Voices of Open Source

OSI Policy Team

OSI Board of Directors Call for Nominations

The Open Source Initiative (OSI) is pleased to announce our 2017 election and seeks your nominations for candidates to serve on the OSI Board of Directors. This year, 2017, three (3) Individual Members seats are open, and one (1) Affiliate Member seat.

The Open Source Initiative (OSI) is managed by a member-elected Board of Directors that is the ultimate authority responsible for the organization as a California public benefit corporation, with 501(c)3 tax-exempt status. The Board’s responsibilities include oversight of the organization, including its operations, staff and budget; setting strategic direction and defining goals in line with the mission, and; serving the community through committees and working groups. The eleven person Board is composed of Directors elected by OSI Individual Members (5) and Affiliate Members (5). The General Manager of the OSI also serves on the Board as a Director (ex officio). The results of elections for both Individual and Affiliate Member Board seats are advisory with the OSI Board making the formal appointments to open seats based on the community’s votes. Further details can be found at: https://opensource.org/elections

Call for nominations and important dates.

  • January 1, 2017: Election announcements for individual and affiliate seats
  • February 1, 2017: Nominations open
  • February 15, 2017: Nominations close (Candidates’ platform is required upon nomination)
  • February 15 – 28, 2017: Meet the candidates
  • March 1, 2017: Voting opens
  • March 14, 2017 (midnight PST): Voting closes
  • March 15 – 21, 2017: Run-off elections (if needed)
  • March 29, 2017: Board ratifies vote
  • April 1, 2017: Elected members take seats

ELIGIBILITY

The 2017 elections will elect Board of Directors for three (3) Individual Member seats and one (1) Affiliate Member seat. No Board Director who has served for six consecutive years is eligible for re-election until a year has elapsed.

REPRESENTATION

The representation of the board is as follows:

  • Five Directors of the Board are appointed based on the voting of Individual Members (2 year term, maximum 3 consecutive terms)
  • Five Directors of the Board are appointed based on the voting of Affiliate Members’ votes (3 year term, maximum 2 consecutive terms)
  • One Director of the Board will be dedicated to the General Manager, ex officio (term to last length of employment)

ELECTION PROCESS

Nominations

Only current OSI Individual Members may run for an Individual Member seat on the Board (learn more about joining the OSI as an Individual Member: https://opensource.org/members), however those running for an Affiliate seat on the Board need not be an Individual Member. Those interested in running for an Individual Member seat do not need to be nominated and may run by simply completing the candidate information. Those interested in running for an Affiliate Member Board seat must be nominated by a current OSI Affiliate organization.

Standing for election is extremely easy. Current Individual Members who would like to run for an Individual Member seat can simply send a contact request, selecting the category “Candidate Nomination” via the OSI contact form (http://opensource.org/contact).

Current Affiliate Members may send their nominations for Affiliate Member seats to the OSI via the OSI contact form (https://opensource.org/contact). Please select the “Candidate Nomination” category on the form.
Once we receive your request, we will promptly send you back information to create your election profile. Current election eligibility policy can be found here in the OSI Bylaws, Article V, Sections 3 – 5 (https://opensource.org/bylaws).

Voting

Voting in OSI elections is open to all Individual Members and the OSI Representative of each Affiliate Member. Only Individual Members may vote in the election of Individual Member seats. Only Affiliate Member Representatives may vote in the election of Affiliate Member seats. Only one vote per Affiliate Member, as submitted by the Affiliate Representative will be counted in the election of an Affiliate seat. Elections for OSI Directors are held according to Approval Voting. Approval voting is a single-winner voting method used for elections. Each voter may “approve” of (i.e., select) any number of candidates. The winner is the most-approved candidate (see Wikipedia for more information on Approval Voting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Approval_voting).

Voting for all elections is done online using Helios Voting (https://heliosvoting.org). When elections are held, OSI current and lifelong Individual Members and the Affiliate Members’ Representative receive email notifications with instructions on how to access the online voting systems, instructions on how to complete their vote, and a list of the candidates with further information about them and their interests/qualifications.