Call for expressions of interest to run DrupalSouth in 2016 (and 2017?)

A few different people have expressed some interest in running DrupalSouth next year (or the year after).

As some of you know, Linux Australia has been the legal entity supporting our events since 2011. We have been acting as a series of event sub committees, convened for each event. We have now formalised that into an ongoing committee to advise Linux Australia and also to better support future event organisers.

As Bevan wrote back in December, the time has come for a more formal and transparent process around deciding where DrupalSouth should be. The previous organisers will also help by providing more support and guidance on how to organise the event, so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. The “Ghosts of DrupalSouth Past” will help the 2016 team. We hope to work together to build a sustainable foundation for the future of this event for our community.

The organising team becomes a sub committee of Linux Australia and is given access to a bank account with seed funding for paying a venue deposit, linked to Xero accounting software. LinuxAustralia also has relevant public liability insurance in Australia & New Zealand to support open source technology conferences run by teams of volunteers like ours.

So who are we?
* Bevan Rudge (DrupalSouth 2008 & 2010)
* Brian Gilbert (Drupal Downunder 2012)
* Owen Lansbury (DrupalCon 2013)
* Chris Skene (DrupalGov 2013 & 2014, DrupalSouth 2015)
* Josh Waihi (DrupalSouth 2014)
* Donna Benjamin (DrupalSouth 2015)

We now ask for expressions of interest from Teams wanting to run DrupalSouth next year (or in 2017). We think an outline of intent containing the following information will help potential teams focus, and help us make a fair decision.

• Rough dates
  These can't be locked in until the venue is locked in.

• Venue suggestions
  A convention centre? Hotel or university location? Ideally get dates pencilled in with the venue.

• Draft budget
  This is to see that you've thought about it. We will share actual budgets with anyone who expresses interest in running DrupalSouth

• Team
  “It takes a village” Who will work together to make DrupalSouth happen in 2016 and 2017?.

• Rough communications plan
  How and when will you communicate with stakeholders & community?

We'd like to get a response by the end of the month if possible, but please let us know if you feel you need more time.

We’re not looking for formal bid documents, and don’t expect a huge amount of work to go into this, but we feel this is the basic information we need. We hope to make a decision within a week, contact the relevant team, and then make an announcement here on groups.drupal.org/australia and groups.drupal.org/new-zealand.

You can contact me via my D.O contact form, via https://twitter.com/kattekrab or IRC if you have any questions.

• Donna (on behalf of the DrupalSouth ghosts)