Group Guide

= Open Knowledge Group Guide =

This is a guide for those who wish to create and maintain an Open Knowledge Group -- be it local or national, aimed at a particular audience or for anyone. It is partially based on the Free Culture UK Group Guide. This guide is still being written, and you should feel free to improve it.

What is an Open Knowledge Group About?
An Open Knowledge Group should obviously be oriented around the idea of "open knowledge", that is material that people are free to use, reuse and redistribute without legal, social or technological restriction. (To learn more about Open Knowledge see the ["Research"] page). However there are several different aspects you can focus on:


 * Academic and legal issues: licenses for open knowledge, how open knowledge gets produced etc
 * Producing open knowledge or making related tools (practical and collaborative)
 * Publicising and campaigning about open knowledge: promoting the idea and benefits of open knowledge and persuading individuals and institutions to adopt pro-open knowledge policies where appropriate.

Getting Started
The OKFN itself can provide you with support, information etc but you will still need some resources in your area to start up a successful group:


 * At least a few hours a week of spare time between the group founders
 * Access to some resources (e.g. a meeting room or money to rent a meeting room)
 * A reasonable understanding of the issues, and a willingness to learn much more.

Holding a Meeting
The first thing to do when starting a group is to hold a meeting. This can be pretty small -- just you a few other like-minded individuals -- or it can be something larger. Either way the aim is to connect with others who might be interested and to establish agreement about what you would actually like to do (see above). The key things to keep in mind are:


 * Be Realistic: it's better to make realistic plans as to what you can do than to have grandiose visions that will lead to disappointment.
 * Be Concrete: what exactly are you going to do next (this might just be having another meeting but you should still concretely plan the where and when for example).
 * Keep it Fun: particularly if what you are doing is volunteer based it is important to keep what you are doing fun! In addition having concrete, realistic milestones ensures that it is clear what can be done, and is being done, which is also likely to promote further participation.