Sakai Foundation Fellows Program (nomination form)
March 24, 2008
Program Goals
The purpose of the Sakai Foundation Fellows Program is to acknowledge, celebrate and reward the contributions of these important Sakai volunteer contributors. The Sakai Fellows program seeks to foster community leadership and contribution through recognizing and supporting active contributors. Contributors bring varied expertise to the community, including architecture, design and development of technology, best practices in teaching, learning, research and collaboration, and coordination of community functions. The purpose of the Sakai Foundation Fellows Program is to enable outstanding Sakai volunteer contributors and/or evangalists to continue and extend their involvement in Sakai, by providing material resources to support their work. The Sakai Fellows program will recognize such contributions and support the efforts of the Fellows through a modest stipend. The contributions of the Fellows will be showcased across the boundaries of the current work/discussion group structures of Sakai, offering a way for the entire community to be introduced to areas of the project that they may not follow closely, and providing a view to the public of the peer leaders' endeavors within the Sakai community.
Fellows Program parameters
Six Fellows will be chosen annually for a one-year term. Fellows will be given a $2,500 stipend for the year with the intention that the stipend be used in Sakai-related activities, e.g., travel, equipment and professional development. The fellowships will run from Summer conference to Summer conference. The idea is that new fellows will be announced at the conference.
Prospective Sakai Fellows may be nominated by anyone within the Sakai Community or may self-nominate. The nominations should be merit-based, describing how the candidate has contributed in one of the many areas of importance to the Sakai community, including code development, pedagogy, evangalism, technology and interface design, conference development, interoperability, functional expertise, or community leadership. The focus of the nomination should be on what the Fellow has accomplished in the community already, and what he or she proposes to accomplish during the fellowship period. Past contribution isn't absolutely required, but is often a good indicator of future engagement. Fellows are not required to be based at a Sakai Foundation participating institution. This is to assure that the Fellows Program recognizes individual contributors. A letter of support from the Fellow's institution is desired to assure that the person will receive support for these activities during their Fellowship tenure.
Sakai Fellows will be selected by a small committee of Sakai community members. A member of the Sakai Board of Directors will sit on the committee as a liaison to the Board, and to facilitate any funding or policy discussions with the Board.
During their tenure, Fellows will be asked to speak at Sakai conferences, and will have their work featured on the Sakai website and through other channels of Sakai outreach and education. Fellows who wish to publish or offer white papers on their activities are encouraged to do so. Such whitepapers will be prominently displayed.
The activities of the Fellows will be largely self-directed, although the Foundation Executive Director and/or Foundation staff will help coordinate Fellows' activities and help with twice-yearly report-outs of their activities.
Commercial and/or foundation support for this program will be considered. Initial support will come from the Sakai Foundation.
Comments (21)
Feb 04, 2006
Charles Severance says:
Joseph's comments are to make it simply one year terms and make it $5000 per fel...Joseph's comments are to make it simply one year terms and make it $5000 per fellow. This makes a lot of sense. Simplifies things.
But if we do this, we might want to change the dates so folks know they are fellows well in time to register for and make trav el arrangements for the Summer conference. So the timescale should switch to announce Fellows by March 31 each year.
Feb 14, 2006
Stephen Marquard says:
I would suggest a change in this introductory sentence: "The purpose of the Saka...I would suggest a change in this introductory sentence:
"The purpose of the Sakai Foundation Fellows Program is to acknowledge, celebrate and reward the contributions of these important Sakai volunteer contributors."
There should be no limits or exclusivity in how the contributions of Sakai volunteers are acknowledged, celebrated or rewarded. The value of the Sakai Fellows programme is in providing financial support for volunteers to contribute further, so I would suggest phrasing like:
"The purpose of the Sakai Foundation Fellows Program is to enable outstanding Sakai volunteer contributors to continue and extend their involvement in Sakai, by providing material resources to support their work."
Feb 14, 2006
Steven Githens says:
When the Sakai Foundation does something like this, how many countries of the wo...When the Sakai Foundation does something like this, how many countries of the world is it available to?
I've noticed that bounties/comps/other money related things from other Open Source projects have limitations for some countries due to legalities, politics, etc.
Mar 25, 2006
Joseph Hardin says:
Wide open. No limitations.Wide open. No limitations.
Mar 25, 2006
Joseph Hardin says:
I now think the 2 year period is better, btw, with the twice yearly updates of a...I now think the 2 year period is better, btw, with the twice yearly updates of activities, called 'report-outs' above.
Mar 25, 2006
Joseph Hardin says:
And there should definitely be Fellow tshirts involved here.And there should definitely be Fellow t-shirts involved here.
Mar 27, 2006
Lois Brooks says:
Sakaiwear is definitely a perk of the program!Sakai-wear is definitely a perk of the program!
Mar 25, 2006
Zach A. Thomas says:
Thanks for the update Lois. In the predraft draft, there was a benefit of gratis...Thanks for the update Lois. In the pre-draft draft, there was a benefit of gratis conference registration for Fellows. I think that should definitely still be in there.
I'm curious about how community menbers get onto the committee.
And I'm also curious whether you will recommend a timetable: i.e., nominations by date X and selections by date Y.
Mar 27, 2006
Lois Brooks says:
Zach, Good point. We're not charging people from member institutions for registr...Zach,
Good point. We're not charging people from member institutions for registration, but if a Fellow is not from a participating institution their registration fee can definitely be waived.
Re: the committee...just volunteer. I envision the entire review and selection process happening virtually, so costs are low and logistics easy. Regarding the composition of the committee, my thought is that more than 2 and less than 10 is a good number, and participation from around the community would be great. One committee volunteer has already raised her hand, and more are welcome. I'll call a cap when and if we get to 10.
Re: dates. How does this sound?
1. Call for comments closes 3/31.
2. Nominations open through 4/17
3. Review through 4/30
4. Announcements during the week of May 1.
Lois
Mar 27, 2006
Aaron Zeckoski says:
The dates sound good to me. I am still unclear where the nominations need to go....The dates sound good to me.
I am still unclear where the nominations need to go. Is there going to be a contact person or will it be more of a virtual thing (like fill out a web based form at site A)?
Mar 25, 2006
Mike Elledge says:
Any interest in cofellows? For example, if someone has had a particularly fruitf...Any interest in co-fellows? For example, if someone has had a particularly fruitful partnership with another Sakai member?
Mar 27, 2006
Lois Brooks says:
Sure! Great idea. This especially makes sense if the work proposed takes differe...Sure! Great idea. This especially makes sense if the work proposed takes different kinds of skills, or is complex in some other way. Any ideas welcome, though.
My initial thought is that each would be a full-fledged Fellow, meaning that each person gets full stipend and gets their own tshirt. The proposal for work would be jointly submitted and executed.
Other thoughts?
Lois
Mar 27, 2006
Aaron Zeckoski says:
Fellow partnerships sound good to me.Fellow partnerships sound good to me.
Mar 27, 2006
Aaron Zeckoski says:
Are the selection committee members ineligible for nomination as a Sakai Fellow ...Are the selection committee members ineligible for nomination as a Sakai Fellow (because of a conflict of interest)?
Mar 28, 2006
Lois Brooks says:
Good practices would dictate that prospective Fellows should not participate on ...Good practices would dictate that prospective Fellows should not participate on the selection committee. One thing to talk about in future years is whether existing Fellows should be on the committee. It's not an issue this year, of course.
I'm fine with people from the same school applying for fellowship and being on the committee, though. We can work out the details of who reviews and comments on things within the committee.
Sound okay?
Mar 28, 2006
Aaron Zeckoski says:
Sounds reasonable to me. It semms prudent to have at least one of the current Sa...Sounds reasonable to me. It semms prudent to have at least one of the current Sakai fellows on the selection committe (but only if they are not up for "re-selection" that year).
Apr 06, 2006
Anthony Whyte says:
I recall that the original Fellows Program announcement noted that Foundation st...I recall that the original Fellows Program announcement noted that Foundation staff are ineligible to participate in the program. This seems reasonable to me but while implied in the practice document above ("enable outstanding Sakai volunteer contributors . . .") it is nowhere explicitly stated. Perhaps a sentence noting that Foundation staff are ineligible for Fellows program participation should be added to the "parameters" section.
Apr 19
Kate Ellis says:
Can you clarify this statement: "enable outstanding Sakai volunteer contributors...Can you clarify this statement: "enable outstanding Sakai volunteer contributors . . ."? Does this mean that people who are paid contributors, ie: people who have responsibilities for Sakai as part of their employment at their institutions are not eligible?
Apr 20
Clay Fenlason says:
Not at all. It is, however, true that Fellows generally go above and beyond the ...Not at all. It is, however, true that Fellows generally go above and beyond the call of duty, and give more of their effort in a community-based way than their employer institutions would demand. They bring a volunteer spirit to their work in the community.
Apr 21
Kate Ellis says:
Clay, thanks for the answer. Was a final amount decided upon? $2500. doesn't see...Clay, thanks for the answer.
Was a final amount decided upon? $2500. doesn't seem like much. It will cost more than that for airfare and accommodations to attend the Paris conference.
Apr 21
Michael Korcuska says:
I agree that $2500 isn't that much (I made the choice and it was a question of #...I agree that $2500 isn't that much (I made the choice and it was a question of # of fellows vs. award size). The amount wasn't chosen to cover a particular expense like a conference (although I'll point out that it would be enough for Paris if you were coming from, for example, Oxford). Hopefully next year the budget will allow for both a larger award and more of them.