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Adopted by the Leadership Group, June 2, 2015 |
v 1.0 July 1, 2014 This version brings VIVO governance into conformity with the emerging DuraSpace model.
v 1.1 March 26May 2, 2015 Remove references to legacy concepts and names. Substitute "VIVO" for "Project" for clarity. Improved formatting. Remove management team. Clarify working groups. Add task forces. Improve figure and formatting. Move to wiki.
VIVO
VIVO is an open community, an open information model, and an open source semantic web application supporting the advancement of scholarship by integrating and sharing information about scholars, their activities and outputs at a single institution while supporting discovery of related work and expertise across a distributed network.
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The VIVO Project has the following overarching goals:
- Manage the VIVO/Vitro software as an open-source, community-developed tool for creating, collecting, managing, and delivering information about researchers and scholars together with the organizational, academic, research, and communications environment around their work;
- Manage the VIVO-ISF Ontology as a Linked Data standard for exchanging information about researchers and scholars together with the organizational, academic, research, and communications environment around their work;
- Lead and support work by institutions and organizations to implement VIVO and the VIVO-ISF Ontology, to extend and develop the Ontology, to further develop and enhance the core VIVO/Vitro software for current and new domains of interest, and to build applications and tools that make use of data expressed using the VIVO-ISF Ontology;
- Conduct conferences and other related events that support and facilitate efforts around topics of most interest to the VIVO community such as open data standards and the VIVO-ISF ontology; linked open data and semantic web languages and technologies; development, deployment, and engagement around research information representation systems, including data reporting and visualization efforts; collaboration, and research discovery.
- Work together with partner institutions, commercial affiliates, and other institutions and organizations in support of the free and open exchange of information about researchers, research, research resources, scholars, and scholarship using Linked Open Data.
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| Level | Category | Benefit | |||
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| Bronze | Information | Annual review webinar for members | |||
| Information | Advanced news of project announcements and activities | ||||
| Information | Institutions that enter basic information about their implementation in the online project registry will receive security bulletins in advance of the public lists. | ||||
| General | Project Member logo for member use | ||||
| General | Institution name and link on Duraspace and VIVO web sites | ||||
| Governance | Eligible to vote on an at-large Member representative to the DuraSpace board of directors | ||||
| Governance | One seat at annual DuraSpace Membership Summit | ||||
| Governance | Eligible to nominate and elect one representative to VIVO Leadership Group from the $2,500 contributors and developing nations group | ||||
| Silver | All | All Bronze Benefits | |||
| General | Institution name, logo and link on the DuraSpace and Project web sites | ||||
| Discounts | 10% discount to new members on first year of either DSpaceDirect or DuraCloud | ||||
| Discounts | Discounted registration at VIVO training events | Gold | All | All Bronze and Silver Benefits||
| Platinum | All | All Bronze, Silver and Gold Benefits | |||
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| Governance | Eligible to |
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| nominate and elect one representative to |
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| VIVO Leadership Group from the $5,000 contributors | ||
| Governance | Eligible to serve on Steering Group if nominated and elected by Leadership Group | |
| Gold | All | All Bronze and Silver Benefits |
| Access | Preferred access (advance registration) to DuraSpace professional development opportunities |
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| Governance | Two seats at the annual DuraSpace Membership Summit |
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| Governance | Eligible |
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| to nominate and elect two representatives to VIVO Leadership Group from the $10,000 contributors | ||
| Platinum | All | All Bronze, Silver and Gold Benefits |
| Governance | Eligible for one seat on |
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| VIVO Leadership Group |
Governance
The purpose of VIVO governance is to establish principles and goals for the project, and to ensure a strategic direction and product roadmaproad map, accountability, a sustainability plan, a management decision framework, and a means of conducting operations.
Governance is based on a representative, community-based membership model incrementally rewarding members who have made the greatest commitments to the project.
VIVO Governance Benefits
The following table shows the governance benefits provided through VIVO policies.
Contribution Level
Benefit *
$2,500 ($250 if from a UN defined list of developing nations)
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VIVO
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Governance Roles
Leadership Group
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The Leadership Group is made up of Platinum Members, Members at other levels who are elected by peer contributors, and representatives from institutions contributing at least 0.5 FTE development or other project-specific effort as approved by project leadership, reportable to the project and approved by project leadership. This group meets quarterly with the Steering Group, including once in-person at the annual conference.
The Leadership Group establishes priorities and is responsible for making strategic decisions. The Steering Group will bring issues to the Leadership Group for decisions that meet the following criteria:
- Annual budget allocation;
- Substantial changes in allocations during the year;
- Strategic product roadmap;
- Strategic community direction.
The Chair of the Steering Group organizes and leads the Leadership Group meetings. When a vote is called for, each organization represented on either the Steering Group or the Leadership Group has one vote on recommendations brought before the group. In case of tie votes, the Chair of the Steering Group shall cast the deciding vote.
Corporate Sponsors are eligible to serve on the Leadership Group as well. See the section below on Corporate Sponsors to view the specific policy.
Leadership Group representatives are also encouraged to assist more closely with the project--as they are able to--by serving on Working Groups and subcommittees or by attending Steering Group meetings when invited.
Steering Group
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The Steering Group provides overall guidance to the project, ensures that the goals of the project are met, and provides strategic guidance and support to the Project Director. A Chair and Vice-Chair shall be elected by the Steering Group annually. The Chair, or the Vice Chair in the Chair’s absence, shall convene meetings, manage agendas, hold votes as needed, and ensure transparency of communication. The Project Director and a DuraSpace staff member serve as ex-officio members of the group in order to provide adequate communication between the team members, the Steering Group, and DuraSpace.
The Steering Group is comprised of nine individuals nominated and elected by the Leadership Group plus two at-large individuals nominated and elected by all members to 3-year terms rotating in three new members each year. The Steering Group provides strategic guidance to the VIVO Project Director, recommends annual budget allocations to the Leadership Group, and is responsible for providing input into the annual DuraSpace Project Director performance review. The group sets the strategic direction for the VIVO Project, subject to approval by the Leadership Group, and raises additional funding and other resources on behalf of the Project as needed.
The Steering Group meets monthly, including quarterly meetings that include the full Leadership Group.
Members Members of the Steering Group, other than ex-officio members, may vote on issues before the group, and decisions are by majority rule.
Management Team
The Management Team, an extension to the DuraSpace model, is led by the full-time Project Director funded by the project and employed by DuraSpace. This Team includes Working Group leaders and the principal VIVO-funded project positions. DuraSpace staff members participate as needed to address issues including fundraising and communications.
The Management Team provides ongoing operational project management complementing the task-oriented activities of the VIVO Working Groups. The team supervises the work of in-kind and paid technical, outreach, and administrative staff doing VIVO-related work.
The Management Team meets biweekly, primarily by phone.
The Management Team operates by consensus following Apache Foundation conventions (http://www.apache.org/foundation/voting.html). Any significant disagreements among Management Team members should be referred to the Steering Group (mgmt@vivoweb.org)
Working Groups
There are five top level Working Groups, though this number may vary at the discretion of the Steering Group: Ontology, Implementation, Core Development, Apps & Tools, and Engagement. Each of these groups may create transient or standing sub-groups to address event planning, manage development tasks, coordinate with other projects or tool developers, and engage, optionally with other parties, on key issues and opportunities groups are standing interest groups providing an opportunity for the VIVO community to discuss common interests.
Working Groups operate under the general oversight and direction of the Management Team, advised They are a vehicle for inclusion and an open door for new project participants.
Working Group chairs meet jointly with the Steering Group monthly, and are advised by the VIVO community at large. They provide quarterly reports updates to the Steering Group on activities, issues, opportunities, plans, and any resource needs. They provide annual reports to the full group of VIVO Members in advance of the VIVO conference in-person meeting. Leaders of each of the five top level working groups participate in Management Team meetings.
Each Working Group manages its own meetings and communications, coordinating through the Management Team. All members and occasionally non-members may be invited to serve on a Working Group at the discretion of the Group chair.
Task Forces
Task forces are self-organized, result-oriented, time-limited project teams. Task forces are coordinated by the Project Director and Technical Lead, and report to the Steering Group. Task forces provide the primary means for advancing the development of VIVO software and the ontologies.
DuraSpace Members Allocating Funds to VIVO
Members may be scholarly institutions, governmental organizations, or other non-profit organizations joining DuraSpace at one of the designated membership levels and allocating a portion of its membership fees to support VIVO.
For-profit corporations are eligible to become VIVO members through the DuraSpace Corporate Sponsorship program; NIH also has the right to vote as a VIVO Platinum-level member in acknowledgement of its funding VIVO from 2009-2012.
VIVO Members participate in periodic membership meetings called by the Steering Group, as needed. One membership meeting will be held in person at the VIVO annual conference. Members are invited to propose product features and contribute candidate use cases for future VIVO software development.
Corporate Sponsors
Corporate Sponsors supporting VIVO at a level of $25,000 and higher may serve on the Leadership Group for a term of one year, with the following qualification: Corporate Sponsor representation will be limited to less than one third of the Leadership Group. In the event that level is exceeded, Corporate Sponsors will select an appropriate number of Leadership representatives from a list nominated by the Steering Group.
VIVO Community
Anyone involved with VIVO-related development, ontology work, implementation, or engagement, who subscribes to the mission and goals of the VIVO Project is welcome to participate in the community, attend the annual conference and other events.
Any non-Member in the VIVO Community may serve on the various Working Groups at the invitation of the group leader. Community members can contribute to VIVO development and potentially become code committers on the VIVO project by working with the technology teams and Release Manager. Community participants may share their expertise and work through the VIVO mailing lists, the Working Groups, VIVO Hackathons and regional meetings, the VIVO Implementation Fest, and the VIVO Annual Meeting.
Sustainability
The sustainability model for VIVO includes several components:
Community Participation
VIVO is an open source, community-driven project. The ongoing health of the project depends on an active, motivated group of participants at all levels. Participation is encouraged in the form of developer and ontology contributions, financial contribution to the project through DuraSpace Membership, serving on a governance group, presenting on VIVO at conferences, writing documentation, testing and validating new software releases, offering training, etc.
Representative Governance
VIVO is governed by its members in the accordance with the Governance Model (see above).
In-Kind Developer Contributions
Most technical contributions are provided by developers whose time is committed by their employer organizations.
Key Salaried Staff
Permanent base-funded staff are funded by the project members or offered as in-kind contributions by participating institutions. A Project Director is hired under the employment of DuraSpace on behalf of VIVO. Some other key positions may be added to DuraSpace or outsourced using VIVO annual budget allocations.
DuraSpace Umbrella Services
VIVO receives a number of umbrella services from DuraSpace in the areas of strategic planning and executive leadership; technology leadership and best practices; community development, fundraising, and governance; marketing and communications; business development; and administrative support.
Membership Fees
Project spending is dependent on a number of revenue sources. One important revenue source is the membership fees provided by member institutions. The project will endeavor to increase membership through an annual campaign as well as ongoing outreach.
Corporate Sponsorship
VIVO manages a corporate sponsorship program for commercial companies that wish to support the work of the project and gain positive exposure to the community. Revenues from the corporate sponsorship program are used directly to support the project. (See attachment for description of VIVO Corporate Sponsorship Program.)
Grants
The VIVO project will continue to seek out appropriate grants to further the work of the project.
Service Provider Program
VIVO will take part in the DuraSpace Registered Service Provider (RSP) Program. Commercial providers offering services in the areas of implementation support, trouble-shooting, consulting, etc., will be invited to join the program and, if qualified, will be promoted to the community. Fees from the RSP program will contribute directly to the sustainability of VIVO.
Service Revenue
VIVO will have the option of offering fee-based services to the community through the DuraSpace Services program. Profits gained by VIVO-funded programs will be used to support the project.
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[1] United Nations. 2014. World Economic Situations and Prospects, pps. 145-146. http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/wesp/wesp_current/wesp2014.pdf Accessed May 17, 2014.[2] Institutions that enter basic information about their implementation in the online project registry will receive security bulletins in advance of the public lists.