Scientific Board Revision - temporary working group

The DDI Alliance would like to improve the structure and organization of the Scientific Board, which is the scientific and technical body of the Alliance. At the 2019 Annual Meeting of the Scientific Board, a temporary working group was approved to propose a restructuring and to draft changes to the Alliance Bylaws. This work is to be completed in advance of the May 2020 annual meeting, when the finalized proposal will be discussed and voted on. Participation in the temporary working group will involve several conference calls and one in-person meeting. The temporary working group will be chaired by Ingo Barkow, current Vice Chair of the Scientific Board.

BYLAWS FINAL VERSION

See Submitted Comments and Actions below for changes from review version

Documents for Member Review

We ask that you review the recommendations and send any comments to Ingo Barkow <Ingo.Barkow@fhgr.ch>, chair of the temporary working group, by 17 July. 

  • Bylaws -2020-Final-20200626.docx

  • Scientific Board Restructuring Process.docx

  • ScientificBoardOperationalGuidelines.docx

Submitted Comments and Actions:

Date

Comment

Source

ACTION

Date

Comment

Source

ACTION

6/29/2020

Define what is meant by “scientific program” in Section VII of the revised Bylaws.  

Executive Board

Change "scientific program" to "scientific work plan" in Section VII (2 and 7) and add following definition

Scientific Work Plan: The expressed work plan of the Scientific Board covering the activities and goals of the sub-committees and working groups of the Scientific Board. Covering a period of one or more years it addresses the specific activities and priorities required to address the scientific goals outlined in the Strategic Plan of Alliance. The Scientific Work Plan is reviewed and approved at the Annual Meeting of the Scientific Community.

6/29/2020

Change instances of “expert” to “representative” to encourage inclusion. The term “expert” used in the revised Bylaws may be exclusionary.  Some people may not consider themselves experts, even though they are qualified to serve in the role.

Executive Board

in Scientific Community changed “experts” to “representatives”
No other changes:

  • in Section XII:B:2 "Working Groups should broadly represent the community with relevant knowledge and expertise about the subject area..." this seems to be inclusive as written

  • in Section XIV "expert consultation" as a fund able role by the Executive Board budget

  • in Section XVI Visiting Experts - This is a named appointment class by the host institution

7/15/2020

Only bylaws should be sent out for voting.

NSD

Recommended to Executive Board

7/15/2020

Relationship between the scientific program of the Scientific Board (item 2. under VII A Purpose) and the scientific work plan (in the definition of the Scientific Board) is unclear.

NSD

Changed scientific program to scientific work plan and added definition of scientific work plan to list of definitions

7/15/2020

In VII B Organization it is clearly stated that the majority of seven voting members must be from member organizations. Item 2. of XII E. ‘Meeting of the Scientific Board’ on the other hand,  defines four elected members of the board as a quorum. This could mean that full members might constitute a minority of a quorum.

NSD

The compromise made on the composition of the Scientific Board and who could run for it assumed that elected members were representing the whole of the membership who voted them in not their individual organization. Once elected to the Scientific Board elected members are on equal footing.

7/15/2020

Ambiguity on how the scientific work plan will be presented to the members. We assume that it will be formally presented and approved at the Annual Meeting of Members, which is organized by the Executive Board. 

NSD

The work plan is presented to the Scientific Community now explicitly stated in section XIII:B:2

7/15/2020

It is unclear if and how the scientific work plan will be discussed at the Annual Meeting of the Scientific Community.

NSD

ADD to section XIII:B Annual Meeting of the Scientific Community to parallel content of #2 in Annual Members Meeting

2. The purposes of the Annual Meeting of the Scientific Community are to:
(a) Provide a forum for Member Organization discussion and feedback.
(b) Review and approve the activities of the Scientific Board in the preceding year.
(c) Review and approve the Scientific Work Plan for the coming year.

 

7/15/2020

Technical Contacts should be at disposal also at the level of the Scientific Board.

NSD

The Member Representative, Scientific Representative, and Technical Contact are roles appointed by the Member Organization or Affiliate Member Organization. The Scientific Community is made up of the Scientific Representatives and Technical Contacts and are represented by the Scientific Board. There are no limitations on who can leverage these individual roles.

7/15/2020

The Chair of the Scientific Board should come from a member institution, not an associate member institution.

NSD

No change. This is part of the compromise agreed to within the committee.

 

Following is working group information:

Agenda for next meeting:

Final Draft from 2020-06-19

Documents for Final Review:

 

Agenda and Notes

  • 12 February 2020

Defining the Problem and where we want to go

Background Documents

Decision Points

MEMBERS

Ingo Barkow (chair)

Jane Fry

Dan Gillman

Jon Johnson

Jared Lyle

Steve McEachern

Ron Nakao

Hilde Orten

Nicolas Sauger

Wendy Thomas

Joachim Wackerow