POSSIBLE TITLES

• Community-run digital services: what will it take?

OUTLINE

• As momentum grows to build alternatives to big tech and cloud-based digital services,
• We’re seeing growth in initiatives for community-run, cooperative and local infrastructure and tech services. Initiatives such as Coop Cloud and other
• We’ll need new approaches to build, operate and sustain these forms of infrastructure and services:
  • creating continuity and stability while relying on volunteers (rapid turnover and intermittent levels of involvement) rather than ongoing professionals and responsibilities tied to a salary
  • coordination for commonsing and shared governance
  • negotiating shared ownership and shared responsibilities
  • financial models for continuity and payment structures that reflect community values, contributions and what people / groups can afford, ensuring equitable access to essential services
• This talk discusses possible approaches to organising, developing and sharing:
  • individual skills and roles for network infrastructure, hardware, administration
  • cooperative responsibility and governance
  • models of alliances between organisations (formal and informal)
  • spaces, places, resources and financial security
  • for equitable access, not just well-off neighbourhoods
• We’ll discuss our own efforts at Merri-bek Tech through the node steward and community partnerships; challenges, how we might overcome them - and the broader benefits for communities.
• Audience participation??? - would be so interesting to get people's input on models, and how we might partner with other orgs to build these capabilities.