Attendees
- CS&S: Linda, Noël, Danielle, Kena
- OpenRefine: Jan, Esther, Martin
No AC meeting on the week of January 29, 2026
Discussions
Contract Review
Rory's contract
- Rory will not be renewing his contract past February 28, 2026.
- He plans to continue contributing on a volunteer basis.
Martin's contract
- The Advisory Committee (AC) intends to renew Martin’s contract beyond February 28, 2026.
- Given current budget constraints, the AC considers the role essential for maintaining partner relationships and institutional knowledge while new funding sources are pursued.
- Following the annual review and discussions with CS&S, the group (CS&S, AC, and Martin) agreed to update the job title to Managing Director, based on the following considerations:
- The current “Project Manager” title no longer reflects the scope or continuity of the role. It signals a time-bound project focus, while the role now includes ongoing responsibilities such as fundraising, hiring and supervision, institutional partnerships, and leading major initiatives. This also creates friction in partner and funding conversations, where longer-term organizational leadership is assumed.
- We discussed whether “Executive Director” would help with legitimacy and fundraising. However, within OpenRefine’s community history, the PM role was intentionally designed to avoid signaling centralized leadership or ownership of project direction. Given that context, “Executive Director” risks setting expectations, both internally and externally, that do not align with how authority is shared in the project. We aim for a self-explanatory title that does not require additional governance documentation to clarify its meaning.
- Current funding allows the role to be sustained through December 2026.
- As part of the contract renewal process, the AC and Martin will review and refine the role’s scope for 2026.
Fundraising Status
- Martin prepared an update on the 2025 fundraising campaign, which is ready for review and publication (see PR #521).
- CS&S suggested circulating the Sloan Letter of Intent (LOI) to other potential funders to assess their interest.
- Martin shared an update on discussions with Wikimedia Deutschland. He will contact the Wikibase Community User Group (WBCUG) to explore potential synergies around Wikibase and Wikidata integration.
- CS&S shared information about the Research Software Maintenance Fund - Round 2. Martin will follow up with the partner from the first-round application to assess interest in adapting the original proposal for this new round.