March 2024 In Person Meeting Day 3

Background: A significant part of our organizational structure are Committees, however with a few exceptions these are not sufficiently leveraged. We will discuss the purpose, benefit, and structure of Committees, as well as required non-existent committees and how to create them. We will also renew assignments of Board and Staff Liaisons to each committee. 

Expected outputs: 

• Committees list and Liaisons

"Avi stressed the importance of committees operating independently from the board, noting a lack of utilization and the need for more committees. He proposed an Event Committee to focus on organizing events for better community engagement. A Mindmap presented outlined the current committee structure and potential development areas. Existing committees include the OWASP Chapter, Education and Training, and Project Committees. Ricardo provided updates on committee actions since September 2023, highlighting the absence of a Funding Committee and the ineffectiveness of the Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion Committee. Discussions suggested merging closely aligned committees for efficiency, with contrasting views on which committees to merge.

The onboarding process for joining a committee was questioned, leading to a proposal for a clear policy update. Suggestions were made to enhance the Chapter Committee by involving individuals with specific expertise. Leadership emphasized focusing on strategic objectives, with a need for more resources and volunteers for the Education Committee identified to achieve its goals. Avi also highlighted the need for educating committees on their roles and creating or updating charters to define their objectives clearly. A new action item requires committee members to establish or review charters, aiming for operational clarity and effectiveness. The summary encapsulates discussions on improving committee structure, engagement, and efficiency at OWASP."

"Avi recapped the discussions from the previous day, highlighting a list of action items that emerged from those discussions. Additionally, Avi announced a modification to the day's schedule, opting to eliminate some sessions in order to conclude the meeting earlier than initially planned."

Motion Proposal: The motion, "Provision of Training at External Conferences and Events by OWASP," seeks to create policies or guidelines governing OWASP's engagement in delivering training at conferences and events that are not hosted by OWASP itself.

Procedure Initiation by Avi: Avi has tasked Kevin with the detailed drafting of this motion, which is to be forwarded to the Secretary for official review. Subsequently, a vote on the motion will be conducted among board members who did not participate in its drafting, to ensure a fair and unbiased evaluation.

Background: We have recently engaged a marketing agency to execute our marketing plan. Now, we just need to provide them with one… 

This needs to be a cohesive plan that includes branding, specific marketing material, targeted advertising, social media plan, and so on. This marketing plan needs to account for the various parts of the organization that need to be better marketed, such as: 

• Membership
• Corporate supporters
• Conference attendees
• Conference sponsors 
• Projects - users (individual and corporate)
• Projects - sponsors 
• Etc.

Expected outputs: 

• Marketing plan (or an approach to create one)
• Brief for Marketing (aka Communications) Committee

"Andrew presented a comprehensive marketing strategy to the board, focusing on enhancing OWASP's visibility, community engagement, and member attraction through targeted marketing efforts. The strategy includes campaigns aimed at key demographics, plans to foster a more active membership, and outreach activities to gain new supporters. The presentation sparked discussions, with Ricardo inquiring about the status of specific to-do items and Andrew providing updates on their progress, including some completed last year and others ongoing, with expectations from the marketing company. Avi suggested hiring a paid intern for task completion, while Andrew emphasized quality work standards.

Steve highlighted Vinode's interest in marketing and proposed a standardized marketing solution to simplify engagement for flagship projects, offering templates and customizable webpages. Sam introduced the idea of using case studies to demonstrate the effectiveness and broad applicability of OWASP solutions across various industries. A dialogue between Avi and Steve confirmed the potential of the "in a box" solution for chapters, underscoring its scalability and versatility. Furthermore, Sam urged board members to support marketing efforts by engaging with OWASP content on their personal social media accounts, aiming to amplify outreach and community engagement."

RESOLVED: Board members that work for or are paid directly or indirectly by organizations that provide services, products, or platforms that profits or commercializes open source projects, directly or indirectly, do not have a de facto conflict of interest as long as the usage meets the requirements of the open-source license selected by the open source project. The Conflict of Interest policy shall be amended to include this clarification.

Motion Support:
First: Steve Springett Second: Ricardo Griffith

Voting Outcome:

• Avi Douglen: Recused
• Bil Corry: Recused
• Kevin Johnson: Recused
• Matt Tesauro: Recused
• Ricardo Griffith: Yes
• Steve Springett: Yes
• Sam Stepanyan: Recused

Motion Result:
The motion was unanimously passed with a vote of 2-0.

RESOLVED: Board members that are paid directly or indirectly to perform training do not have a de facto conflict of interest with OWASP or OWASP events. The Conflict of Interest policy shall be amended to include this clarification.

Motion Support:
First:
Second:

Voting Outcome:

• Avi Douglen: Recused
• Bil Corry: Recused
• Kevin Johnson: Recused
• Matt Tesauro: Recused
• Ricardo Griffith: Yes
• Steve Springett: Yes
• Sam Stepanyan: Recused

Motion Result:
The motion was unanimously passed with a vote of 2-0.

RESOLVED: Board members that are paid, directly or indirectly, or volunteer to speak at events, both private and public, do not have a de facto conflict of interest with OWASP or OWASP events. The Conflict of Interest policy shall be amended to include this clarification.

Motion Support:
First: Bil Corey Second: Ricardo Griffith

Voting Outcome:

• Avi Douglen: Recused
• Bil Corry: Yes
• Kevin Johnson: Recused
• Matt Tesauro: Recused
• Ricardo Griffith: Yes
• Steve Springett: Recused
• Sam Stepanyan: Abstain

Motion Result:
The motion was passed with a vote of 2-1.