Microgrants/Microgrants 2020/Proposal/Leaflets to promote OSM/Report
You're about to create a new Microgrant report!
Thanks for bringing value back to the OpenStreetMap community by sharing your experience with others.
Status and Report Type
There are two report type, interim and final. The interim report is due midway from the start of the project to the expected completion. The final is due within one month of completion of the project. When your report is complete change the status from draft to submitted when ready to submit; Microgrant committee will move the status to Under Review to Accepted. Or the Microgrant committee may ask for more information by changing the status to Incomplete.
type = interim
status = submitted
Step 1. Methods and Activities
Tell us about what happened during the planning, execution and follow-up stages of your project. Please share stories of both your triumphs and your challenges.
We have created and printed a series of leaflets (1000 of each). As per the original plan, these are A6 in size, double sided, and inspired on a design and format we saw Wikimedia UK use in 2019. They cover a range of topics including the community, the support OSM UK can provide, an introduction to the map and how to contribute via online, mobile or photo mapping.
The plans were discussed on the talk-gb mailing list (https://lists.openstreetmap.org/pipermail/talk-gb/2021-March/026429.html) and on the OSM UK Loomio platform (https://www.loomio.org/d/OrfW7kmE/leaflets).
As per the indicated expectation in our microgrant submission, the design work was done with unpaid volunteer time (and does not appear in our cost breakdown). Our initial aim was to use imagery in our leaflets that was high quality and open licenced. Unfortunately we were unable to source this within our deadlines and consequently we opted to spend GBP 11.27 on licencing images from Vecteezy. This is a marketplace for creative professionals, does not prevent contributors from sharing their resources on other platforms and provides a 50% revenue split. We are pleased to be able to support the creative industry. This cost was covered by OSM UK and is not part of our microgrant cost breakdown. Purchasing these images enabled us to proceed to the print stage within the financial year 2020/21. By incurring print costs in the same financial year that we received the micorgrant we avoided paying £41.94 in corporation tax as our "profits" in that year were reduced.
To get the best value for postage, we reviewed the options available to us and found that we could send out 120 leaflets in a package that counts as a "large letter". Postage fees on this are less than for parcels. The relevant cardboard boxes were purchased and a form was set up to allow members to order a box. We provided an option to select a pre-defined set of leaflets or tailor the mix of leaflets to the individuals preference.
News of the leaflets was shared on talk-gb, via the OSM UK mailchimp email newsletter and via a series of tweets.
Step 2. Outcome
What is the most important and valuable result of your project? What did it change, solve or accomplish? If the goal was a mapping goal, please provide before and after images. If this was a software project, please provide a link to the project.
We have created and printed a series of leaflets (1000 of each). You can view digital copies at osmuk.org/leaflets, where you can also download the print files and source files. The source files are openly licenced although we do kindly ask that people contact us before using the OSM UK name and logo in keeping with our Local Chapter agreement with OSMF.
Our leaflets are two sided A6 size: one side with text whilst the other side has a bold eye-catching image with the OSM UK logo overlaid. As noted above, we have opted to spend GBP 11.27 on licencing images. As such we have not included these in our openly-licenced download. Those wanting to print their own leaflets will need to provide their own images (or use a bold single colour). If you wish to use the same images that we used, then you will also need to purchase a licence to use these. If you send us a copy of your receipt, we can release our final design so that you don't have to go through the same steps (i.e enlarging and cropping the images to the same crop that we used).
Note: The microgrant criteria stated that "media must be freely downloadable and published under open licences". Whilst our microgrant cost breakdown did not cover the design costs (we covered those costs ourselves) we are keen to make content available under open licences and have done the best we can to do so whilst balancing time, quality and cost. Anyone can freely use the content that WE produced (i.e. our design and text is openly licenced). What is not free is content that we used but did not produce. Nevertheless we appreciated that this may not sit well with some members of OpenStreetMap. We leave it to the OSMF and the Microgrant Committee to determine for themselves whether we are compliant with the rules, non-compliant or somewhere in between. Whatever the decision, hopefully you agree that OSM UK cannot be accused of not working hard and trying our best to achieve the aims that we agreed with our community when OSM UK was established.
The vast majority of people selected our pre-defined set of leaflets via the online request form. Only one individual selected the tailor the mix of leaflets to their desire. In this case more "Introducing the local map" leaflets were selected. Having most people order the pre-defined set greatly simplified efforts. It was possible to set up a little production process for counting out, bounding and packaging the leaflets. Batches were made to fulfil current orders and have a few spare for new orders. The ability to pick your own mix may come in more useful when people get to the stage of needing to replenish their stock. It will also help to identify which leaflets are most popular.
Do date, 21 packs have been distributed, most by post and a few in person. Whilst this is lower than the original plan, we suspect that this may be as a result of reduced face-to-face interaction during the Covid19 pandemic. As we come through this and start meeting more people, it should become easier to distribute leaflets. We also hope that when the mapping groups in GB restart their in-person meetings, that we will be able to send bulk batches to them for onward distribution.
Our tweets had 5,833 impressions and 302 engagements. Both of these stats are higher than our target outcome.
Step 3. Detail Report
Please report on your original project targets, use the below table to:
- List each of your original targets from your project plan.
- List the actual outcome that was achieved.
- Explain how your outcome compares with the original target. Did you reach your targets? Why or why not?
| Target outcome | Achieved outcome | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| A minimum of 4 ideas will be selected, designed, printed and distributed | We have selected 4 new ideas, drafted/designed, reviewed and printed these. Distribution is the next step. | We opted to go with 4 new designs for now (so 5 in total) as we still have stock of our first leaflet design due to the lack of in person meetings in 2020 as a result of covid. We hope to see events return in 2021 making it easier to distribute leaflets. |
| Digital copies of the leaflets will also be shared (CC Licence). | This has been achieved. | Copies and open licence info available at osmuk.org/leaflets. As noted above the text is openly licenced (CC0) however the image side uses purchased content. This do not materially limit people's ability to re-use the leaflets as just need to add a single image to each. We are aware of at least one UK OSMer who is investigating making some alternate images with prettymaps. |
| Distribution to 5 regional groups and individuals. | Ongoing | Ongoing - 21 packs have been sent (mainly by post). We hope to send bulk orders to the mapping groups when they restart in-person meetings. |
| Sharing via twitter where we hope to get a combined total of over 5,000 impressions (views) and over 250 engagements (interactions such as clicks and retweets). | Complete. Achieved outcome exceeded our target. See stats in the Explanation column (right). | Tweet: Mailchimp: https://twitter.com/osmuk/status/1425173799306137610
Tweet: leaflet 1: https://twitter.com/osmuk/status/1428246350702030848 Tweet: leaflet 2: https://twitter.com/osmuk/status/1428731799882985481 Tweet: leaflet 3: https://twitter.com/osmuk/status/1429641292527460354 Tweet: leaflet 4: https://twitter.com/osmuk/status/1430459433327419392
|
Note: Two rows for your table have been provided below. To add more rows for additional goals, just copy and paste another row template below these.
Step 4. Learning
Projects do not always go according to plan. Sharing what you learned can help you and others plan similar projects in the future. Help the movement learn from your experience by answering the following questions:
- What worked well?
- What did not work so well?
- What would you do differently next time?
Basing the format on something we had already seen worked well, made it easier to focus on content over format. The A6 format is simple without requiring folds which makes it easier to print. Content review also worked well, with a number of grammatical errors spotted by the OpenStreetMap community following the draft being shared on talk-gb and loomio (some comments we sent off list).
With some clever optimisation, it is possible to get a better "bang for your buck" than we initially expected. An example of this is using the largest box that can still be sent at the lower cost "large letter" size. Distribution in-person also helped lower our postage costs.
Most people initially select a pre-defined bundle of leaflets. This makes it possible to set up a little production process for counting out, bounding and packaging the leaflets. Batch production allows you to fulfil current orders and have a few spare for new orders.
The covid pandemic put a pause on in-person meetings. This has negatively affected this project as it makes it harder to distribute leaflets. Despite that, our online promotion exceeded expectations.
Step 5. Grant funds used
Please describe how much grant money you spent for approved expenses, and tell us what you spent it on.
- Printing: We have spent £220.75, which at the time of writing (2021-04-03) is 259.62 Euro.
- Packaging: £9.19, which at the time of writing (2021-08-20) is 10.72 Euro.
- Postage (ongoing): Batch 1 = £13.50, Batch 2 = £27.00 ... (totalling 47.43 Euro)
This gives a current (2021-09-12) total of 317.77 Euro. Further expenditure is expected as we continue posting the leaflets out.
Copies of our receipts are being posted here.
Step 6. Unused funds
If there are remaining funds, please list the amount here:
- Let us know if you would like to use the remaining funds on a similar or new project. Remember, a grants officer must approve this request before you spend the money.
- If you are not planning a new project, please follow these instructions to return the funds to OSMF.
As at 2021-09-12 we have remaining funds of 117.23 Euro. We would like to retain this in order to cover the costs of postage of the remaining leaflets which we expect to pick up as people begin interacting with other again as Covid restrictions are removed. We also haven't done a large print of the "Supporting you everywhere" leaflet as we already had some spare stock from our Feb 2020 initiative (prior to the microgrant). Our remaining funds can be spent on this. The third option is to spend remaining funds on a new leaflet design related to collecting address data. This ties in with a separate project we have just kicked off.
Step 7. Anything else?
Is there anything else you want to share about your project?
Thank you for making this possible for us. We are grateful for the financial support provided and would like to thank all those involved in the design, checking and posting of the leaflets.
Step 8. Save your page
Press Save page and you've created your report. Thanks for helping improve OpenStreetMap!
Step 9.
One last step! Email microgrants
osmfoundation.org to notify us that your report is ready for review. Remember to include copies of your receipts!
Notes:
- Although English is the preferred language for reports, you are welcome to submit yours in any language. Links to blog posts, slides, etc in other languages are also welcome.
- Words between <tvar|comment-start>"<!--"</> and <tvar|comment-end>"-->"</> in the edit window will not show up on your saved page.