Re: Question for candidates: transparency and accountability

[Cosimo Cecchi <cosimoc gnome org>]

Hi Fabiana,

On Mon, May 25, 2015 at 3:39 AM, Fabiana Simões <fabianapsimoes gmail com> wrote:

How transparent the work of the Board should be to Foundation members? What should be communicated and when? Do you think we have been transparent enough in the last term? If not, how can we improve things and how high in your priorities would be to do so?

I value transparency a lot, and I think the Board should be as transparent as it can - but not more.

That is, I understand that some discussions need to happen first behind closed doors. For instance, when discussing a matter publicly might negatively impact the outcome for the Foundation (legal matters for instance), or when some dispute arises between Foundation members that wish to stay private.

I think the board has been transparent enough in the last term, and I much appreciated the minutes being more timely than in the past.

I share Allan's feeling that the activities of the Foundation would be naturally perceived as more transparent, among other things, if other teams were more often delegated tasks that are currently the sole responsibility of the Board members.

In terms of accountability, it's been unclear to me since joining the Foundation how much different Board members contribute to the Board's goals and tasks. Do you think the meeting notes provide enough visibility and context to the work being done? By the end of a term, how can the Foundation have a fair understanding of one's contributions to the Board?

I very much agree with this sentiment; the way information is presented today does not lend itself to that kind of visualization.

I wouldn't suggest that a quantitative approach to e.g. tasks completed by a Board member during one term would be a fair assessment of all the work that particular person has done, but I can see how a different presentation of the Foundation activities, where tasks can be easily followed and information found in a single place, would be beneficial to making members feel more engaged. Moving off e-mail and towards publicly accessible tools like kanban boards, among others, is a direction worth exploring IMO.

Cosimo