KohaCon12: A Road Map to Improved Koha Governance

by Kyle Hall on Jun 6, 2012

Bob Birchall of CALYX had some words to say about Koha governance, offering his road map to improve our community governance.

What do we mean by Goverance?

Governance concerns how a corporation or project is structured, directed and controlled for long term survival. Koha’s governance arrangements are open and informat. As a community we have individual members, no offices and no employees. Issues are often discussed via the mailing list and irc.

Koha does has a special role know as the Kaitiaki, which is a Maori term for ‘guardian’. However, this role has remained dormant in recent years.

The question becomes; is our governance broken? The answer is no, but there are some risks. US trade mark is alienated. Other trade marks exists in other jurisdictions. Koha has no ‘authorized’ spokespersons. There are multiple ‘flavors’ of Koha. This can possibly lead to a loss of public confidence. The best time to address these weaknesses is whilst our project and community is strong, not when it is facing a crisis.

Some items to consider?

• Do we have the right license?
• Is a foundation the answer?
• What umbrella organizations are good options?