DLF PMG Terms of Reference

The DLF PMG Terms of Reference is the document used by the DLF PMG Steering Committee to coordinate its work and the wider PMG on a yearly basis.

General Information

1. Name: DLF Project Managers’ Group Steering Committee
2. History: For information about the Project Managers’ Group, see the DLF Wiki
3. Purpose: The Steering Committee meets online throughout the year to work on projects and organizes the Annual Forum working session for PMG.

Listservs for DLF PMG

DLF PMG has two listservs:

1. For the general group (DLF-PM-GROUP@LISTS.CLIR.ORG). The general group listserv email is for sharing announcements with the entire PMG and for group members to ask questions and discuss amongst the membership.
2. For the Steering Committee (​​DLF-PM-STEERING@LISTS.CLIR.ORG). The Steering Committee listserv is for the Committee to use to share information and discuss between meetings.

Membership

1. Current Members of the Steering Committee will select a chair for the Committee. It will be the chair’s responsibility to schedule the Steering Committee meetings, create the agenda for the meetings, create the note-taking rotation for the meetings, and facilitate meetings. The Chair also serves as the main point of contact between DLF CLIR and the group throughout the year.
2. A chair serves for a year; the transition to a new chair happens at the Annual Forum each year
3. Anyone can join the Steering Committee at any time during the year. They can contact the Chair if interested in doing so
4. There is no term limit to how long someone can remain on the Steering Committee; it is up to the member to decide if they have the time or not to contribute to the Steering Committee over the course of the year.

Meeting Schedule

1. The Steering Committee meets once a month. The Chair should use a Doodle poll at the beginning of their term to determine the best time and date each month for the meeting and schedule the year’s meetings at that time
2. DLF CLIR can provide a Zoom link for the meetings if needed.

Meeting Responsibilities

1. Each member should review the agenda prior to the meeting and add any agenda items they wish to discuss
2. A note taker will be assigned to each meeting. If the member is unable to take notes on their assigned date, it is their responsibility to find an alternate
3. Members will actively participate in the meetings, adding to discussion and reporting back on sub-committee activities as required.
4. Action items will be created during the meeting that should be followed up on prior to the following meeting.

Committee Best Practices

1. All Steering Committee documentation is available via Google Drive. Each steering committee member should have access to the DLF PMG Steering Committee Google Drive workspace
2. Documents must be created within the DLF PMG Google Drive with the account to avoid permissions and ownership issues as people join and leave the committee.
3. The Chair should send out a reminder and agenda for each monthly meeting as close to a week prior as possible. Reminder that if the note taker cannot attend, an alternate needs to be found.

Steering Committee Timeline

November

• The chair is changed following the Annual Forum; the new chair will preside starting in January of the following year (traditionally, December is a month off for the Committee)
• Call for New Members to the Steering Committee is generally done at the Forum and a call is put out on the listserv as well following the Forum
• Following the Forum, DLF/CLIR will reach out for updated information on the committee (steering committee members, goals/priorities, etc.)

January-February

• The Committee outlines and decides on the goals for the Steering Committee for the coming year.
• Each goal should have a champion, or a steering committee member who takes the lead on the work for the year

April/May

• Usually around this time is when DLF calls for session proposals for the year’s Annual Forum. The Steering Committee discusses what, if any, sessions the Committee wants to propose. The Committee also encourages, using the listserv, group members to submit proposals.

July

• A new Mentoring cohort starts; this is coordinated by the Mentoring Sub-Committee leads with Steering Committee input

August

• Find out if any Annual Forum proposals were accepted and Steering Committee works on preparation as needed; start planning the Forum Working Session for PMG (usually accepted in proposal was even required)

September-October

• Preparation for Forum; wrapping up year goals for Committee

Sub-Committees

1. Mentoring: The Mentoring sub-committee coordinates the DLF PMG Mentoring Program run on a yearly basis.
2. Programming: The Programming sub-committee organizes and hosts virtual webinars and trainings with a project management focus periodically throughout the year.

DLF Project Managers’ Toolkit

The toolkit is a collaborative project, based on contributions by members of the DLF PMG. First initiated by Jennifer Vinopal at New York University in February 2013, the toolkit has grown and evolved over the years as a living document to share experiences and link out to resources. The toolkit lives on the DLF Wiki.

• Maintenance Schedule
  • The Steering Committee encourages PMG members to make edits and additions to the toolkit periodically during the year.
  • Once a year, the Steering Committee does a full review of the Toolkit to confirm all links are still working and the information remains accurate. This is usually done in the Fall before the Annual Forum so the Toolkit is up to date for the Toolkit to be used/discussed at the PMG sessions at the Forum.

DLF PMG Zotero Library

DLF PMG does have a Zotero Library which is used to share relevant resources for project management with the group. It is open to anyone to view and add resources.

Review of Terms of Reference

The Chair will review the Terms of Reference on a yearly basis, usually in the fall prior to the changeover to a new chair and have the Committee review the document as well to make sure it is current.