The GNOME Foundation board of directors is responsible for calling for GUADEC bids.
For many years, the announcement about the next GUADEC location was made at a GUADEC. In 2012, two bids were chosen, one for 2013 and one for 2014 with the intention of announcing locations two years in advance to simplify venue searches. By 2014, it was clear that choosing a location two years ahead of time was difficult (the teams had difficulty committing their time two years in advance).
Talk to the engagement team before calling for bids to coordinate engagement.
Call for bids
When: March-April, post release
Announce: the call for bids should be sent to foundation-announce mailing list and coordinate with the engagement team to announce and follow up elsewhere.
Target deadline: May/June
Key points:
- Prepare by encouraging likely candidates to bid
- Invite the bidders to talk to the board and previous organisers
- Encourage bidders to attend GUADEC this year and take part in the organising
Admin:
update/create a https://wiki.gnome.org/GUADEC/<year>/Bids page (see GUADEC/Templates/Bid
send an email to Foundation list (see 2016 call for reference)
Review bids
When: as soon as the deadline closes
Key points:
- Follow up with the bidders, if needed
- Make a decision by July
Update the https://wiki.gnome.org/GUADEC/<year>/Bids page
Announce the location
When: at GUADEC
Where: on foundation-announce mailing list
Admin:
- Follow up with the winning bidders before announcing the bid acceptance
- Assign a contact person to the GUADEC team
Update the https://wiki.gnome.org/GUADEC/<year>/Bids page
Notes
From past experiences:
- calls 2 years in advance are too early because it is difficult to keep the enthusiasm going for that long