Board Meeting Minutes, July 2020

A meeting of the Open Knowledge Foundation (OKF) Board was held via video call on Wednesday 29th July 2020 from 17:30 - 20:30

Board members who dialled in: Vanessa Barnett (VEB) (Chair), Helen Turvey (HT) (Vice Chair), Rufus Pollock (RP), Jarmo Eskelinen (JE), Ira Bolychevsky (IB),Tim Hubbard (TH), Vicky Brock (VAB)
Observers: Catherine Stihler (CS) (CEO), Cassandra Woolford (CW) (FM), Jo Barratt (JB) (DM), Meg Foulkes (MF) (BDM), Esteban Ruseler (ER) (HD)
Apologies: Johnny West (JW)

Welcome & review of minutes & actions [Chair]

The minutes from the January and April 2020 board meetings were approved and it was agreed that they can be uploaded to the website as per OKF policy.

CEO Update [CS]

Strategy Check in - CS presented an update and a review of the past 12 months in relation to the Strategy. CS talked through the ‘How’ in terms of actions and the changes to the company internally, including the rebranding. CS gave an overview of the achievements and the focus for the next 18 months.

Finance Update [CW]

CW talked through the Q3 Financials using the reporting structure and reports introduced in April 2020. OKF continues its stability, and despite COVID-19 the finances are in good shape. The cashflow warning is extended by another quarter.

CW requested approval for the 2019 Year End Accounts. The Board Approved.

Datopian [ER]

ER gave a full overview of 2019 Financials and 2020 Accounts to date. ER reported comprehensive data complete with slides containing reports and diagrams. The Board acknowledged the turnaround of the Company and congratulated ER in pulling the reporting together.

Leadership Update [JB, MF, CW]

The Leadership Team provided a paper overview of the transition of the departure of CS and gave an update of the activities of the past three months, including a new code of conduct, CSV conference and progression to the Justice Programme.

A full introduction of the Leadership Team (LT) and their roles and responsibilities within the organisation was provided as well as the controls in place to manage OKF in the absence of a CEO. CW talked through the papers on Scenario Planning. The LT undertook an exercise at the request of the board to map out scenarios for different outcomes in terms of projects and how this could affect the Finances of the organisation. Three scenarios were presented and this formed the basis for planning the 2021 Budget ready for approval at the next board meeting.

OKF Owned Assets [JB]

JB provided a paper on the process of transferring OKF ownership, should a request be made. The process was approved by the Board. It was noted that a preference for historical sites should be kept and updated that they are historical with a date stamp. A document was circulated following the meeting with some nominated requests that require approval for transfer. These transfers were agreed by the board. JB to action.

Risk Register [CW]

CW provided an update on the risk register. There were no material changes to the risk register, a few updates were highlighted. The Risk register continues to be monitored.

JB, CW and MF left the meeting 20.10

CEO Recruitment [VEB]

The Board discussed what requirements were for the new CEO search. VEB to action, supported by HT, VAB and IB.

AOB

None.