[AstroPy] Call for proposals: Inclusion, Diversity, and Empowerment

[Moritz Günther]

Hi,

I want to clarify one point about this call for proposals:

Proposals can come from anywhere on the planet and can be used to fund
projects almost anywhere. The money is provided by a grant from the
private Moore foundation, which does not restrict the use of the money
to the US. However, the funds are hold in a US bank account, so we
cannot transfer them to a country where the US imposes financial
sanctions (e.g. Iran, North Korea).

The Astropy Project contributors are heavily concentrated in "Western"
countries and widening participation is a valid goal.

Please use this issue: https://github.com/astropy/project/issues/120 for
any further questions that come up and check that issue for any further
clarifications.

Yours,
Moritz

On 8/7/20 10:27 AM, Moritz Günther wrote:
> We recognize that contributing to open source projects is a privilege
> not available to everyone and that the Astropy Project community is
> highly white, predominantly male, and is homogeneous in several other
> ways, too. In our code of conduct
> (https://www.astropy.org/code_of_conduct.html), we committed to being an
> inclusive and welcoming community, but clearly it’s not enough to write
> down a commitment, there needs to be action too. Hence, we urge all
> Astropy community members to take action to broaden participation in the
> Project at all levels and we want to empower those actions.
>
> Often, such actions require resources and thus the Project asks for
> proposals from members of the community for up to $15,000 for any action
> that helps with inclusion, support, and empowerment of underrepresented
> or marginalized groups in the Astropy community. We are looking for
> proposals that lead to concrete actions soon, preferably in the next six
> months.
>
> We envision an open and collaborative process for proposals and the
> proposal review, where ideas are opened as pull requests in
> https://github.com/astropy/project (see template below), similar to the
> way APEs are suggested, discussed and improved. That way any community
> member can comment on, flesh out, add details to, and improve proposals.
> Similar to hack day pitches, proposers do not need to have the needed
> team already assembled and we envision the proposal process as an
> opportunity for teams to be recruited and formed.
>
> We hope that an open discussion will encourage people with similar ideas
> to join forces and that the community will converge on one or two
> proposals to be supported. This relies on community members to provide
> honest and constructive feedback and input to see which proposals can be
> realistically executed with the resources we have and have the most
> positive impact.
>
> If there is no consensus by end of August, the following process will be
> used to decide: The CoCo will select 4-5 proposals that are (i) fundable
> through the Moore grant, (ii) fleshed out in enough detail that work and
> funding can happen on a six-month time scale, and (iii) have the most
> community buy-in (counting number of contributors and positive comments
> in the PR from distinct people).  We will then invite the community to
> comment on those proposals specifically and, should a tie-break be
> necessary, the CoCo will make a decision on September 15th.
>
> This initiative was inspired by recent events in the US, but we stress
> that proposals may target any underrepresented or marginalized groups
> worldwide and Project-specific challenges. We also want to emphasize
> that proposals can be outward facing (e.g., focusing on recruitment) or
> inward facing (e.g., working on existing practices in our community
> which may be exclusionary).
>
> Funding for this comes from the Moore grant to the Astropy Project,
> which includes $15,000 for “mentoring” in the budget year Nov 2019 to
> Oct 2020, thus one or more proposals with a total cost of $15,000 can be
> funded. For proposals that do not fit under the “mentoring” proposed in
> the Moore grant, the finance committee will try to find alternative
> funds. Likely, that will require to shift other spending between budget
> items and thus the total cap of $15,000 still applies.
>
> Moritz Guenther
> (for the Astropy Interim Finance Committee)
>
>
> Template
> Think of this like a hack day pitch or a github issue for discussion,
> not like a funding  proposal to a government agency. Short and informal
> is encouraged.
> Post proposals as PRs in https://github.com/astropy/project
>
> # Title
>
> ## Summary
> (2-3 sentences)
>
> ## Team
> (people responsible for execution or places where more hands are needed,
> not necessarily everybody who contributed to the proposal)
>
> ## Plan
> (1-2 paragraphs)
> What actions are proposed? What needs to be done?
>
> ## Impact
> (1 paragraph)
> How does this help with diversity, inclusion, and empowerment of people
> from underrepresented groups in the Astropy Project? Be as brief and
> specific as possible.
>
> ## Budget
> (a few lines of text)
> What’s the total cost and how will the money be spent?
>