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Advisory Board MOU

Background

Hack for LA is a volunteer-run group empowering a diverse array of citizens to improve government, nonprofit, and community services. Hack for LA, which launched its first event in June of 2013 in partnership with Mayor Eric Garcetti and the i.am.angel Foundation, is the official Los Angeles brigade of the civic technology nonprofit, Code for America. Today, Hack for LA hosts weekly Civic Hack Nights, bringing together technologists, public staff, activists, students, and citizens to tackle important regional challenges.

In Hack for LA’s first five years:

  • Brought together over 3,000 participants from all over Los Angeles with widely diverse backgrounds
  • Local and national media coverage
  • Recognized at the White House
  • Two weekly hack nights, with a third coming to Southeast LA in Q2 2018
  • Community Partners include: LACI, Pivotal Labs, City of Los Angeles ITA, Hacker Fund, Office of Mayor Eric Garcetti, LA-Tech, Save the Drop, Civic Innovation Lab, CTRL Collective, California Health & Human Services

Purpose

As Hack for LA continues to grow with volunteers and weekly and monthly events, we need to start thinking about the strategic long-term goals needed to create self sufficient organization. In order to build Hack for LA for the future, we recognize that we need to bring together a board of like-minded civic leaders to create a better Hack for LA. We also need guidance and thoughtful perspectives in order to guide Hack for LA’s long-term goals.

As a member on the Hack for LA Advisory Board, you will be fundamental in determining our strategic long-term goals. The Advisory Board will help answer the direction Hack for LA will take that will ultimately shape our goals for the future.

The Hack for LA Advisory Board is made up of a group of talented, experienced civic tech professionals that give us your time, expertise, advocacy, and resources as we continue to grow. The MoU is not a legally-binding document; the Advisory Board is not a legal board. But, we do want to be respectful of your investment and make a formal promise that reflects that.

The MoU acts as a shared understanding of how we’ll work together over the next year

Hack for LA promises:

  1. Organize the monthly (or bi-monthly depending on the decision from the board) meeting promptly and provide reminders with agendas in a timely manner to allow board members preparation time.
  2. Respectfully accept input and thoughtfully execute on promised items, as capacity allows it.
  3. Honestly represent capacity and resources available for executing on initiatives.
  4. Communicate as much relevant information as possible to provide board members complete knowledge about Hack for LA’s operations financials.
  5. Work with advisory board members to handle conflict of interest as they arise.
  6. Follow the Code of Conduct.

Advisory Board Members promises:

  1. Attend monthly meetings either in-person or by phone for a 1-year term.
  2. Provide honest feedback and direction in the best interest of the community.
  3. Uphold the Hack for LA mission, guiding growth and sustainability of the community
  4. Work collaboratively with fellow Advisory Board Members and the Executive Director to define the strategic goals, largely derived from the stakeholder engagement session.
  5. Determine the continuation terms or termination of the Hack for LA Advisory Board and next steps by the end of ________ including the role, responsibility, and term limits of service. Provide support for transition as needed.
  6. Share any potential conflicts of interest as soon as possible with Hack for LA and recuse themselves from any discussions and/or decisions related to the conflict of interest.
  7. Be an advocate and supporter of Hack for LA and its mission publicly via media, social networks, attending CfP events, etc.
  8. Follow the Code of Conduct.
  9. Add Conflict of Interest section.

General provisions:

  1. This Agreement becomes effective as of the date signed and continues through the end of August 2017.
  2. The Advisory Board has no legal, financial or governance responsibility. It is not empowered with executive or administrative authority, but decision-making will be largely collaborative.
  3. Advisory Board Members may introduce initiatives as a “sponsor” of that initiative. The majority of the advisory board must vote and agree on the initiative. The sponsor will work closely with the Executive Director to progress the initiative forward and report back to the board at-large.
  4. If an Advisory Board Member wishes to remove themselves from the Advisory Board before the end of their term, we ask 30 days written notice, after which this agreement ends.
  5. Monthly meetings are typically held the last week of the month and a reminder with agenda will be sent beforehand.
  6. This agreement may be amended in the future if both Hack for LA and the Advisory Board agree to the changes in writing.