Andrew Petro wrote a recent blog post that answers how membership in Unicon’s uPortal Cooperative Support program compares to membership in JA-SIG.
From the JA-SIG perspective, Unicon offers a valuable service to our community. Institutions wishing to outsource or supplement expertise with uPortal and CAS are able to do so by subscribing to the Cooperative Support program. In addition to getting a well-defined path to receiving help with problems, they are able to offer input on priorities for code development that Unicon may do in the interests of Cooperative Support program clients and the larger community. That’s a model that fills a gap and works well for many institutions. As such, it provides an important and convenient choice—one that contributes to the health of a community source ecosystem.
As Andrew points out, Unicon Cooperative Support and JA-SIG Membership are not competitive. They are complementary. So why become a JA-SIG Member, and how is that different from Community Support?
Our membership programs began over a year ago when we realized that our projects and initiatives had outgrown the capacities of a purely volunteer organization with a self-selecting governance structure. Since then, we have encouraged institutions to consider JA-SIG membership as one way of becoming more deeply engaged with the community. When an institution makes a JA-SIG application part of its software infrastructure, it has invested in the future of the application and, secondarily, in the phenomenon of shared, community-driven development. Those investments are nurtured by continued involvement, which helps keep the organization at a self-sustaining level.
Engagement comes in many forms. One very direct form is simply downloading and using our applications. Another is subscribing to our email lists. Some will be readers and will add to their own expertise; others will pose questions, and many will help out with answers–a way of “giving back”. Another form of engagement is attending conferences. Yet another is giving a conference presentation, sharing experience and knowledge. Some of us will write code and contribute it back to the community. Others will test code and report problems or just comment on it—both valuable forms of engagement.
When a school commits to becoming a JA-SIG Member, it engages in a way that says, “This work is important to us and to higher education; we stand behind it in our own interests as well as the interests of our peers.” The fact is, when it comes to community source, we’re all in this together. In the long run, it’s not going to work without participation, without giving back. Engagement as an Institutional Member gives you a voice in the direction of JA-SIG and its projects–through voting and serving on committees and the board—and a means of strengthening and growing the organization. Yes, it makes it a bit easier for you to attend conferences by taking advantage of membership discounts, too. But most significantly, membership will help to ensure that the JA-SIG software you implement is sponsored by a self-sustaining, growing organization of peers, moving forward. By giving back, you give to yourself. And that’s what community source is all about.
Posted by jjmarkow 