Drupal Association Board Elections, 2019

With Drupal 9 approaching rapidly, it is an exciting time to be on the Drupal Association Board. The Association must continue to evolve alongside the project so we can continue providing the right kind of support. And, it is the Drupal Association Board who develops the Association’s strategic direction by engaging in discussions around a number of strategic topics throughout their term. As a community member, you can be a part of this important process by becoming an At-large Board Member.

We have two At-large positions on the Association Board of Directors. These positions are self-nominated and then elected by the community. Simply put, each At-large Director position is designed to ensure there is community representation on the Drupal Association Board.

Inclusion

2018

In 2018, we made a special effort to encourage geographic inclusion through the people who were candidates for election and we were delighted that candidates stood in six continents all across the World — thank you!

2019

Now, in 2019, and recognising we are in the middle of Pride Month, we want to particularly encourage nominations from candidates from underrepresented or marginalised groups in our community. As referenced later in this blog post, anyone is eligible to nominate themselves, and voters can vote for whichever candidate they choose, but we want to encourage this opportunity to amplify the voices of underrepresented groups with representation on the Association Board. And as we meet the candidates, whether they are allies or members of these groups themselves, we hope to center issues of importance to these communities - in addition to the duties of care for the management of the Association that are always central to a board role.

As always, any individual can stand for election to the board, but by centering these important issues we are determined to encourage a board made of diverse members as that gives them the best ability to represent our diverse community.

If you are interested in helping shape the future of the Drupal Association, we encourage you to read this post and nominate yourself between 29 Jun, 2019 and 19 July 2019.

What are the Important Dates?

Self nominations: 29 Jun, 2019 to 19 July, 2019

Meet the candidates: 22 July, 2019 to 26 July, 2019

Voting: 1 August, 2019 to 16 August, 2019

Votes ratified, Winner announced: 3 September, 2019

How do nominations and elections work?

Specifics of the election mechanics were decided through a community-based process in 2012 with participation by dozens of Drupal community members. More details can be found in the proposal that was approved by the Drupal Association Board in 2012 and adapted for use this year.

What does the Drupal Association Board do?

The Board of Directors of the Drupal Association are responsible for financial oversight and setting the strategic direction for serving the Drupal Association’s mission, which we achieve through Drupal.org and DrupalCon. Our mission is: “Drupal powers the best of the Web.  The Drupal Association unites a global open source community to build and promote Drupal.”

New board members will contribute to steer the strategic direction of the Drupal Association. Board members are advised of, but not responsible for, matters related to the day-to-day operations of the Drupal Association including program execution, staffing, etc.

Directors are expected to contribute around five hours per month and attend three in-person meetings per year (financial assistance is available if required).

Association board members, like all board members for US-based organizations, have three legal obligations: duty of care, duty of loyalty, and duty of obedience. In addition to these legal obligations, there is a lot of practical work that the board undertakes. These generally fall under the fiduciary responsibilities and include:

• Overseeing Financial Performance

• Setting Strategy

• Setting and Reviewing Legal Policies

• Fundraising

• Managing the Executive Director

To accomplish all this, the board comes together three times a year during two-day retreats. These usually coincide with the North American and major European Drupal Conferences, as well as one February meeting. As a board member, you should expect to spend a minimum of five hours a month on board activities.

Some of the topics that will be discussed over the next year or two are:

• Strengthen sustainability

• Grow Drupal adoption through our channels and partner channels

• Evolve drupal.org and DrupalCon goals and strategies.

Who can run?

There are no restrictions on who can run, and only self-nominations are accepted.

Before self-nominating, we want candidates to understand what is expected of board members and what types of topics they will discuss during their term. That is why we now require candidates to:

• Read the Drupal Association bylaws

• Read the board member agreement

• Read The Drupal Association mission statement

What will I need to do during the elections?

During the elections, members of the Drupal community will ask questions of candidates. You can post comments on candidate profiles here on assoc.drupal.org.

In the past, we held group “meet the candidate” interviews. With many candidates the last few years, group videos didn’t allow each candidate to properly express themselves. We replaced the group interview and allow candidates to create their own 3-minute video and add it to their candidate profile page. These videos must be posted by 19 July, 2019, and the Association will promote the videos to the community from 22 July, 2019. Hint: Great candidates would be those that exemplify the Drupal Values & Principles. That might provide structure for a candidate video? You are also encouraged to especially consider diversity and inclusion.

How do I run?

From 29 June, 2019, go here to nominate yourself.  If you are considering running, please read the entirety of this post, and then be prepared to complete the self-nomination form. This form will be open on 29 June, 2019 through 19 July, 2019 at midnight UTC. You'll be asked for some information about yourself and your interest in the Drupal Association Board. When the nominations close, your candidate profile will be published and available for Drupal community members to browse. Comments will be enabled, so please monitor your candidate profile so you can respond to questions from community members. We will announce the new board member via our blog and social channels on 3 September, 2019.

Reminder, you must review the following materials before completing your candidate profile:

• Read the Drupal Association bylaws

• Read the board member agreement

• Read The Drupal Association mission statement

Who can vote?

Voting is open to all individuals who have a Drupal.org account by the time nominations open and who have logged in at least once in the past year. If you meet this criteria, your account will be added to the voters list on association.drupal.org and you will have access to the voting.

To vote, you will rank candidates in order of your preference (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.). You do not need to enter a vote on every candidate. The results will be calculated using an "instant runoff" method. For an accessible explanation of how instant runoff vote tabulation works, see videos linked in this discussion.

Elections process

Voting will be held from 1 August, 2019. During this period, you can review and comment on candidate profiles on assoc.drupal.org.

Finally, the Drupal Association Board will ratify the election and announce the winner on 3 September, 2019.

Have questions? Please contact Drupal Association Community Liaison, Rachel Lawson.

Finally, many thanks to nedjo for pioneering this process and documenting it so well!

Update to elected board member responsibilities

As detailed in a previous blog post, the elected members of the Drupal Association Board now have a further responsibility that makes their understanding of issues related to diversity & inclusion even more important; they provide a review panel for our Community Working Group. This is a huge important role in our global community.

A note from the nomination committee

While this blog post is primarily directed at the community elections process for the board - the Nomination Committee of the Drupal Association wants to affirm that diversity is a top priority during the Drupal Association Board of Directors nomination process for the appointed positions as well. We will work to identify the best way to provide more insight regarding how the committee evaluates candidates.