We had a lot of really great discussion last Tuesday, which we’ll continue live in upcoming meetups and in Slack. If you have thoughts or opinions, we want to hear them.

Decisions made

  • Per the request of OakCrime’s former project lead, OpenOakland will transfer the oakcrime.org domain back to him, since that project has been decommissioned. The brigade’s default policy will be to maintain project documentation but update key public-facing docs to reflect a project’s decommissioned status, with any repos being archived as read-only. In the case of OakCrime, we have agreed to include a link to the current non-OO maintainer, provided all OO branding is removed and it’s clear that the project is independent of OO and not endorsed in any way.

Updates

  • Code for America has announced that National Day of Civic Hacking’s theme will be 911 reform. It remains to be seen whether it makes sense for OpenOakland to be directly involved in project work relating to this (OpenOakland doesn’t have a strong policing reform/justice track record and the potential for getting it wrong could have meaningful impact on historically marginalized Oaklanders). Is there some way we could use this as a learning opportunity?

  • As we build out a volunteer management system, we’ll need to have discussions around personal data management and privacy, and access. Interested? Join #oo-brigade-operations in Slack (instructions).

  • Elects and Ombuds are continuing their conversation about updating the Code of Conduct and Ombuds process, and will share some themes, takeaways, and next steps at an upcoming meeting.

  • Representation and equity work will continue as an ongoing brigade theme. Next steps include sharing out past DEIA work and inviting folks to join an ongoing working group. If you’re interested in exploring, please say hello in #oo-diversity-equity (Slack instructions).

Project ideas

  • New member Shro Jacque shared about her work teaching kids CompSci at Coliseum College Prep (CCPA). The students do a capstone type project and she would love to get them involved with more real-world experiences. Ideas discussed included a fun Shark Tank-type pitch/crit session, offering the Open Budget API to students, etc. Anyone interested should say hello in #topic-community-needs.

  • CCPA also is in need of a staff intranet, which could conceivably be produced in the spirit of La Escuelita. Interested folks should reach out to Shro (@Shrotriyee Jacque in Slack) to start an Exploration Worksheet.

Discussion: Next steps for member feedback synthesis process

  • Initiative goals: to address prior member feedback, create brigade priorities, and identify actions to address them. Next step is to refine priorities and brainstorm actions.

  • General desire to make time for this work during regular meetings but people are flexible in what that looks like. Need a process that allows for active participation, passive input, and informing out/updates.

  • Elects recommend a working group that meets outside of SC, hosts working sessions (some of which can be part of hack night agenda), and reports into SC for votes on key decisions, milestones, and actions.

Discussion: When/how/if to bring back in-person meetings

  • People vary in their current comfort level. We need to gauge what would be required for folks to fully feel comfortable. Would definitely need to identify safety precautions and enforcement process.

  • Options discussed included 1x/2x a month instead of weekly, a live-remote feed during in-persons (very challenging technically and collaboratively), and/or exploring other venues incl. outdoor (challenging for technical and security reasons).

  • Lots of great ideas around alternative venues that might be less enclosed and build community relationships, as well as a desire for more socializing opportunity, like an open house, to be more welcoming to new folks.

  • Next steps: need to find a way to solicit feedback internally and externally.

(Steering Committee meets the Third Tuesday of each month and is open to all OpenOakland members. Read more about how Steering Committee works and how to participate.