Mission, Vision, and Bylaws for the Carpentries
Following our in-person meeting in June, the Executive Council has been working on revising and solidifying the mission, vision, and bylaws for The Carpentries. These three pieces of writing represent the core values and goals of The Carpentries and the manner in which the organization is structured and led by both community and staff. We hope to reflect and honor both the cultures of Software Carpentry and Data Carpentry, as well as the larger, more diverse community which continues to develop.
The Executive Council represents the community, so we are eager to solicit input from you about the direction we’re taking with these important decisions. Watch next week for an announcement asking for your input on the proposed mission and vision, and another soon after on our proposed bylaws. These requests will take the form of Requests for Comment (RFCs, also called Requests for Public Comment). RFCs are a tool used by organizations or governments to solicit feedback on planned actions which may affect a broad community.
We used RFCs last year to solicit feedback on our plans for proceeding with the merger of Data Carpentry and Software Carpentry. The comments and opinions expressed by the community were essential in our decision-making process, and we hope you’ll consider offering your thoughts as we move towards official adoption of these essential statements and documents.
A general timeline for higher-level actions of the Executive Council for the next year includes:
- July: RFC for mission and vision
- August: RFC for bylaws
- September: formally approve mission, vision, and bylaws
- October: begin election and nomination process for the 2019 Executive Council
- November: elections for 2019 Executive Council
- December: announce 2019 Executive Council