Board Meeting Minutes, December 2024
A meeting of the Open Knowledge Foundation (OKF) Board was held via video call on Monday 16th December 2024 from 19:00 - 20:00
Board members who dialled in: Vanessa Barnett (VEB) (Chair), Helen Turvey (HT) (Vice Chair), Johnny West (JW)
Observers: Renata Avila (RA) (CEO), Cassandra Woolford (CW) (DOF)
Apologies: Ira Bolychevsky (IB) , Tim Hubbard (TH)
Welcome & review of minutes & actions [Chair]
VEB agreed to circulate the previous minutes by email as only one Board member present was at the previous meeting.
The scheduled meetings for 2025 were acknowledged as being recorded in calendars.
CEO Update [RA]
RA provided a highlighted summary of the activities that took place during the last quarter. The Tech We Want Summit in October 2024 was a great success, with many attendees. It was well received and provided opportunities to connect with key actors in the space. The Open Data Editor tool was launched in December and will be available in four languages. It is enhanced by a community feedback approach. OKFN was represented at different events in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe.
Collaborations with the Digital Public Goods Alliance and Open Government Partnership have enabled OKFN to cultivate relationships with several Governments who are contacting us, seeking guidance on open infrastructure as well as open data. OKFN is signing two MoUs, providing a frame for knowledge exchange. Both Governments are members of the Digital Public Goods Alliance. This form of collaboration solidifies a commitment from the Governments to participate in our activities and may potentially lead to paid consultancy. A new commercial client has been secured and the contract agreement was negotiated with more flexible provisions. We have approval to publish the roadmap and guidelines as we develop their data portal. This is part of The Tech We Want vision to share how we can use sustainable technology to minimise complexity.
RA shared the Strategic Focus for the Technical work at OKFN, which is centred around The Tech We Want. We are advocating for open, long-lasting, resilient and affordable technologies that are good enough to solve people's problems; and for open and fair governance mechanisms and tools to truly democratise Data and AI. Some of the successful projects from OKFN are built with simple code and to sustain, maintain and update them does not require a huge investment.
This led to a discussion surrounding sustainability and growth based on this new package of delivering sustainable technologies. OKFN are not sustainable on grants alone, and therefore increasing this type of activity aligns with high-level objectives and the mission and vision of the Open Knowledge Foundation.
RA shared the High-Level objectives for 2025, which includes defining and advocating for The Tech We Want and sharing how we do it. Focus on open collaboration, governance mechanisms and tools to grow and sustain the digital commons. OKFN will also move towards sustainable technologies and practices internally in how we conduct our work as well as applying to our service provision.
A board member shared that an actor in the space during 2025 plans to develop technical grant-making and suggested that this could be an opportunity for a useful collaboration. Also, shared knowledge on moving forward with open technologies and how challenging it can be.
A sustainability plan for 2026 was shared; this high level plan includes diversifying the services packages, continued cultivation of partnerships as well as seeking large grant projects aligned with our objectives and mission.
An acknowledgement and praise of appreciation from the chair regarding the evolution and the quality of the detailed reports that have transpired over the last two years, enabling the Board to have clear oversight and understanding of the work taking place. The Vice-chair requested approval to share the High-Level objectives and The Tech We Want strategy as the layout is precise and clearly defined. RA shared that these documents were a collaborative effort by the team during several online meetings.
Finance Update [CW]
CW shared an updated finance overview of the last quarter and a forecast of the financial position for year end. Details were provided of renewal contracts as well as contracts for new clients. The VAT audit with HMRC was successful, and the overpaid VAT reclaim was repaid following the HMRC investigation at OKFN’s request.
AOB
A request from the Board to provide clarity on the audience of OKFN. What are our roots and where is the movement going? Who are we trying to help and what problems are we trying to solve?
OKFN is engaged with AI - the involvement and focused aspect is Governance and Data Standards. One of our grants will enable us to test some simple forms of AI to evidence how it can enhance civil society. We do not have the team capacity to go further than this at this stage.