Happy New Year, and Happy New DPC too …
The DPC is owned by and accountable to its members so each January we invite nominations to the Executive Board which is responsible for corporate oversight, and volunteers for the Sub-Committees who review and guide our work.
We will hold a drop in session for prospective Sub-Committee members at 1400-1430 on Friday 12th January for anyone interested in finding out more.
The Sub-Committees ensure DPC’s plans and activities are tightly coupled to members’ needs. Care is taken to ensure that the Sub-Committees are diverse, so colleagues at all points in their careers, across all the parts of the Coalition and across all sectors and agencies are encouraged to step forward. Our Sub-Committees meet quarterly for around two hours, receiving reports about the DPC's work in specific areas, and reviewing plans for upcoming or new initiatives. The Sub-Committees also filter and review grant applications and new or additional activities that arise throughout the year. Each one is facilitated by a DPC staff member.
There are vacancies on four of our five Sub-Committees:
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Advocacy and Community Engagement, chaired by Paul Stokes, receives reports from Sarah Middleton, Angela Puggioni and Amy Currie on the DPC's Community Engagement and Advocacy programmes including the BitList, Digital Preservation Awards and World Digital Preservation Day;
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Workforce Development, chaired by Michelle Donoghue, receives reports from Sharon McMeekin and Amy Currie on training and skills initiatives, makes grants from the DPC Career Development Fund and is the editorial committee for the Digital Preservation Handbook;
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Good Practice, chaired by Roxana Maurer, receives reports from Paul Wheatley, Jenny Mitcham and Michael Popham on capacity building and standards initiatives; reviewing any major research projects and acting as editorial board for the Technology Watch Reports;
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Management and Governance, chaired by Tim Keefe, receives reports from John McMillan and Ellie O’Leary on all matters relating to finance, staffing, good governance and environmental accountability.
The Sub-Committees are lively and creative, helping the DPC prioritize ideas against the real needs of our members and the global digital preservation community. One recent member commented '“My advice to any DPC Member is to try and join a subcommittee if you can. You get to see some of the really amazing work the DPC does and you get that little bit deeper into the DPC world and community - it's great stuff!”' Participants are encouraged to bring their practical experience of the challenges of digital preservation from their own working environments, whatever they may be.
Members who have not previously taken a seat on one of the Sub-Committees before are particularly encouraged to participate.
We are especially keen to encourage participation from voices not normally privileged or historically overlooked, ensuring that we deliver our values of accountability, transparency and inclusion.
The Executive Board, comprising the Executive Director and 11 Non-Executive Directors drawn from the full membership, meets quarterly. We are hoping to recruit one new Non-Executive Director in January 2024. Directors have a wide and immediate influence on all aspects of our work. Non-Executive Directors are subject to a more rigorous selection processes with an application form and are restricted to the staff of Full DPC Members. However we are committed to building the next generation of leaders in the digital preservation community around the World, so our Director’s Training program is open to any members looking to build theor experience of company direction or strategic and financial planning and who might hope for such a role in the future.
If you would like to join a Sub-Committee, or have an interest in the Executive Board, simply complete this form before the end of January and let us know what roles appeal most. We try to ensure a diversity of voices so cannot always guarantee your first choice, but will do our best to accommodate all requests.