NDSA:Membership Model

Membership Discussion From First Meeting

The membership discussion revolved around how new member institutions could join the Alliance with the objective of recognizing both organizational and individual contributions.

Points of Consensus

• New member organizations should share the values of the Alliance and support the mission statement to the best of their abilities
• Member organizations should demonstrate a commitment to preservation: education, technology development, participation in projects
• All organizations should commit to participating in the working groups of the Alliance
• Learning by doing should be encouraged, especially for smaller organizations
• There should be a role for international organizations
• Consortia are welcome to join as members of the NDSA. They should work to determine that their participants identify with the consortium that person represents.
• There should be a way to bring in subject-matter experts
• Membership expectations should be clearly defined

Areas where the group did not develop consensus:

• Open vs. Closed Membership:
  • membership fully open to all interested parties
  • membership based on shared values -- interested parties promise to share the values of the NDSA and promote the mission
  • partially restricted membership --all potential members to be vetted by the Coordinating
  • Committee and/or the Secretariat
  • restricted membership -- technology vendors are not eligible for membership
• The role of funding organizations in the NDSA
  • Is there a conflict of interest for funders serving on working groups?
  • Should funders have their own sub-group
• Participation
  • There should be a maximum number of participants any one member organization can send to a single working group which should be clearly articulated.
  • Working Groups should police themselves and make sure that their agendas are not being swayed
• Sponsorship
  • Should not be necessary for new members – implies exchange of funds.
  • Nomination of new members is acceptable if deemed necessary.
  • Members should be encouraged to seek and nominate other potential participants in the NDSA as a way of expanding the NDSA
• Categories of Membership
  • There should only be one category of membership
  • International entities should be able to join as affiliates (a second category)
  • Technology vendors should be able to join as affiliates (a second category)
• Revocation
  • There should be no clause for revoking membership, it is unnecessary
  • There must be clearly defined reasons for revoking membership

Note: it was commented on that renewal of membership wasn't addressed in these initial documents. This was not seen as problematic at this point, however, it was mentioned that renewal of memberships will need to be addressed in the next 3 years before the current membership terms expire.

The remaining discussion focused on

• The NDSA as a working Alliance – and the challenges of accomplishing work with a very large membership base
• Application as declaration of interest
• Keeping the governance of the NDSA light – and how that might influence membership eligibility decisions by this group.