Hi Reps,
The RepsNext is full steam ahead and I want to seed an idea for something that the previous (current?) Reps program can’t account for. I will divide this post in two sections, I will start with the context for this idea and then move on to how I believe we could have it at Mozilla.
Context
I have friends at the Wikimedia community and wikimedia foundation has more variety of ways to support their volunteers and projects that what Reps currently contemplates. Among their various processess, the grant process is something that I think we should implement.
In this process, volunteers who have a long term relationship with the foundation can apply for a grant to conduct a project. This is separate from events budget financing, these grants are made to be used in short/medium term projects, stuff lasting six months for example.
An example of this is type of project, check out wiki loves earth.
What we need at Mozilla RepsNext
Historically, the Reps project had ways of funding events and talk/workshop gigs. During the Reps Innovation Fund Process, there were ways of funding cheap hardware for very small projects. Those are all awesome but there is no way to conduct and finance longer projects, the Reps project is not only prepared for this type of task but the Reps themselves receive no training on how to conduct long/medium term projects.
We are very good at events, may they be talks, conferences, meetups, workshops, etc. Those are all very short, even when they last a week. We receive training on how to do all sorts of activities regarding this type of actions, both when the target audience is internal to the mozilla community and when we’re talking to the larger world. RepsNext is categorizing Reps into different slots (mostly mobilizers and functional-doers) and will provide better attention and care suited for each type of Rep, but we still don’t have a way of doing lengthier projects.
We need training for medium term
Reps need to be prepared to conduct longer projects. Mobilizers need to learn how to plan and act with coherence to a plan. We need to move beyond doing strings of unrelated events and punctual actions. Planning for medium and long term goes beyond doing OKRs and being accountable for receipts and social media posts and photos. We need new ways of mentoring and accountability if any form of long term is to be achieved.
We need procedures for medium-term grants
It is not feasible to think that we can treat medium-term projects with the same SOPs we treat event budgets. We need new methods and processes for applying, using and being accountable for grants.
We need to move beyond events
We need to start working on new kinds of projects beyond what can be collectively classified as events. Lengthier projects have a potential for more impact as we establish more meaningful relationships both internally in the community and externally in our regions. They also enable us to tackle harder problems and challenges, which is where I believe Mozilla is in a unique position to be awesome as no other entity covers so many topics online as we do (from advocacy, to browser engines).
I would welcome hearing what you think of this idea.