Since this is the fifth post of the Building Innovation Nodes Through Free Software Communities, I strongly recommend you to read the previous four (I, II, III and IV)
This post will explain my ideas about what are the basic services that the initiative should provide so Local Free Software Communities (LFSC) and local player might organize activities that allow the project to be successful.
As enumerated in the second post of the series, the basic services that should be provided by the project to its members can be divided in six major areas:
- Administrative.
- Legal.
- Financial and accounting.
- Marketing and communication.
- Business development.
- Facilities maintenance and management.
The rest of the activities needed will be developed by participants, that is LFSC members, the catalyst organization or local players.
1.- Administrative
The administrative service can be divided in the following way:
- Administrative services related with the project itself.
- Administrative services targeting Local Free Software Communities.
- All of the above.
1.1.- Administrative services related with the project itself
- Board support: as you can read in the Organization section, the project will be managed by a Board, elected from the Assembly. This Board will need administrative support.
- Contact/agenda management for project representatives.
- Accommodation management for activities organized within the project.
1.2.- Administrative services targeting Local Free Software Communities.
LFSC legalization: help LFSC that want to become part of the project in the near future with the basic administrative work in order for them to become a legal entity.
1.3.- Administrative services for both, the project and every LFSC participant
- Regular post management: notifications, legal papers and material shipment, this is, regular post service is one of those difficult area to manage when you are a distributed organization where board members chance quiet often.
- Membership management: the management of current and new members is a tedious task that every organization must put resources on. Having an administrative service can help them to become more efficient, specially to those where a each member has to make a yearly quota.
2.- Legal
The basic legal services needed are:
- Advice about basic legal aspects related with statutes and everyday decisions and operations for any LFSC and the project itself.
- Basic legal advice about licensing.
- Legalization of LFSC.
- Institutional agreements.
- Legal advice related with funding.
3.- Financial and accounting
This service should be given to the project itself and for every project member:
- Accounting support.
- Budget and economic reports. Costs control.
- Advice in financial decision and taxes.
4.- Marketing and communication
- LFSC and Project activities promotion in mainstream and social media.
- Project press releases and announcements.
- Local marketing actions support.
5.- Business development
Since the project will need to look for funds in order to grow, business development activities become a key part. The project will provide a service in this area that support participants the following areas:
- Relation with local agents/players.
- Sponsorship management support.
In another article I will talk about the resources needed to lauch the project and make it sustainable.
6.- Facilities maintenance and management
The facilities assigned to the project will be when the activities take place. The project will provide the following services:
- Facilities management.
- Security.
- Material manage, storage and control.
- Activities support.
- Connectivity.
and others needed to organize and support the activities defined by participants.
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