Launch Party

Proposal. For discussion at the members' meeting on 7th May 2014 Dclarke (talk) 04:09, 6 May 2014 (EST)

That every Hackspace-funded infrastructure or tools project or pledge drive should be required to have a launch party.

A Launch Party is both of:

A group of people leading the project or pledge drive.

A presentation by the above to the membership in general showing the result of the pledge drive or funded project.

The object of this proposal is to ensure that whenever a project/drive is complete, a meeting is arranged by those leading it to show off the new tool / facility / whatever with short talk to introduce the item to the wider membership. This should not be a formal induction or training, but enough to make people aware of what it can do (and its limitations), the do's and don'ts of usage, and to celebrate the arrival of the new facility. The presentation probably only needs to be half an hour, but could be followed by an extended period of 'trying-out' or demonstration.

The launch party should be arranged as soon as possible after completion. The object of this is to avoid new tools / facilities sitting around unused for too long after purchase / installation.

There should be a preference for more than one person to be the launch party - this will avoid pressures of work / other projects diverting a solo promoter from delivering the launch presentation in a timely manner.

Having a launch party open to the entire membership will help to avoid projects / drives becoming private to a group of members.

Preparation for a launch party can include consideration of safety issues, the need for consumables and whether inductions / training are needed by liaising with the relevant teams.