I've been spending the past six months doing *exactly this*; contacting organisations directly, usually through personal contacts, arranging training, and (with the invaluable help of volunteers) delivering it. I have kept the chapter informed, but the sessions are pretty much independent of the ongoing WMUK training events, though they provide support (laptops, printed sheets, etc). I do not believe the chapter are in any way unhappy with this arrangement; they've had plenty of opportunity to say if they are!

It's certainly more efficient than asking the chapter to do it - you yourself have argued on this very mailing list that they are overworked, and trying to do too much. To demand it be centralised is to give them yet more work to do, on top of the existing load. It also introduces extra inefficiencies - they won't be going through the same direct connections, which makes the offer of a workshop less likely to be accepted, and it's much easier to arrange a session when the person delivering it is also the person negotiating it.

Yes, random people emailing random contacts offering training is bad. But if we trust the person to deliver the training professionally, and we are willing to send them out there to represent the community in doing so, I can't imagine any reason we wouldn't trust them to reach out and organise the sessions as well.

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- Andrew Gray
andrew.gray@dunelm.org.uk