NDSA:Membership Model: Difference between revisions

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(Organized comments around points of consensus and issues to take up)
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==Membership Discussion From First Meeting==
==Membership==
The membership discussion revolved around how new member institutions could join the Alliance with the objective of recognizing both organizational and individual contributions.  
As an outgrowth of the Library of Congress National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP), the Alliance is open to government agencies, educational institutions, non-profit organizations and business with commitments and activities in the areas of collecting, preserving, or ensuring long-term access to digital content.<br/><br/>


===Points of Consensus===
The term of membership is for 3 years.<br/><br/>
*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:===
''Recommendations for membership:''
*Open vs. Closed Membership:
* Membership will be at the institutional level, but participation on Working Groups is open to one or more individuals at the institution.
**membership fully open to all interested parties
* Membership should be open and the process by which new members can join is though:
**membership based on shared values -- interested parties promise to share the values of the NDSA and promote the mission
** Application process; then sponsorship by an organization w/in the NDSA
**partially restricted membership --all potential members to be vetted by the Coordinating
** Review and approval by consensus of the membership subcommittee
**Committee and/or the Secretariat
* Membership may be revoked by a majority vote of member institutions<br/><br/>
**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.
==Eligibility and Requirements==


===The remaining discussion focused on===
The only responsibility of membership is participation. Members participate in one or more working group by making a sustained contribution to the work of the group for the benefit of the Alliance.<br/><br/>
*The NDSA as a working Alliance – and the challenges of accomplishing work with a very large membership base
 
*Application as declaration of interest
''Recommendations for eligibility and requirements:''
*Keeping the governance of the NDSA light – and how that might influence membership eligibility decisions by this group.
* Members should have demonstrated a commitment to digital preservation.
* Members should share the stated values of the Alliance.<br/><br/>
 
==Rights and Privileges==
 
''Recommendations for rights and privileges:''
* Voting power for the Alliance will be distributed:
** Institutions will have one vote on organizational and governance matters affecting the Alliance.
** Individual participants will have effective decision-making power at the Working Group level.
* Working Groups (and Action Teams) can produce official work products and decide on work plans and work products autonomously, within their scope and provided that they do so in a manner transparent to the membership:
** All work products must be announced to the general membership and distributed in draft form well in advance of finalization
** Written discussion related to work product or plans should be conducted on mailing lists that are archived and open to review by the general membership.
** Where discussion is conducted through conference calls, the conference call minutes/notes should be circulated on the mailing list.
* Working groups and their members will have the authority to create Action Teams
** The work of the Action Teams will be fairly autonomous; however, a process of transparency&mdash;a &ldquo;lightweight charter&rdquo;&mdash;should be created to inform the Working Group members of what work is going on.
** Action Teams should report back to the Working Group on a semi-regular basis about the work they are doing.
** Action Teams could be voted on by the main working group to become more formal if the work was something that was highly valued by the community.<br/><br/>
 
==Outstanding Questions==
* How will we engage the commercial sector while avoiding predatory vendor relationships that are not consistent with the goals of the Alliance?
* Do the for-profit orgs have the same status as the not-for-profit orgs?
* Who will review applications?
* How could international organizations become affiliated with the Alliance?

Revision as of 15:17, 11 February 2016

Membership

As an outgrowth of the Library of Congress National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP), the Alliance is open to government agencies, educational institutions, non-profit organizations and business with commitments and activities in the areas of collecting, preserving, or ensuring long-term access to digital content.

The term of membership is for 3 years.

Recommendations for membership:

  • Membership will be at the institutional level, but participation on Working Groups is open to one or more individuals at the institution.
  • Membership should be open and the process by which new members can join is though:
    • Application process; then sponsorship by an organization w/in the NDSA
    • Review and approval by consensus of the membership subcommittee
  • Membership may be revoked by a majority vote of member institutions

Eligibility and Requirements

The only responsibility of membership is participation. Members participate in one or more working group by making a sustained contribution to the work of the group for the benefit of the Alliance.

Recommendations for eligibility and requirements:

  • Members should have demonstrated a commitment to digital preservation.
  • Members should share the stated values of the Alliance.

Rights and Privileges

Recommendations for rights and privileges:

  • Voting power for the Alliance will be distributed:
    • Institutions will have one vote on organizational and governance matters affecting the Alliance.
    • Individual participants will have effective decision-making power at the Working Group level.
  • Working Groups (and Action Teams) can produce official work products and decide on work plans and work products autonomously, within their scope and provided that they do so in a manner transparent to the membership:
    • All work products must be announced to the general membership and distributed in draft form well in advance of finalization
    • Written discussion related to work product or plans should be conducted on mailing lists that are archived and open to review by the general membership.
    • Where discussion is conducted through conference calls, the conference call minutes/notes should be circulated on the mailing list.
  • Working groups and their members will have the authority to create Action Teams
    • The work of the Action Teams will be fairly autonomous; however, a process of transparency—a “lightweight charter”—should be created to inform the Working Group members of what work is going on.
    • Action Teams should report back to the Working Group on a semi-regular basis about the work they are doing.
    • Action Teams could be voted on by the main working group to become more formal if the work was something that was highly valued by the community.

Outstanding Questions

  • How will we engage the commercial sector while avoiding predatory vendor relationships that are not consistent with the goals of the Alliance?
  • Do the for-profit orgs have the same status as the not-for-profit orgs?
  • Who will review applications?
  • How could international organizations become affiliated with the Alliance?
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