La GNOME Foundation has recently shared its proposed strategic plan for the next 5 years. GNOME mentions that in this plan Its purpose is to define the future path of the project, to define the direction, objectives and priorities aimed at driving the GNOME ecosystem in a new direction.
The ambitious strategic plan seeks strengthen and expand the GNOME ecosystem through specific actions based on research and consultation with staff, administration and members of the GNOME Foundation. The plan has already been reviewed by the GNOME Governing Council and is now open for public comment, allowing anyone to provide input.
It is mentioned that This plan was developed over six months Through a process that involved research, individual interviews, and group discussions with staff, board, and members, this project has been reviewed by the board and is now ready to be shared with the community as a whole.
Among the objectives mentioned In GNOME's 5-year plan, there are the following:
Community:
- User and developer growth: It is planned to encourage the growth of the community of gnome users and developers.
- Shared vision: The foundation wants to unify both the GNOME foundation and the gnome project, under a common vision, with clear roles and an efficient division of labor between the groups, in addition to improving communication and promoting an environment of collaboration and exchange of ideas.
- Inclusive leadership: has set out to create a more inclusive leadership model by increasing the number of voting members of the council from 7 to 11, and adding non-voting representatives from different regions and committees, in addition to prioritizing the inclusion of women, people of color, groups underrepresented and people with disabilities in leadership positions.
- Teamwork: organize the work of the board of directors and staff in interactive teams, strengthening the role of the CEO as a key representative and facilitator of internal dialogue and communication with the community.
- Relevance and attractiveness:
- Social appeal: The aim is to make the project more relevant and attractive to a variety of people by promoting its social benefits, such as empowering and helping disadvantaged communities.
Use the motto “putting power in the hands of the people” and create both commercial and non-commercial partnership programs to involve marginalized people, women, minorities, youth and creative people in promoting gnome. - Gnome Pathways Educational Initiative: We want to develop an educational program to train, guide and promote participants in leadership from regions such as Africa, Latin America, Asia, among others.
- Commercial value:
- Economic value: generate additional economic value for GNOME through specialized certification programs, API training, labeling of GNOME-compatible devices, and promotion of flathub. Expand business and partnership relationships to support user base growth and application development.
- Diverse audiences and technologies: The aim is to reach new audiences such as government agencies and universities, and expand the use of GNOME technologies beyond their primary context to mobile platforms, other desktop environments and embedded systems. Encourage the creation of simple applications with GTK and highlight the dependence of the Linux desktop on GNOME technologies.
- Initiatives:
- Integrated programs and services: create a unified set of programs, services and processes to encourage the use of gnome technologies and services.
- Promoting success stories: share stories about the history of GNOME and its impact on people's lives, such as the success of the orca screen reader and the adoption of GNOME at Pixar.
- flathub promotion: integrate sponsorship capabilities for flathub-hosted app creators participating in the GNOME Circle program.
- Infrastructure and security:
- Elimination of weak points: Identify and fix critical flaws in gnome infrastructure and security mechanisms.
Protect against supply chain attacks using tools for automated vulnerability scanning, digital signing of assemblies, and creating repeatable builds.
Expand the documentation and tools available. - Events and conferences: reorganize events into a global and inclusive annual conference, accompanied by simultaneous regional events.
Create a strategic model for the GUADEC conference and regional events, with a focus on self-sufficiency and benefit from the central conference.
Offer sponsors opportunities to support competitions, hackathons, workshops and other events. Develop a multi-level payment model to increase the attractiveness of events for sponsors and various segments of society.
- Capacities and infrastructure:
- Strengthening the foundation: stabilize and strengthen the gnome foundation as a non-profit organization, documenting its activities and achievements.
- Financing campaigns: run crowdfunding campaigns and organize joint fundraisers to support initiatives like flathub. Develop direct funding with foundations, government agencies and corporate partners.
- Staff efficiency: implement annual reviews, separate roles between the board of directors and staff, and delegate decisions to employees in their areas of responsibility. Expand staff by hiring a grants manager and additional devops specialists.