 Strategic Vision and Sustainability
I think the current Strategic Plan is too large and too ambitious to be very actionable. One of the easiest ways to prioritize strategies is to determine how much they will cost in time or money. I think the board should commit to choosing no more than three actionable strategies for 2025 and commit to allocating the funds and time to realizing them.
I don’t know enough about the UK question to answer affirmatively, but I would ask questions about whether or not we are moving for important reasons that will benefit OSM.org, or if we are moving to accommodate parts of the OSMF charter or structure that need to be improved.
Maurizio Napolitano - Q04 Strategic Vision and Sustainability
The OSMF strategic plan is a strong roadmap for improving the project’s technical infrastructure, community development, and financial sustainability. However, a key challenge remains the heavy reliance on volunteers, which could slow implementation, and the need for more structured financial management. If elected, my top priority would be to strengthen OSMF’s engagement with the European Commission. I believe OpenStreetMap can play a pivotal role in shaping open geospatial data policies in Europe. By increasing collaboration with public institutions, we can ensure OSM is protected as a critical digital common and foster its use as a reference for open data initiatives. In this context, I fully support the relocation of OSMF outside the UK due to Brexit. Relocating to the EU would not only mitigate potential legal and operational risks but also align the organization with the European regulatory framework, which supports open data and cross-border collaboration. This move would be key in reinforcing OSM’s position as best opendata practice for public and private sector innovation in Europe.
Can Ünen - Q04 Strategic Vision and Sustainability
The strategic plan addresses multiple key points that would ensure the long term sustainability and the functionality of OpenStreetMap. It would require the analysis for dependencies in between the goals stated in the strategic plan and a prioritization in terms of urgency and impact instead of tackling them all together at the same time. My top priorities from my own standpoint would first be strengthening the institutional and organizational structure of the foundation in terms of workforce, governance and tooling. The reason I haven’t prioritized community development is due to the presence of a wide and active community already. But the second priority needs to be strengthening the bridges between OSMF and the community and helping the voices of more and more local communities to be heard within the organization.
Michael Montani - Q04 Strategic Vision and Sustainability
I think the OSMF's strategic plan is very well thought and complete. I believe all the elements ensuring OpenStreetMap's long-term sustainability are already included, especially the focus on the maintenance of the infrastructure of the project and the objectives on community attraction and development.
I do not feel like new ideas have to be brought in, even after the appearance of Overture Maps Foundation (see Q14 for more details) or coordinated vandalism bot attacks (see Q12).
As stated in Q1, if elected to the OSMF Board, my top priority would be helping the OSMF increasing the visibility of OSM at the institutional level (intergovernmental agencies, national governments), with the final goal of spreading OSM usage in national cartographic agencies and educational systems, and possibly find potential donors and attract new contributors. I am aware of complicacies that this may involve especially with countries which are particularly protective on their geospatial data and claimed boundaries (Q7). On my side I do have some experience interfacing with members of national cartographic agencies, intergovernmental agencies and politicians and explaining technical topics with clarity to non-GIS audience.
I think the OSMF should relocate outside the UK if it proves to be beneficial on many aspects, and will work with other OSMF Board members for it to happen.
Andrés Gómez Casanova - Q04 Strategic Vision and Sustainability
OSM should maintain a neutral position towards the project development and avoid developing OSM project activities (code development, indicating forms of mapping, etc.). On the other hand, it should broaden its spectrum of support and integrate important projects managed by small communities or even one person. Projects include data quality measurement, OSM statistics, other map or visualization types, contribution profiles, data downloading, etc. People often associate these external projects with OSMF or the OSM project. When they fail, they generate a terrible image where the whole ecosystem loses credibility.
The OSMF must choose what is best for the project and constantly review its current state to keep it dynamic. It is vital to renew itself and ensure its supporting projects align with market trends (formats, programming languages, development techniques, technology platforms).
The decision to leave the UK for the EU was taken a few years ago, but its implementation has been complicated. This plan must continue to be executed to facilitate the financial issue, but it requires more people to be able to carry it out in another country.
In general, situations particular to the OSMF, such as moving out of the UK, should be communicated through OSM channels to ask for help and for other members to collaborate in the implementation.
Laura Mugeha - Q04 Strategic Vision and Sustainability
The OSMF's strategic plan provides a solid foundation for what OpenStreetMap's growth would look like. I particularly appreciate its focus on empowering local communities. However, I believe we can enhance the plan to better address the evolving needs of our global community and the challenges we face. I think there is room for supporting OSM communities further; we have hundreds of communities across the world, but just a few are official local chapters. I think there's a need for the board and LCCWG to review the application process and put in measures for application support, like office hours.
I would like to support the implementation of a comprehensive strategy for engaging and supporting OSM communities; I believe that by doing so, we can drive innovation, improve global map coverage, and ensure that OSM truly serves diverse needs worldwide.
While maintaining crucial technical infrastructure is essential, I believe there's significant potential in collaborating with other open source communities to improve and help drive the development of the platform. I think there is a lot to learn from the recent initiative by OSM US to incubate projects like OSMCha and MapRoulette; the foundation could do some more to support tools that the OSM community regularly uses.
Regarding the planned relocation outside the UK, I understand that its a complex issue that requires careful consideration. While there are potential benefits to relocating to an EU country, such as alignment with GDPR, we must also consider the costs and operational challenges of such a move. I would suggest conducting an analysis comparing the resources required, alternative options, and benefits of relocation versus remaining in the UK. Overall, I think the decision should be made based on what best serves the OSM project and community rather than solely in response to political changes.
Héctor Ochoa Ortiz - Q04 Strategic Vision and Sustainability
I believe that improving current fundraising strategies is the most important priority for OSM’s sustainability. Without enough resources, any of the Foundation’s ongoing and future plans will be slowed down, limited, or canceled.
Regarding OSMF’s relocation to the EU, I do not have the legal knowledge to determine how much the database copyright issue will affect after Brexit. However, I see this as the most important reason to make the move, so if the worries are confirmed to be true, I will support the move.
Español
Creo que mejorar las estrategias actuales de recaudación de fondos es la prioridad más importante para la sostenibilidad de OSM. Sin suficientes recursos, cualquiera de los planes actuales y futuros de la Fundación se verá ralentizado, limitado o cancelado.
En cuanto a la reubicación de la OSMF a la UE, no tengo el conocimiento legal para determinar cuánto afectará el problema de los derechos de autor de la base de datos después del Brexit. Sin embargo, veo esto como la razón más importante para hacer el cambio, por lo que si las preocupaciones se confirman como ciertas, lo apoyaré.
Arun Ganesh - Q04 Strategic Vision and Sustainability
The strategic plan is a very well-composed document that brings clarity to where the project's resources need to be focused. There's nothing to suggest for immediate changes apart from ensuring regular review and realignment to ensure that the plan remains a relevant living document as per its original design.
My priority would be to improve the visibility and reputation of the project. It's unfortunate most people I've met are still unaware of the existence of the project even though they would have used an application powered by OSM data.
I have not reviewed the implications of relocation and do not have any strong opinions outside of what would be a logical recommendation in the core interests of the project.
OSM Foundation's board election 2024: official questions
Q01 Motivation and Objectives
| Q02 Conflict of Interest Management
| Q03 Transparency and Accountability
| Q04 Strategic Vision and Sustainability
| Q05 Decision-Making and Collaboration
| Q06 Fundraising and Resource Development
| Q07 Handling Legal and Political Challenges
| Q08 State of the Map
| Q09 Your Community Contributions
| Q10 Promoting Community and Attracting Volunteers
| Q11 Technology and Innovation
| Q12 Data Quality and Protection
| Q13 Perspective on Open Source
| Q14 Perspective on Overture Maps
All board candidates' manifestos
2024 OpenStreetMap Foundation's: Board election - Voting information and instructions - Annual General Meeting
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