DHTech Steering Committee Nominations 2024

DHTech has been an ADHO Special Interest Group since 2021. For the upcoming two-year term (2025-2026), three seats on the Steering Committee need to be filled. Any member of DHTech is eligible to nominate themselves for one of the spots. To give people an idea of what it involves to be on the Steering Committee, this blog post will summarize the key responsibilities and tasks of the Steering Committee. We hope that this will encourage some people to nominate themselves as candidates.

What does the Steering Committee do?

The DHTech Steering Committee supports the DHTech community by planning events, maintaining the community website and Slack workspace, and providing a contact for ADHO in regards to our Special Interest Group (SIG) status. For example, we have organized workshops and panels at ACH2021, DH2022, DH2023, and DH2024 as well as presented posters. We have organized virtual meetups for the DHTech community to discuss topics and present projects. We also maintain the DHTech website and mailing list, and complile a bi-monthly newsletter.

While the Steering Committee members contribute to these activities in form of creating content and organizing meetups, workshops, etc., part of the responsibility is simply finding people to take ownership of certain projects, being on top of the tasks that need attention, and providing an overall vision of how DHTech can support its community. The Steering Committee also decides what to do with the small budget that we receive from ADHO for being a SIG.

What is the time commitment?

The Steering Committee meets virtually monthly (currently on the last Thursday of every month at 9am ET/3pm CET). Usually an agenda is being sent out prior to the meeting with discussion points. Our meetings are typically one hour long. Besides that, being part of the Steering Committee involves a few hours a month to plan events such as the DHTech meetups or conference workshops, write blog posts, participate in subgroups, maintain the DHTech website, and compiling the newsletter.

Am I the right person to be on the Steering Committee?

If you have a few hours each month to give to DHTech and are a DHTech member (no matter when you joined), then yes, you are! There is no other requirement to be on the Steering Committee except a desire to support the community and help DHTech grow.

What do I need to do to nominate myself?

If you want to nominate yourself as a candidate for the DHTech Steering Committee, please fill out this form. You will need to provide your name, affiliation, and a short statement (e.g. about who you are and why you want to be on the DHTech steering committee).

What’s the nomination deadline?

Nominations are open until Friday, November 15, 2024.

Can I get involved in other ways?

Yes! There is the Code Review Working Group and the Education & Training Working Group that both meet monthly if that is of interest to you. Or you can join our bi-monthly meetups. We also always welcome blog posts for our website. If you have specific ideas of things you would like to do, please post them on Slack or contact a member of the Steering Committee directly.