What it takes to start a new chapter

Is there no NNUG chapter near where you live? Would you like to start a new chapter, and take an active part in user group meetings and other events in your area?

NNUG has no requirements for the size of the region or the number of potential members. All work done on behalf of NNUG is by definition voluntary, and not something you can expect to get rich from (though it is nice to have on your CV).

Experience shows it is good to spread board positions across people from different companies. This is about both the workload for each person and NNUG’s credibility. At times there can be a lot to do (though mostly there isn’t), and then it can be hard to justify the time spent to your employer, especially if two or three people are losing billable hours (particularly important for the consulting companies out there).

We want a certain level of activity in all NNUG chapters, especially regular user group meetings. They don’t have to be monthly; they can be more or less frequent, but there shouldn’t be too long between meetings. That leads to dissatisfaction among the members.

What’s in it for you?

Being the leader or a board member of an NNUG chapter is an exciting, and at times demanding, task. The hardest part is finding people who want to speak at user group meetings. But in that process you meet a lot of interesting people, at all levels of companies and organisations around you. Your name will quickly become recognised in the technical communities in your area.

We encourage everyone on the boards, and everyone giving talks, to present themselves and their company properly. It is especially important to be able to tell your boss that the time you spend on NNUG activities actually gives something back to the company. We are not talking about spending 10 minutes of a technical presentation on yourself and your company, but an early slide with some information you can mention is a good idea.

We have several examples of companies that actively invest in being visible in communities like NNUG and benefit from it in the long run. Having several employees who contribute to NNUG gives the impression that the company invests in new and exciting technology. That attracts technology-hungry employees.

What do we expect from you?

• We expect you to do a good job of finding the best possible board for NNUG in your region.
• That you and the rest of the board try to organise at least 4 user group meetings a year.
• Up-to-date and informative pages for your area here on nnug.no.
• That you are able to travel within Norway at least once a year (preferably twice) to attend a central NNUG meeting for all leaders and board members. At these meetings we want every chapter to be represented by at least one person (preferably the leader). The leader can have travel expenses covered (but not lost working time). These meetings are usually held in Oslo.
• You must actively contribute, together with the other leaders and board members, to take NNUG to new heights, with ideas for activities, information on our website, and so on.

NNUG tries to keep the boards’ direct expenses as low as possible. Board members and chapter leaders are not meant to pay for activities or take on other direct expenses, as NNUG is not able to reimburse them.