Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2006 13:33:27 -0400
From: Aaron Price <aaronp
Cc: 


and then the model and then the projects. May I suggest a discussion of these points?

  1. What are the outstanding E/PO challenges in astronomy right now?
  2. Define committee goals that address those challenges in some way.
  3. Plan realistic projects to meet the goals.

 The main part that has been missing is #1 and I bet we all have different opinions 
about it. But we need to reach a consensus on that if we want our #2 goals to be 
effective.

 I'm a little worried about this:

> education within the AAVSO, and I need to prepare a document that  
> defines specific goals in terms of X new members, Y observations by  
> students, and Z new professionals (educators and astronomers) brought  
> into collaborations and traces out projects to use to meet these  
> goals.

 Is the council suggesting that all projects bring in X new members, Y observations and Z 
new professionals? If not, why do they want that as a definition of our goals? To me 
that's a marketing job, not a job for an E/PO committee. Our goals should be based on the 
needs of the community and our plans should reflect the combination of those needs with 
the resources we have available. If XYZ happens, great.  But, in my opinion, it should 
not be a primary or even secondary goal of the committee. 

 We also need the scope of the committee defined. For example, are we restricted to 
variable star work or can we work on anything in astronomy? Is the organization expected 
to invest money and/or HQ resources into this or is this driven/funded solely by the 
committee members?

Aaron
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