Scientific Board

Purpose

Purpose

The Scientific Board is the scientific and technical body of the Alliance which represents the Scientific Community. The Scientific Board proposes the scientific work plan to the membership for approval and facilitates the scientific and technical work activities.  The purposes of the Scientific Board are to:

  • Provide direction and coordination in the development of the substantive content of the DDI standards and other work products of the Alliance by its sub-committees and working groups within the context of the Alliance Strategic Plan.

  • Implement the scientific work plan agreed at the Annual Meeting of the Scientific Community.

  • Oversee the substantive content of DDI standards and other work products.

  • Undertake research and testing concerning proposals for DDI standards and other work products.

  • Develop and promulgate best practices for use of DDI standards and work products.

  • Assess progress and barriers to progress.

  • Provide a report on progress of the scientific work plan over the previous year, and proposals for the future scientific direction and related activities to the Annual Meeting of the Scientific Community.

The specific work of the Scientific Board is accomplished through the Technical Committee and various working groups established by the Scientific Board.

The Scientific Board is composed of seven voting members elected by the Members of the Alliance. The Executive Director and the Chair of the Technical Committee are ex‐officio members, without internal vote.  The Scientific Board may appoint up to two external Advisory Members, without internal vote.  Representatives from Members and Associate Members of the Alliance are eligible to serve as elected members of the Scientific Board.  A majority of the elected members of the Scientific Board must be from Member Organizations.

Members of the Scientific Board elect a Chair and Vice-Chair from among themselves for a term of two years. The Chair and Vice Chair are eligible for re-election.

Activities of the Scientific Board

ISO Certification Exploratory Working Group - temporary working group from 2024 tasked to explore feasibility and scoping for ISO certification for DDI product(s) and/or components.

Technical Committee - a standing committee of the Scientific Board whose purpose is to model, render, maintain, and update the DDI specifications to meet community needs and align with Alliance strategic goals.

Working Groups are established by the Scientific Board and the Executive Board to advise on relevant topics and activities related to the operation, development, and future of the Alliance.  Anyone affiliated with a member organization may apply to join a working group. Members may also propose new working groups.

Each Working Group is assigned it’s own Scientific Board contact person. Contact details for each group can be found here.

Scientific Community meetings - In addition to the Annual Meeting, the Scientific Board organises meetings for the Scientific Community to introduce and discuss specific topics. Presentations and recordings from the meetings are available.

Meeting minutes

See: Meeting Minutes

Contact

Hilde Orten - email: hilde.orten@sikt.no

Darren Bell - emaIl: dbell@essex.ac.uk

Members

Chair: Hilde Orten, Sikt - Norwegian Agency for Shared Services in Education and Research, 2021-2025

Vice Chair: Darren Bell, UK Data Service, 2021-2027

Members:

  • Ingo Barkow, University of Applied Sciences of the Grisons, 2021-2025

  • Simon Hodson, CODATA, 2021-2025

  • Flavio Rizzolo, Statistics Canada, 2021-2025

  • Dan Smith, Colectica, 2023-2027

  • Wolfgang Zenk-Möltgen, GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, 2022-2027

  • Jared Lyle, ICPSR, DDI Alliance Executive Director, ex officio, 2021-present

  • Wendy Thomas, Minnesota Population Center, Technical Committee Chair, ex officio, 2021-present

See: Scientific Board | Data Documentation Initiative

Scientific Work Plan