Course Title

Open Governance

Course Tweet (200 characters or less)

How can open communities (of volunteers) make good decisions and get stuff done? 

Facilitators

Philipp Schmidt // Co-founder of P2PU and (recent) open governance geek

I am hoping to work with co-facilitators -> leave a comment or email philipp AT p2pu DOT org if interested

Course Description (no more than 500 words)

In this course we will try to understand how open communities of volunteers can make decisions and take action, often using governance structures that look very different from traditional models used in firms. We will look at the concepts of authority and leadership (Heifetz), transparency and accountability (Lessig), the ability and inability of groups to make good decisions (Sunstein), and the relationship between legal requirements for organizations and open governance structures (One Click Orgs). 

We will review different strategies and mechanisms employed by open communities and try to understand what makes them work (or not work). Possible examples:

* Open Source Software communities

* Wikipedia

* WikiEducator (OER Foundation)

* P2PU

* Get an example from Charles (One Click Orgs) 

* Joomla?  

* Add your example here ... 

Participantes are expected to help design the course syllabus, by adding case-studies, reading materials, and bringing their own example cases into the discussion of the group. 

Prerequisites

Participants should have a concrete open governance case that they would like to better understand and address. Ideally this case will be informed by your own personal experience and you intend to implement the strategies you might develop during the course. 

Audience

People involved in open communities and interested in making these communities work well. 

Experience

I have no academic background in a related field, but many years of hands-on experience. Most recently the P2PU community itself has been exploring a number fascinating questions about governance. I see this course as an opportunity to apply a more rigorous analysis to our experience, compare notes with others, and and discuss possible solutions with a group of people interested in these issues. 

Syllabus (Draft)

Week X - Informal leadership

Week X - Formal governance structures

Review charter documents, articles of incorporation, by laws, and other formal definition

Week X - Don't act like baboons! Cultural norms transfer

Open innovation communities are characterized by cultural norms that vary greatly from the hierarchical structures common to firm-based employment (and sometimes university study). Governance processes rest on a foundation of norms and behaviors, some explicit and others implicit. As open communities grow, the transfer of these norms and behaviors to new community members is important to preserve stable governance mechanisms. Readings will look at community norms in baboons to highlight the mechanisms of norm transfer. The task will be to find examples for norm transfer in open communities and discuss them in the group. 

• WNYX Radiolab, The New Normal, Part 1 "New Baboon", http://www.wnyc.org/shows/radiolab/episodes/2009/10/02 
• RM Sapolsky, A Natural History of Peace, http://opim.wharton.upenn.edu/~sok/papers/s/sapolsky-foreignaffairs-2006.pdf
• Short summary of Sapolsky's thesis and work, http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog/2008/04/05/peace-among-primates-by-robert-sapolsky/ 

Some potential discussion topics:

• Over bureaucratization (case of Wikipedia "rules" - Andre Lih presentation Wikimania 2009)

Rough Notes

Ideas for seminars

• Maha Shaik (LSE)
• Charles Armstrong (One Click Org) to speak about the relationship between incorporation and community norms / processes
• Joseph Hardin (University Michigan, Sakai) to speak about Sakai
• Mark Surman (Mozilla Foundation) or someone in Mozilla to speak about Module Ownership in Mozilla
• Achal Prabhala / Tomas Buckup to speak about Wikipedia Chapters 
• Wayne Mackintosh to speak about WikiEducator (also invite Leigh Blackall to speak about challenges during the start-up process?)
• Eugene to speak about Wikipedia in general? 
• Tonya Surman to speak about Constellation Model (or other ideas) 

Readings

• Leadership without easy answers / Need to find working drafts or papers available online
• Review: Managing without managers - pdf
• TED talks or videos
• Incorporation documents from Wikimedia Foundation, Joomla 
• Google talk on dealing with problems in your community (search own blog)
• Case study WikiEducator (find discussion about charter - Leigh Blackall) 

Example Tasks / Problems:

• Inviting attendants to the P2PU community meeting. How to make the decision. How much transparency is appropriate?  
• Relationship between board responsibilities and community involvement when open communities incorporate. There are legal requirements that specify board activities, which are not always appropriate for governance of fluid, open, volunteer communities.  

Get the word out / Individuals and communities who might be interested in the course:

• P2PU Community
• Helen, Karien (Shuttleworth Foundation)
• Mozilla Drumbeat
• Laurie Racine, Diana (Startl)
• DML