Having considered the business models for the use of the Personal Competence Manager software, we now turn to the challenge of sustaining the TENCompetence Foundation which can make these possible.
The TENCompetence Foundation was established on 5th October 2007, and Foundation Board meetings have been held since then in parallel with the project. However,
Foundation activities have been limited in order maintain transparency in the use of funding for TENCompetence from the European Commission. The TENCompetence project ended on November 31st, and on that date the Foundation was fully activated. The Foundation has a Stichting constitution, a model which is regulated by Dutch and Belgian law. The Stichting is used by a large number of organisations, including leading organisations in the field, such as IMS Global Learning Inc, and the Drupal Association. This constitution gives the board maximum flexibility, since as the initiators of a Stichting Foundation you can define the Articles of Association with very few legal restrictions. For example a 'Vereniging' (membership organization) which is also a legal entity has much more restrictions for its Board, and the non-board members have much more influence.
TENCompetence – IST-2005-027087 31/136 The capital requirements are also nominal.
In order to elucidate the niche of the Foundation in the commercial and technological environment, we now extend our application of Oseterwalder's model to the Foundation itself, following the structure established in section 4.6.
4.7.1 Infrastructure Value configuration
The value proposition of the TENCompetence Foundation is determined by the objectives set out in the Articles of Association, provided as appendix 7 to this document.
The objectives of the Foundation are stated in the articles of association as being:
to support individuals, groups and organisations in Europe in the life-long development of their abilities by developing and promoting the most suitable technical and organisational infrastructure, by making use of open-source, standards-based sustainable and innovative technologies, and anything related directly or indirectly thereto or which can benefit the same in the broadest interpretation of the words.
In addressing these objectives the value configuraton of the Foundation is clearly based on the management and use of the Personal Competence Manager software which it controls. Thus the activities of the Foundation are centred around facilitating the effective use of the Personal Competence Manager software. This provides value for users and Foundation members in a variety of ways, depending on their role.
Partner network
The Foundation is composed of Full Members, who contribute directly to the organisation. These are considered in the next section. The Foundation also has a partner network, composed of individuals and organisations who have one of two possible relationships with the Foundation, as set out in the Articles of Association:
Subscriber: the simplest form of involvement in the Foundation is to subscribe by
using the mechanism provided on the Foundation Website. This entitles the subscriber to receive project updates, participate in forums and Special Interest Groups, and
access those areas of the website reserved for subscribers.
Both individuals and organisations may be subscribers, but while individual
subscribers are automatically accepted when they subscribe, organisational subscribers must be accepted by the Board.
Aspirant Partners are equivalent to Associate Partners in the TENCompetence
project period, that is to say that while there is an alignment of interests between them and the Foundation, which is articulated in a Memorandum of Understanding. Consequently, in the first instance activities will develop from pilots into operational implementations of the TENCompetence concepts and a set of tools in the day to day work of the partners. Aspirant Partners may work on or maintain the code, develop or provide a service, disseminate the work of the Foundation, make use of the software in ways which inform the development of the Foundation vision.
Core capabilities
The Foundation as such is composed of full members. These members are those who
make a recognised contribution to the Foundation through providing funding or possibly personnel. The minimum annual financial contribution at the establishment of the Foundation this was set at €500, subject to adjustment by the Board. The representatives of the TENCompetence consortium have been invited to act as full partners, while aspirant partners can also be invited to become full partners.
TENCompetence – IST-2005-027087 32/136 unpaid officers drawn from the full members (at a minimum, chairman, vice-chairman, secretary and treasurer). The regulations which govern the activities of the Board may be consulted in the Articles of Association.
The Board is to be supported by a manager or management team who can be paid by the Foundation. They are responsible for the strategy (in line with new developments in technology, activities, finance, etc.) and for operational management (coordination of facilitators, resource management, monitoring, etc.).
The Board and management team, and members carry out the core activities of the Foundation, which are to:
Facilitate and provide leadership to the TENCompetence developers’ network Facilitate the TENCompetence users’ network
Facilitate vision development.
The specific activities are set out in greater detail in the Articles of Association.
Management of these activities is the responsibility of group leaders for each area, drawn from the full members.
4.7.2 Value proposition offered
The value proposition offered varies according to the engagement with the Foundation 1. The value proposition offered to individual subscribers by the Foundation consists
of the provision of information, knowledge and networking opportunities.