The Manifestos tell us some of each candidates’ ambitions of what they want to achieve if elected. I’d like to see that made more specific and SMART. In other words: what’s going to be the first action you’ll undertake/the first project you’ll tackle/first thing you’ll do if elected?
Not having worked in the English-speaking world, I haven’t come across the SMART acronym before. While the SMART goals seem mostly like a very sensible way of setting objectives, they do have some limitations. When I speak of wanting a more transparent organization, there is no way to measure the quantity of transparency we need or to set a time frame for it. There is no point where we can declare that we have now reached enough transparency and can move on to other objectives; it is a continuing goal that we always need to strive for.
The first thing I will do as a Director is by necessity trying to acquaint myself with the current situation as fast as possible, and I sincerely hope that I am given access to the Board’s tools before our yearly purge of the records. The second thing I will do is to insist on Board meetings being open sessions by default. I am worried about the state of our finances, and the lack of policies and clearly described duties for Board members, but those are discussions that need to happen out in the open.
What is your five year vision for OTW? AO3?
In five years’ time, I see the OTW as a more transparent organization with healthy finances. An organization that can clearly demonstrate its accountability to donors and prospective donors, fundraising responsibly based on clearly stated needs and planning ahead for expenses at all levels. I see the Archive development team having the support and resources to move forward rather than scrambling behind the scenes to fix issues and keep things going.
If you could change something in the OTW’s bylaws, what would it be?
I would not personally change anything about the bylaws. I would, however, ideally like a workgroup to be formed for the purpose of reviewing the bylaws, to ensure that they follow the applicable laws and have not grown outdated, and to ensure that they reflect the organization’s ideals, culture, and its current structural needs.