Open Source Comes to Campus/Meta-organizing/Meta organizer
What's a meta-organizer?
A meta-organizer works with event organizers and venues so that lots of Open Source Comes to Campus events can happen, typically in a given locale. As OpenHatch has grown from 1 event per year to more than 2 per month on average, we've spread out who's doing the heavy lifting of making the event happen.
The event's organizer is responsible for the event, through and through -- they reserve a room, handle food logistics, set the schedule, and more. They're very welcome to delegate that, but they're the person primarily responsible.
The organizer is supported by a meta-organizer -- a person who works with the organizer to help them run a great event. The meta-organizer makes connections between the organizer and prospective mentors, helps the organizer decide on a schedule, answers funding questions, and more. Typically a meta-organizer is someone who has organized events before and has wisdom to share.
If you're reading this, that might be you!
Meta-organizer is a relationship you have with a particular event rather than a title one keeps forever. It's OK to be a meta-organizer for an event today and be an organizer of a different event tomorrow!
Keep reading and you'll see how to be a great meta-organizer for an event.
How we meta-organize
OpenHatch maintains a spreadsheet with prospective organizers and schools interested in running an event, the status of each upcoming event, and which meta-organizer was responsible for making sure that event took place. This helps us keep track of who's doing what, where, when.
In general, we share this with every person who has been a meta-organizer for an event.
Workflow
- Periodically, some people who have been meta-organizers get together to brainstorm and send emails to prospective event organizers.
- To find event organizers, we look through the list of past volunteers and organizers and people who have contacted OpenHatch expressing interest in running an event.
- We also sometimes look through big lists of computer science organizations (such as this List of academic organizations interested in Women in CS) to see if any of them might be interested in organizing again or for the the first time.
- For each prospective event, we assign a prospective meta-organizer. That person sends out emails to their potential organizers.
- They follow up with those who have questions or are up for it.
- The meta-organizer helps the local organizer pick a date for their event and find volunteers, and answers any other questions the organizer has.
Strategies for Recruiting Organizers
The path often looks something like: attendee --> mentor --> organizer --> meta-organizer, but that's very rough and often steps are skipped. Lots of mentors don't start off as attendees, for instance, and sometime attendees are ready to jump right into organizing!
Places to look for organizers
- Look at your list of attendees and local mentors, and see if you have repeat volunteers. These folks might be up for stepping into the organizer role for a workshop.
- At the beginning of the workshop, announce that there will be a table at lunch of people talking about organizing a workshop if anyone is interested in that.
- Ask! And when you ask, ask for nominations as well. They might know someone perfect.
Information & Skills Needed
These are the things you need to know and be able to do to be an effective meta-organizer.
Growing the Potential Workshop Organizers List
Information needed:
- A list of past organizers, friends, volunteers, and anyone you can think to ask to organize
- Other humans' suggestions for who to ask
Skills needed:
- Ability to ask for help convincingly
- Participation at events where you can recruit people to the list of potential organizers is hugely helpful
Recruiting Venues + Sponsors
Information needed:
- A list of local tech companies; often but not necessarily RoR shops
- Space / tech requirements for a workshop
- Benefits to hosting a workshops
Skills needed:
- Research skills to find new venues
- Ability to email people you don't know
- Remembering to follow up
- Following up
- Keeping track of who you've asked, so you can follow up
Actually recruiting workshop organizers
Information needed:
- A brief pitch of what organizing is and why they should do it
- Prior experience organizing goes a long way in explaining what it entails
Skills needed:
- Ability to email people you don't know
- Email writing and follow up, remembering to follow up, following up, etc.
- Ability to keep track of who's been asked, when, and what they said (spreadsheet!)
Matching venues with organizers
Information needed:
- Venue's and organizer's availability
- Where to announce / post when workshop is scheduled
Skills needed:
- Tolerance for email back-and-forth to determine date of workshop
Hosting organizer kick-off meeting
Information needed:
- Who is organizing
- General stuff about organizing, to answer their questions
Skills needed:
- Ability to schedule drinks/coffee with all the organizers and hopefully the mentor
- Excitement for RailsBridge and workshops
- Ability to answer questions about organizing
Making sure the workshop is actually being planned
Information needed:
- Date of the workshop
- Whether or not the organizers are planning the workshop
Skills needed:
- Ability to follow up with organizers to make sure things are going okay
- Judgement to determine if one of the organizers is doing all the work
- Communication skills to help resolve issues with organizers / mentors / venues should they arise