On 11/03/15 at 20:49 +0100, martin f krafft wrote: > also sprach Lucas Nussbaum <leader@debian.org> [2015-03-11 18:53 +0100]: > > > Do you have a maximum amount of Debian funds you can allocate to > > > bursaries to do their work when they have sighted the > > > applications in April? Or a target? > > > > No, not really. I'm really open to hearing what they think. > > Ok. > > My task is to get a budget approved and my deadline is February, so > I am late. I think that we should clarify what 'budget approval' means, maybe. From my perspective, it means: - Chairs and DPL have looked at it, and are fine with the general shape of it - We agree on a plan about how to address the remaining questions - Changes can still be made, but major changes require discussion with Chairs and/or DPL > I have a vested interest to move this forward now, > especially since we have some decisions to make in March, e.g. the > conference dinner needs a dry signature by the end of this month > (before bursaries can start). Arg, I wasn't aware of that, and was assuming that none of the 'optional stuff' required funding decisions that early. > I interpret your statements to mean that we should not include any > Debian funds in the budget at this point, but that you're willing to > engage with bursaries to assess needs once those are known and work > with them to ensure that the needs and goals are met. > > Therefore, I have committed a new budget (proposal), with — in the > worst case only — 15k less for travel sponsorship, but enabling conf > dinner¹ and a basic day trip. > > Here's my rationale: > > The previously allocated, worst-case travel sponsorship of 30k is at > the lower end but definitely comparable to previous years > (unfortunately, no numbers exist about how money was actually used). > > I think Debian can easily allocate 15k to DC15, especially if such > funds go exclusively towards funding travel of people wishing to > attend. > > Any additional Euro Debian is willing to allocate once the bursaries > data are known will go toward increasing the amount of travel > sponsorship, as well as the rate of sponsored people, which is > currently at 35 % (i.e. 1 out of 3 people gets room&board paid for). > > If we manage to reach our fundraising goals, then the travel > sponsorship budget accounted for out of our own income increases to > 30k, so Debian's 15k will push it to 45k EUR, which is the highest > it's ever been. > > Furthermore, I am reasonably confident that the budget is planned > "conservatively" and the outlook is green, such that we will be able > to repay those advances by Debian, and contribute out of our own > strength towards meeting one of the DebConf goals and getting (even) > more people involved. > > At the same time, we are ensuring that we can move on towards what > some consider important and "not-so-optional" stuff, e.g. conf > dinner and day trip without entering risks that could later cause > problems or discussions, at least. > > ¹) The conf dinner is a tradition by now and we must not forget that > the majority of DebConf attendees fund their own attendance. Plus, > it's an important event for the local team with high motivational > value, and people are already working on it. So while we're > definitely making sure to stay within reasonable bounds in terms of > costs and what we offer, I don't think the conf dinner is to be > considered entirely optional anymore, as long as it stays well > grounded. Our idea for DC15 is just that, regionally typical too, > and promising to be a memorable evening. > > Hoping this makes sense and can be agreed upon, OK, I think I can live with the above (provided the chairs agree as well). However, please don't consider it for granted that we will use all the travel sponsorship budget. How much is used should still be based on the evaluation and recommendation by the bursaries. Lucas
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