Minutes of the meeting of the PICISOC Board

11 December 2012, 0600UTC

 

Present: Maureen, Etuate, Ellen, Emani

Apologies: David

No apologies: Louise, Andrew

 

Formal motions:

  1. That the Board will provide USD500 for Etuate to cover incidental expenses at the PacNOG meeting in Vanuatu.  (Emani/Ellen. Passed) Refer to Action #9
  1. That the PICISOC website be gradually transferred from the server in Vanuatu, to SiteHost in NZ. (Maureen/Ellen, Passed) Refer to Action #11 and Note #5

 

Actions from meeting

Actions By whom? By when?
1 Provide link for meeting room of Beijing organisation committee meeting to be held on Thursday 12th at 0500UTC Maureen Now
2 Have a chat with Internet NZ about PIP’s involvement in future PacINETs Ellen Next mtg of InternetNZ
3 Provide link for Pacific Next Generation camp (possible opportunity for Board research team) – Ellen and Etuate Etuate asap
4 Investigate how PITA was able to access fellowships directly from ISOC – yet we can only get USD2000 per event. Check with Raj. Maureen Asap (16th msg query sent to Fred re ISOC Fellowship cc Etuate)
5 Set up a Google Doc Calendar (linked to website?) to inform people about meetings, conferences, etc that PICISOC members are participating in Emani asap
6 Ascertain if we need to change the meeting time (0600UTC) to enable attendance of Vanuatu Board members who have not made the last two meetings with no communication. Emani asap
7 Introduce voucher payment system and identify two signatories for Board cheques in Fiji (until some other system is organised) so that payment to Etuate can be made Louise asap
8 Treasurer’s report for Board, with statement of expenses for PacINET to be distributed to Board Louise asap
9 Policy and procedures to be developed re: applications for partial financial sponsorship for Board representation at PICISOC-related events. Ellen & Louise asap
10 Fundraising – check with Raj with regards to the implications of fundraising activities on Fiji tax laws, etc  and how we can effectively access our funds in Fiji, or perhaps move them. Maureen Asap (16th, letter to Raj re account issues, cc Ellen)
11 Gradual transfer of PICISOC website to SiteHost (NZ); Update and reorganise information to make it easy to locate. To be sponsored initially, but ongoing cost to be incorporated into business plan Emani & Etuati On-going(DONE) 15th MH sent thnx letter to former webteam
12 Ask ISOC about their earlier offer for  financial assistance for website hosting Maureen Asap (16th to Christine S & Chapter support, cc Emani)
13 Incorporate corporate fees mechanism into the business plan Emani, David Ongoing

 

NOTES from Board discussion:

  1. Chair report; omitted was input of Chair into Organising committee for the ICANN Beijing meeting (April 7-12, 2013). Last meeting was held on Tues before I left Fiji, and Shivanjni of PIRRC also attended. This fortnight’s meeting to be held in the Adobe Connect room: http://icann.adobeconnect.com/apralo
  1. Re: Don Hollanders comments about PacINET. We discussed rationale for maintaining outreach within different member countries each year,  with the Board’s challenge being to outreach to those countries that find it difficult to send members to PacINETs. Perhaps we need to rethink PacINET’s format so that we provide a balance of governance and technical input.
  1. Etuate is involved with Pacific Next Generation group and is interested in developing Pacific research that can be presented at next PacINET. Ellen to assist.
  1. Etuate attending PacNOG conference and workshop in Vanuatu – this was a last minute opportunity he was offered, thus the late application for financial support. Good interaction with and feedback from members to his reports.
  2. Thanks to Rocket Systems in association with Internet Niue for hosting transferred PICISOC site on SiteHost, until such time as we can afford to pay our own way. I will continue to seek clarification about ISOC funding of website hosting. I have already asked them once, but got no response.
  1. Asking for donations could raise issues about donor agendas. While our general membership will always be free, we must look at a model that asks for membership fees from corporations or businesses who want to be associated with PICISOC.

PS (1) : although we are a not-for-profit organisation, we are allowed to fundraise and to get grants, etc. We just can’t sell things to make a profit for any individuals in the organisation.

PS (2): Our membership figure is currently standing at 808… so there has been an increase in membership since PacINET.  Unfortunately we can’t say if streaming the event had any impact on this cos we don’t know how many participated online. For this reason we need to get a membership survey out to new applicants, in particular, to ask them how they found out about us, and what they are expecting from their membership, and anything else you think is appropriate (DAVID, ANDREW & EMANI). I’ll leave that in your capable hands.

Thanks for a very productive meeting

Maureen