RAiD Advisory Group Terms of Reference

30 November 2021

Purpose

RAiD is a persistent identifier for research projects managed by the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC). 

ARDC has increased the resourcing for RAiD to enable the service to grow quickly, responding to increasing national and international demand. The RAiD roadmap includes rapid technical and product development alongside the progression of a governance model to support long-term sustainability of RAiD on a global scale. ISO certification of RAiD as a standard is also underway. 

The purpose of this Advisory Group is to:

• Provide a forum for monitoring, discussing and collaborating on the development of RAiD

• Provide feedback and advice on the development of the RAiD product including:

  • technical, community adoption and governance aspects

  • positioning of RAiD in the broader research and PID ecosystem

  • use cases and benefits

• Advise ARDC on the transition of RAiD to a global capability

• Monitor and raise the factors outside of RAiD’s influence that impact its success

• Enable ARDC to share information on the progress of RAiD

Decision making

The RAiD Advisory Group has no governance or financial powers over - or responsibilities for - the ARDC or the RAiD service.

Roles and responsibilities

The members of the RAiD Advisory Group will commit to:  

• Provide feedback and advice on the development of the RAiD product including:

  • technical, community adoption and governance aspects

  • positioning of RAiD in the broader research and PID ecosystem

  • use cases and benefits

• Advise ARDC on the transition of RAiD to a global capability

• Monitor and raise the factors outside of RAiD’s influence that impact its success. 

• Attend all scheduled Advisory Group meetings where possible.

• Treat sensitive information shared in the meetings in confidence, i.e. to not disclose the information in a way that it can be attributed to a person or organisation

• Act in accordance with the ARDC Code of Conduct

Members of the Advisory Group  can expect:  

• To be provided with relevant information about RAiD development in a timely manner 

• To be alerted to potential risks and issues that could impact RAiD development, as they arise  

• Open and honest discussions

Membership terms

The membership term will be 2 years.

A member may withdraw from the Advisory Group during this time. ARDC will then decide whether a replacement member will be sought. 

Membership is decided on an individual basis and not on the basis of organisational representation. 

Meeting proxies will be considered where the member has given ARDC advance notice and is subject to ARDC approval. 

ARDC reserves the right to remove someone from the group  if they do not act in accordance with the ARDC Code of Conduct.

Meetings 

Meetings will be scheduled on a quarterly basis and will be virtual using the zoom platform. International time zones will be taken into account in the scheduling of meetings. ARDC may decide to run each meeting twice to accommodate different time zones and members would then be expected to attend only one of these meetings. 

All meetings will be convened and chaired by Natasha Simons (Director, National Coordination) or another representative of the ARDC. 

The ARDC will prepare meeting agendas, provide minutes and supporting papers.

If required, additional meetings or subgroup meetings will be arranged outside of these times at a time convenient to those who need to attend. 

Members

The Advisory Group will comprise: 

Amendment, Modification or Variation 

These Terms of Reference may be amended, varied or modified in writing by ARDC after consultation with Advisory Group members.