Petervdv: /* The essentials */ +wikilink

2020-06-25T17:59:50Z

The essentials: +wikilink

← Oudere versie		Versie van 25 jun 2020 17:59
Regel 1:		Regel 1:
	We need money to operate.		We need money to operate.

	== Rationale ==		==Rationale==

	When there is unlabeled money to spend there is also discussion,		When there is unlabeled money to spend there is also discussion,
Regel 16:		Regel 16:
	infighting, while allowing to still collect and spend money on things.		infighting, while allowing to still collect and spend money on things.

	== The Foundation ==		==The Foundation==

	The main goal of the the Hackerspace Nijmegen Foundation is to focus		The main goal of the the Hackerspace Nijmegen Foundation is to focus
Regel 24:		Regel 24:
	authority over it.		authority over it.

	== The community ==		==The community==

	By minimizing the authority of the foundation the responsibility is		By minimizing the authority of the foundation the responsibility is
Regel 55:		Regel 55:
	minority really wants.		minority really wants.

	== Income ==		==Income==

	It is important to note that the income of the hackerspace are more		It is important to note that the income of the hackerspace are more
Regel 65:		Regel 65:
	(like self-baked cookies, homebrew beer, etc), etc.		(like self-baked cookies, homebrew beer, etc), etc.

	== The budgets ==		==The budgets==

	The operation of a hackerspace involves a bunch of different budgets,		The operation of a hackerspace involves a bunch of different budgets,
Regel 71:		Regel 71:
	interest.		interest.

	=== The essentials ===		===The essentials===

	The most important budget is the monthly operating cost of a space:		The most important budget is the monthly operating cost of a space:
Regel 80:		Regel 80:
	interest of everyone caring about the space, the budget is collected		interest of everyone caring about the space, the budget is collected
	by the monthly contributions and governed by the principles laid out		by the monthly contributions and governed by the principles laid out
	in [contributing]~~(contributing)~~. The monthly contributors are		in [[contributing]]. The monthly contributors are
	directly responsible for the sustainability of the space. If there is		directly responsible for the sustainability of the space. If there is
	not enough contributors to pay for the essential upkeep costs then		not enough contributors to pay for the essential upkeep costs then
Regel 91:		Regel 91:
	- Purpose: rent		- Purpose: rent

	== General Interest Budgets ==		==General Interest Budgets==

	There is a bunch of general interest budgets that although not all		There is a bunch of general interest budgets that although not all
Regel 97:		Regel 97:
	events.		events.

	=== Emergency Budget ===		===Emergency Budget===

	One budget that has been noted is an emergency budget in case of some		One budget that has been noted is an emergency budget in case of some
Regel 120:		Regel 120:
	Nijmegen.		Nijmegen.

	=== Fluctuation Smoothing Budget ===		===Fluctuation Smoothing Budget===

	In case a monthly contribute fails to chip in their part for whatever		In case a monthly contribute fails to chip in their part for whatever
Regel 131:		Regel 131:
	contributions in another way.		contributions in another way.

	=== Operating Budget ===		===Operating Budget===

	This budget is mostly for replacing consumables like soap,		This budget is mostly for replacing consumables like soap,
Regel 143:		Regel 143:
	budget can be filled up with the proceeds of the bar.		budget can be filled up with the proceeds of the bar.

	=== Continuity Budget ===		===Continuity Budget===

	In case we have to move out of the current place and only find		In case we have to move out of the current place and only find
Regel 155:		Regel 155:
	operate at 2x the price for that amount of time).		operate at 2x the price for that amount of time).

	== Specific Interest Budgets ==		==Specific Interest Budgets==

	All other budgets that are not covered by the General Interest Budgets		All other budgets that are not covered by the General Interest Budgets
Regel 199:		Regel 199:
	specific goal of paying the upkeep.		specific goal of paying the upkeep.

	== Thanks ==		==Thanks==

	Thanks to themba, joostvb, sa007, ayke, raboof, mrngm, buzz, bugblue,		Thanks to themba, joostvb, sa007, ayke, raboof, mrngm, buzz, bugblue,
	dekkers, realitygaps for all the inspiring comments and questions.		dekkers, realitygaps for all the inspiring comments and questions.

SA007: Copied from old wiki - last change 5 june 2018

2019-01-30T19:38:08Z

Copied from old wiki - last change 5 june 2018

Nieuwe pagina

We need money to operate.

== Rationale ==

When there is unlabeled money to spend there is also discussion,
arguments, bikeshedding and sometimes fights how to spend it. This is
not healthy for a community. Some organizations solve this by having
an authoritarian decision making entity (dictator, committee, board,
etc.), this does not solve the problem, but only creates an
abstraction converting the fights on how to spend the money into
fights over who has authority to decide. This is also not healthy for
a community. Another unhealthy solution is not to collect any money
and not to have centralized decision-making entity.

The following is a description of a system that minimizes community
infighting, while allowing to still collect and spend money on things.

== The Foundation ==

The main goal of the the Hackerspace Nijmegen Foundation is to focus
on providing a physical location, by taking care of collecting
contributions for the upkeep of it. Minimizing power over the budget of
the foundation makes it a servant of the community and not an
authority over it.

== The community ==

By minimizing the authority of the foundation the responsibility is
shifted to the community. Members of the community can start to
collect money to spend on certain things. This has many benefits:

1. anyone can be steward of a project, there is no
single-point-of-failure.

2. committed members decide on collection and spending instead of
the general community, which reduces bikeshedding and smartassing
by uninvolved bystanders.

3. Expertise and contributions matter when making decisions, instead
of seniority of some committee.

4. There is no single entity to take control of to control the
community.

5. Members assume responsibility and thus increase their commitment
instead of waiting for/blaming the authority.

6. Votes in favor of spending for a certain goal can be measured
directly in money or other contributions donated to this goal,
eliminating endless discussions.

Contrast this with one big unlabeled budget governed by a
committee/board and all the general discussions and votes when someone
wants to spend part of it for something that no one else or only a
minority really wants.

== Income ==

It is important to note that the income of the hackerspace are more
diverse than only monthly contributions from members. There is income
generated from selling beverages/munchies, there is income generated
by participating in events (like the AVG awareness event at the
Province), donations by visitors, proceeds from sales of kits,
t-shirts, other merchandise, in-kind contributions sold at events
(like self-baked cookies, homebrew beer, etc), etc.

== The budgets ==

The operation of a hackerspace involves a bunch of different budgets,
some are essential, some are of general interest and some are specific
interest.

=== The essentials ===

The most important budget is the monthly operating cost of a space:
the rent and the utilities (electricity, water, internet, bank account,
insurance). This is a budget that is essential, without there would be
no space, and little community. This budget and the contract with the
landlord is the reason for the existence of the foundation. It is the
interest of everyone caring about the space, the budget is collected
by the monthly contributions and governed by the principles laid out
in [contributing](contributing). The monthly contributors are
directly responsible for the sustainability of the space. If there is
not enough contributors to pay for the essential upkeep costs then
that implicitly means there is not enough interest/demand for a
hackerspace, and it is thus cheapest to cease operations and maybe
virtualize or disband entirely.

- Owner: Foundation
- Size: ~350EUR/month
- Purpose: rent

== General Interest Budgets ==

There is a bunch of general interest budgets that although not all
necessary for the daily operations, they are useful for certain
events.

=== Emergency Budget ===

One budget that has been noted is an emergency budget in case of some
major accident like the roof leaking or suddenly all monthly
contributors stopping at once. This budget should be at least one
month of rent in case of canceling the contract. The maximum should
be chosen so that this budget does not constitute too much dead
money. The most important about this budget is, that is should be only
used for emergencies. After filling up this budget there is no need to
collect more, so this should not be a regular burden for the monthly
contributions, only as long as the decided buffer is not filled
up. This budget should also be handled by the foundation.

- Owner: Foundation
- Size: minimum 287EUR (one month cancellation fee), maximum 6-700 eur?
- Purpose: emergencies

It is important to note that this budget is not intended to cover up
the case when there is not enough contributors to the monthly
upkeep. That case is not an emergency, that case is a clear indicator
that there is no demand at this cost to operate a hackerspace in
Nijmegen.

=== Fluctuation Smoothing Budget ===

In case a monthly contribute fails to chip in their part for whatever
reason the others should not be forced to change their contributions
accordingly. For this a small smoothing buffer of 2-3 average monthly
contributions should be maintained by the foundation. This should
smooth out fluctuations and provide some leeway for other contributors
to figure out if this is a permanent change and adjust their own
monthly contributions or if there is a way to resolve the missing
contributions in another way.

=== Operating Budget ===

This budget is mostly for replacing consumables like soap,
toilet-paper, cleaning chemicals, light bulbs, etc. stuff that breaks
or needs replacement regularly. This budget does not have to be to
big, a few dozen euros should be enough. Also important is that this
is spent on things that are urgent and can be handled by anyone. The
proposal is to keep a bit of cash for these kind of expenses directly
in the space so that members who notice something needs replacement
can quickly and unbureaucraticly replace what needs replacing. This
budget can be filled up with the proceeds of the bar.

=== Continuity Budget ===

In case we have to move out of the current place and only find
something more expensive we could setup a budget to bridge the gap
between the current and the new rent. This gives us a possibility to
recruit more contributing members, and if we fail to make the new
space sustainable we can decide to scale down again to something we
can afford or to disband. This budget would be handled by the
foundation. The size of this is up for debate, but should probably not
be more than a few months of the current rent (which means we can
operate at 2x the price for that amount of time).

== Specific Interest Budgets ==

All other budgets that are not covered by the General Interest Budgets
are special interest budgets and should be handled by those who want
to work towards a specific goal. Specific goals most often include
general decoration and investment into new tools. Taking
responsibility for an investment speeds up the process, instead of
having to wait for some committee to discuss and decide whether and
how to do things, those who are committed to the goal self-organize
and collect the money themselves for this goal. If the goal is widely
recognized as a worthy goal for the community then the support will be
quickly gathered, if there is little interest in a goal that will also
be quickly determined. Instead of long never ending threads on IRC or
mailing list, things get decided by the material and financial support
towards reaching a goal. This not only decentralizes the decision
making, it also ensures that the decision is made by those committed to
the idea and it is not impeded by those who are only bystanders. It is
much easier to collect financial support for specific goals like:

- "we want to buy this display $url for the decoration of the space it costs $eur"
- "we want to buy this laser cutter $url for $eur"

Goals that are more generic will have a harder time to collect the
necessary resources, and will also generate much more discussion and
disagreement in the community especially when factions committed to
the budget do not agree on spending it for something more concrete.

All this does not mean there cannot be some very unspecific budget
built up and handled by some members of the community. It only means
that the foundation itself will only be a party to this if there is a
clear financial benefit (e.g tax optimization) or contractual
obligation (like the rental contract). Even if the foundations is
involved in such budgets the decision of how to spend this lies with
those committed to the goal for which the budget was setup, the
foundation only provides a bank account and legal entity, no decision
authority.

Specific interest budgets should be handled separately from the
monthly contributions for the upkeep as they are ad-hoc and optional.

The monthly upkeep budget can be considered a special case of the
Special Interest Budget. The community contributes to the very
specific goal of paying the upkeep.

== Thanks ==

Thanks to themba, joostvb, sa007, ayke, raboof, mrngm, buzz, bugblue,
dekkers, realitygaps for all the inspiring comments and questions.

Budgets - Bewerkingsoverzicht

Petervdv: /* The essentials */ +wikilink

SA007: Copied from old wiki - last change 5 june 2018