Overview
SPN has a flexible budgetary framework developed by the Membership & Executive Subcommittee in conversation with membership during the 2019-2020 seed-funded period. The framework allows us to adjust the level of activities and member services in response to the number of participating member organizations. Services and activities have been described in terms of Slim, Moderate, and Robust budgets. The Slim budget category is the baseline for continuing our current work beyond 2020.
Slim Budget
The slim version of the budget assumes that SPN services and activities will remain the same after the next period of fundraising and recruitment. SPN staff would continue to support working group activities, lead regular membership meetings via Zoom, and maintain the SPN website and other communications channels. Support for affiliated projects would continue, but it is assumed that any expenses related to SPN staff time and project expenses would be covered by the affiliated projects’ funding.
The slim budget is $109,650.00 and could fund:
- SPN Staff Salaries and Fees (because this is an estimate, FTE percent for SPN staff does not currently changes in cost due to annual merit raises and other changes to salary)
- SPN Community Coordinator at .5 FTE
- Educopia Communications Manager at .25 FTE
- Educopia Affiliated Community fees
- Law and Policy Advisory at 8 hrs/week
- Support of working groups and facilitation of regular membership meetings
- Website upgrades and hosting
Modest Budget
The modest budget builds on the services included in the slim estimate, primarily supported by an increase of staff time committed to SPN efforts and the facilitation of in-person meetings and workshops at conferences and professional events. This budget also includes implementation of small-scale programs to provide professional development and technical support services to the SPN membership in addition to affiliated project support and the production of information resources and best practice documentation by working groups. SPN staff would also take a more active role in the development of grant proposals for affiliated projects, resulting in an expanded set of grant-funded programs under the SPN umbrella.
The modest budget is $195,000.00 and could fund:
- SPN Staff Salaries and Fees
- SPN Community Coordinator at .75 FTE
- Educopia Communications Manager at .5 FTE
- Educopia Affiliated Community fees + funding for additional administrative support
- Law and Policy Advisory at 8 hrs/week
- SPN staff travel to an already scheduled conference and meetup opportunities for current and potential members
- Host a half-day workshop prior to an already scheduled conference
- Website upgrades and hosting
- Editing, production, and distribution of resources created by working groups
- Online outreach, swag, effort investment in alliances with similar groups
- Prototype mini-grants or other methods to encourage professional development for member projects or interns
- Hire a consultant to help with needs and direction related to tool management and development (dependent on SPN member needs)
Robust Budget
A robust budget takes a maximal approach to planning for SPN’s future, incoporating all ideas layed out in the spreadsheet below. This would require 2FTE staff members to support a substantial increase in travel to plan and facilitate meetings and workshops, attend conferences, and conduct targeted outreach. Legal work and professional development programs would be implemented at a larger scale than in the modest budet, and include possible internships and travel grants for research or conference attendance. This budget also anticipates an expanded software development program to create and administer tools needed by the SPN membership and broader professional community.
The robust budget is $384,000 and could fund:
- SPN Staff Salaries and Fees
- SPN Community Coordinator at 1 FTE
- Educopia Communications Manager at 1 FTE
- Educopia Affiliated Community fees + funding for additional administrative support
- Law and Policy Advisory at 8 hrs/week
- Funding for a second legal consultant to bring in on an as-needed basis
- SPN staff travel to meetings/conferences and host SPN events at those meetings/conferences (snacks and room rental)
- Host educational workshops / seminars that members or non-members could participate in (freely or for a fee)
- Support activities related to SPN’s roles as supportive, affiliated, and lead on research and innovation efforts
- Website upgrades and hosting
- Editing, production, and distribution of resources created by working groups
- Production of media resources documenting membership activities and related historical topics to increase awareness of SPN outputs and software preservation issues
- Online outreach, swag, effort investment in alliances with similar groups
- SPN staff conference attendance and possibly vendor table with materials
- Offer travel grants and/or internships and administer these services
- Build and sustain tools, administer access to tools and tool support (will require additional funding as SPN grows and more tools are developed)