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The VIVO community is at a significant transition point in its history. = Like many open source communities, VIVO grapples with typical issues o= f community engagement, allocation of scarce resources, setting priorities,= organizing and accomplishing work, communication, and decision-making. To = address these issues, VIVO must continue on its path to evolve into a growi= ng open source community that is financially independent, highly productive= , and comprised of actively engaged members. VIVO leadership, guided by thi= s Strategic Plan, will advance a purposeful agenda to build a community who= se members and stakeholders are familiar with its high priority goals and v= alue proposition. This focus will provide the community with direction and = guidelines for identifying and defining work so that their contributions ar= e strategically aligned and can be executed quickly.
The VIVO Leadership Group approved the creation of the VIVO Strategy Gro= up in August 2014. The VIVO Strategy Group developed this Strategic Plan to= articulate the project=E2=80=99s high priority goals and value proposition= . The plan addresses the challenges that the VIVO community faces and estab= lishes priorities and actions for overcoming them.
The VIVO Strategy Group recognizes the critical need for VIVO to satisfy= its customers and stakeholders through sustainable value creation. The pro= posed value proposition has been created to serve as a foundation for = VIVO:
VIVO provides an integrated vi= ew of the scholarly work of an organization
The Strategy Group recognizes two critical g= oals for the VIVO open source community, which include:
The value of VIVO lies in its capability to integrate disparate sources = of information (people, their work, funding sources, and other data) and ex= pose it via interoperable linked data standards. Data integration prov= ides an organization, project, or consortium with the power to develop a de= ep understanding of multiple types and sources of information, create enhan= ced visualizations, and integrate views of clinical and research data to he= lp achieve strategic goals. Integration and data interoperability generate = insights to simplify and accelerate decision-making. This, in turn, leads t= o lower costs, improved visibility of competitive strengths and weaknesses,= and facilitates cross-institutional and cross-disciplinary collaborations.= To improve the value of VIVO, actions must address an urgent need to incre= ase the engagement of VIVO community members and the work they contribute b= ack to the community. The Strategy Group proposes hiring a dedicated, full-= time Technical Lead to harness the talents and strengths of community membe= rs; not just technical skills, but all skills required to further community= engagement and improve customer satisfaction and user experience. This rol= e would coordinate technical resources to lower barriers for adoption, impr= ove extended functionality of VIVO software, the VIVO-ISF ontology, and pro= mote the development of modern web-based applications and tools that users = want.
All VIVO projects function within an international networked ecosystem o= f linked data to facilitate research and scholarly interchange. VIVO h= as emerged as a leading community in this information ecosystem and vigorou= sly advocates for policies that promote improved data sharing through the u= se of common standards. Sharing and delivering interconnected VIVO data for= query, search, visualization, and analysis has a major positive impact on = other broader initiatives committed to open science, stable identifiers (to= ensure data resolution), and interoperable data standards across the acade= mic and research landscape. The value of a linked data infrastructure incre= ases with the amount of linked data and applications that are available for= consumption. A linked data landscape enables complex analytics of science = of team science, evaluation, and informs institutional policy making.
Actions required to ensure VIVO=E2=80=99s leadership in the creation of = an open ecosystem include formalizing and leveraging partnerships with, for= example, ORCID, euroCRIS, CRediT, and CASRAI. VIVO must also attract and s= upport projects that build on the VIVO framework, such as EarthCollab, the = Deep Carbon Observatory, the UN FAO, and many others. Finally, we need to c= onsult and interact with a diversity of efforts to demonstrate our strong c= ommitment to open scholarship through the reuse of existing standards such = as W3C and OBO Foundry. VIVO must continue to play a lead role to nurture i= nnovation and collaboration and model best practices for developing data ex= change standards.
VIVO was first developed at Cornell University in 2003 and transitioned = to an open source semantic platform in 2007-8. Progress accelerated rapidly= in 2009 when NIH awarded a $12.2M grant to the University of Florida. This= research program established a seven-university VIVO consortium and during= 2009-2012, the VIVO project achieved successive software releases, created= the VIVO ontology, and launched the VIVO open source community. A highly s= uccessful outreach and implementation program was developed to engage and e= xpand the community. The first annual VIVO conference was held in 2010, and= the VIVO community grew significantly due to the adoption of VIVO at sever= al institutions. VIVO community leaders partnered with DuraSpace in 20= 13 to address long-term sustainability in transitioning away from grant fun= ding. DuraSpace is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that provid= es leadership and innovation for building sustainable, open source communit= ies, technologies, and services. During 2013-2014, the VIVO Founding Sponso= rs contributed $270,000 to support a full-time project director, a part-tim= e programmer, and part-time community outreach, communications and strategi= c administrative support. Overall membership revenue for 2013 was $200,000 = and the DuraSpace membership program launched in 2014 raised $340,000 = (this amount includes some of the initial contributions from Founding Spons= ors along with $102,500 in new memberships and corporate sponsorships). Ann= ual income of $500,000 will be required to support key priorities and hire = a full-time technical lead. VIVO will need to grow the community and expand= adoption by attracting financial and in-kind support from new members and = corporate sponsors. In 2014, VIVO adopted a charter and established a = governance model to foster adoption of open source processes. A VIVO projec= t at any institution brings greater exposure to local data quality issues, = requires new partnerships and workflows, and engenders significant ongoing = commitments to outreach and promotion. As a community, VIVO asks individual= s and institutions to reach beyond local priorities to contribute ideas, da= ta, and tools to support the broader goal of building an open and collabora= tive ecosystem.
The Strategy Group identified 15 high-priority goals during the strategi= c planning process. Action plans were identified for these goals. VIVO lead= ership has consolidated 15 goals into this Strategic Plan by focusing on tw= o overarching goals. These goals and corresponding recommendations for acti= on are presented below.
Action 1A. Hire a full-time technical lead. The technic= al lead will coordinate technical tasks across the project to increase prod= uctivity by building strong community participation. The lead will align so= ftware and ontology development, coordinate a review of the VIVO architectu= re, and implement a road map process to orchestrate a project-wide release = process. Other suggested technical lead priorities include: managing cross-= functional task groups; reviewing democratic code contributions from in-kin= d and volunteer developers; ensuring transparency of project work; coordina= ting documentation and modeling best practices.
Action 1B. Adopt an agile collaboration model designed to optimi= ze productivity of open source projects. VIVO=E2=80=99s current wo= rking groups actively share cross-project information, provide support to n= ew and existing members, and discuss new technologies that are relevant to = the VIVO project. However, there is no efficient process in place for the w= orking groups to solicit, identify, prioritize, or manage the execution of = work required to enhance VIVO. A model to formalize and guide work processe= s has been created by the W3C, Apache, and Research Data Alliance communiti= es. It provides an agile means for undertaking focused projects to meet key= goals. The =E2=80=9CVIVO Task Force=E2=80=9D model is a lightweight proces= s for defining projects with focused objectives, specific deliverables, and= short timeframes (2-4 months). A key feature of the model is that it expli= citly requires solicitation of participants from the community. The process= is being tested in VIVO=E2=80=99s environment and currently 3 Task Force C= harters have been created and are under review. Community members have also= suggested several more task forces.
Action 1C. Improve clarity and transparency. Launch a r= edesigned vivoweb.org web site as a comprehensive resource for the VIVO co= mmunity with outreach, installations, adoption, events, technical support, = and links to the wiki, blog, twitter stream, issue tracker, and GitHub code= and ontology repositories. Leverage these tools to help identify, prioriti= ze and realize improvements to the VIVO technology and ontology. Identify t= he stages and components of successful VIVO projects so that developers and= adopters can easily understand the challenges and steps involved. Provide = transparency in governance operations, roles, and responsibilities through = public access to all meeting minutes and increase the frequency of communic= ations.
Action 1D. Lower barriers to adoption and contribution.= The questions that prospective users typically ask about VIVO are very sim= ilar and often predictable, which calls for a well organized, up-to-date se= t of core information resources to be created. Offering consultations on ne= w projects can identify policy issues, data sources, and facilitate team fo= rmation. A slide deck describing the VIVO project and its value proposition= in a format that is easy to supplement and customize will help users to la= unch local marketing and outreach. A survey of the VIVO community to collec= t data about local outreach processes and information resources, adoption o= f best practices and lessons learned will further promote sharing knowledge= at a peer-to-peer level. Starter kits for new adopters will highlight requ= irements, training opportunities, and point to a community registry that li= sts skills, applications, and tools. Expanding the number and range of serv= ice and support providers will also enhance the options available to users = and better connect VIVO with other key institutional information needs and = solutions.
Action 1E. Improve the modularity of the VIVO core code=
. Incremental changes to the VIVO core code over several releases have begu=
n to address the issue of modularity. Improved interoperability and modular=
ity of the VIVO core code is of paramount importance for rapid development =
of functionality and features that users are eager to adopt. Modules that a=
ccommodate alternative triple stores, search engines and index tools, reaso=
ners, visualization tools, internationalization, gadgets, etc. are all nece=
ssary. Prioritizing modularity will result in providing VIVO implementers w=
ith maximum flexibility to choose from a broad spectrum of
commercially available and open source tools.
Action 1F. Aggressively promote the value of VIVO membership wit= hin DuraSpace. Membership provides value because VIVO organiz= ations work collaboratively through their own elected Leadership Group and = DuraSpace to advance the design, development and sustainability of the= project. DuraSpace also provides mentoring expertise across its several pr= ojects on technical and open source best practices, sustainability planning= , fundraising, community development, marketing and communications, collabo= rations and strategic partnerships, and administration. Increased customize= d marketing campaigns will create interest and awareness among potential me= mbers and corporate sponsors by closely connecting VIVO=E2=80=99s key goals= with fundraising. During the 2015 Membership Campaign, VIVO needs to raise= $500k in annual membership revenues to sustain and grow a robust, adequate= ly staffed project.
Action 2A. Leverage partnerships outside of the VIVO community t= hat align with the VIVO strategy. VIVO has initiated partnerships = with a number of organizations in the linked data and research information = space including ORCID, W3C, euroCRIS, CASRAI, FORCE11, SciENcv, CRediT, &am= p; JISC. These partnerships require reinvigoration and refocus to establish= clear common goals, increase cross-fertilization of ideas and policies, en= sure data interoperability, and minimize the creation of redundant systems = or competing data standards. It is necessary to identify individual VIVO co= mmunity members to manage each partnership and encourage VIVO leadership ro= les in all partner activities.
Action 2B. Further develop the VIVO-ISF as a data standard for r= esearcher profiling data exchanges. Data Standards are critical to= integration, interoperability, and discovery. Use of standard data models = facilitates a number of critical activities, such as research discovery and= analysis, cross-site search, business intelligence, reporting, and visuali= zations. To realize this goal, data integration use cases must be identifie= d so that ontology work can be performed.Implementation of ontology modules= and tools for data ingest need to be created, and analysis of sufficiency = must be evaluated. Data standards are necessarily best when they are develo= ped by the community, for the community. To support a community-driven= effort we need to identify contributors, train them, and identify funding = to assist in the management of this data standardization cycle.
Action 2C. Develop VIVO search for intra-institutional, cross-in= stitutional and cross-platform use. Many VIVO stakeholders an= d community members want multi-site search capabilities because it is essen= tial to their ongoing community involvement. A beta version of VIVO Search = (http://vivosearch.org/) developed in 2011 urgently needs updating. Ac= tion: Establish a series of focused task forces during early 2015 to review= existing VIVO Search resources, clarify goals, define deliverables and a f= inite timeline, determine technical specifications, and solicit community p= articipation and use cases.
Action 2D. Attract and support projects that build on and extend= the VIVO framework into new areas. Promote adoption of the underl= ying Vitro semantic application platform and extend the VIVO-ISF ontology i= nto new domains to broaden the utility of the VIVO approach in new academic= , government, and research communities interested in producing and consumin= g linked data. Foster interoperability with other tools and platforms, such= as Fedora 4 and Hydra, to better support the discovery sharing and attribu= tion of datasets, improve impact tracking and assessment, and enhance data = integration through ontologies and unique identifiers.
Action 2E. Demonstrate commitment to open scholarship as a commu= nity through innovation and best practices. Make data sharing a re= ality by promoting the re-use of VIVO data throughout our own institut= ions and in the wider scholarly community. Participate in conferences,= workshops, and projects addressing priorities synergistic with VIVO commun= ity goals, taking a leadership role whenever possible and appropriate.
The actions recommended in this plan outline an achievable path to a hig=
hly efficient VIVO open source project fostering deep, sustainable communit=
y engagement. Central among these recommendations is hiring a full-time tec=
hnical lead to coordinate agile, community-driven processes that will grow =
VIVO participation and pay dividends in productivity and quality. As the in=
stalled base of VIVO users increases, we have the opportunity to promote VI=
VO membership in partnership with DuraSpace as the most effective way to ma=
rshal the financial and in-kind resources necessary to sustain and enhance =
VIVO and to realize its full potential in the international research commun=
ity.