<div dir="ltr"><div>Dear DDI community,<input name="virtru-metadata" type="hidden" value="{"email-policy":{"state":"closed","expirationUnit":"days","disableCopyPaste":false,"disablePrint":false,"disableForwarding":false,"enableNoauth":false,"persistentProtection":false,"expandedWatermarking":false,"expires":false,"isManaged":false},"attachments":{},"compose-id":"38","compose-window":{"secure":false}}"></div><div><br></div><div>In September and October, DDI members voted on <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1L9A49qdWY6oMFN-XOOB5aMKHdE38b2Rh/view?usp=sharing ">proposed amendments</a> to the DDI Bylaws about a restructuring of the DDI Scientific Board, which is the scientific and technical body of the Alliance. Twenty-one of the 28 eligible voting designated member representatives voted "Yes", one voted "I formally decline to vote", and six did not respond. The vote passed with a two-thirds majority, which means the Bylaws amendments are adopted. </div><div><br></div><div>
These changes were proposed by a <a href="https://ddi-alliance.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/DDI4/pages/850853895/Scientific+Board+Revision+-+temporary+working+group" target="_blank">temporary working group</a> composed of DDI member representatives, discussed at the 2020 annual Meeting of Members, and subsequently distributed to the entire membership for comments and further edits. I want to especially thank the temporary working group, chaired by Ingo Barkow, that drafted and proposed the Bylaws amendments. </div><div><br></div><div>As a next step, <u>we are soliciting nominations for members of the restructured Scientific Board</u>. The purposes of the Scientific Board are to:</div><ul><li>Provide direction and coordination in the development of the substantive content of the DDI standards and other work products of the Alliance by its sub-committees and working groups within the context of the Alliance Strategic Plan.</li><li>Implement the scientific work plan agreed at the Annual Meeting of the Scientific Community.</li><li>Oversee the substantive content of DDI standards and other work products.</li><li>Undertake research and testing concerning proposals for DDI standards and other work products.</li><li>Develop and promulgate best practices for use of DDI standards and work products.</li><li>Assess progress and barriers to progress.</li><li>Provide a report on progress of the scientific work plan over the previous year, and proposals for the future scientific direction and related activities to the Annual Meeting of the Scientific Community.</li></ul><div>Please email nominations directly to me (<a href="mailto:lyle@umich.edu">lyle@umich.edu</a>). Feel free to reach out with questions. Please submit your nominations by 30 November 2020. In early December, the Alliance membership will elect the members of the Scientific Board.<br></div><div><br></div>The restructured Scientific Board will be composed of seven voting members elected by the Members of the Alliance. For the initial election, three will be elected for two-year terms and four for four-year terms; all terms will start 1 January 2021 and run through 30 June of their respective term periods. The Executive Director and Chair of the Technical Committee shall serve as ex‐officio members, without internal vote, of the Scientific Board. Representatives from Members and Associate Members of the Alliance are eligible to serve as elected members of the Scientific Board. A majority of the elected members of the Scientific Board must be from Member Organizations. <div><br></div><div><div>Sincerely,<br></div><div>Jared</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="DE-CH"><font color="#000000">Jared Lyle<br>Executive Director, <a href="https://ddialliance.org/" target="_blank"><span id="gmail-m_8357461861117742953m_3003900699012198441gmail-m_7995381895470255192gmail-m_4762175954782216410m_-7173036272154285788gmail-m_4733858839372711956gmail-m_-3387988494985437205:fmz.5">DDI</span> Alliance</a><br><a href="https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/" target="_blank"><span id="gmail-m_8357461861117742953m_3003900699012198441gmail-m_7995381895470255192gmail-m_4762175954782216410m_-7173036272154285788gmail-m_4733858839372711956gmail-m_-3387988494985437205:fmz.6">ICPSR</span></a>, University of Michigan<br><a href="mailto:lyle@umich.edu" target="_blank"><span id="gmail-m_8357461861117742953m_3003900699012198441gmail-m_7995381895470255192gmail-m_4762175954782216410m_-7173036272154285788gmail-m_4733858839372711956gmail-m_-3387988494985437205:fmz.7">lyle</span>@<span id="gmail-m_8357461861117742953m_3003900699012198441gmail-m_7995381895470255192gmail-m_4762175954782216410m_-7173036272154285788gmail-m_4733858839372711956gmail-m_-3387988494985437205:fmz.8">umich</span>.<span id="gmail-m_8357461861117742953m_3003900699012198441gmail-m_7995381895470255192gmail-m_4762175954782216410m_-7173036272154285788gmail-m_4733858839372711956gmail-m_-3387988494985437205:fmz.9">edu</span></a></font><br></span></p><div><font color="#999999"><br></font></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="DE-CH"></span></p><div><div style="color:rgb(136,136,136)"><font color="#000000" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><i>Follow the <span id="gmail-m_8357461861117742953m_3003900699012198441gmail-m_7995381895470255192gmail-m_4762175954782216410m_-7173036272154285788gmail-m_4733858839372711956gmail-m_-3387988494985437205:fmz.10">DDI</span> Alliance on <a href="https://www.twitter.com/ddialliance" target="_blank">Twitter</a></i></font></div></div></div><div style="color:rgb(136,136,136)"><div><img src="cid:ii_kc6bjcge0" alt="DDI-tagline2.png" width="202" height="72" style="margin-right: 0px;"></div></div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote" style=""><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Fri, Jul 3, 2020 at 10:40 AM Jared Lyle <<a href="mailto:lyle@umich.edu" target="_blank">lyle@umich.edu</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr">Dear DDI community,<br><br>A temporary working group has been meeting since February to discuss how to improve the structure and organization of the Scientific Board, which is the scientific and technical body of the Alliance. This past week, that group finalized their recommendations to propose a restructuring and to draft changes to the Alliance Bylaws. Those recommendations are here: <a href="https://ddi-alliance.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/DDI4/pages/850853895/Scientific+Board+Revision+-+temporary+working+group" target="_blank">https://ddi-alliance.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/DDI4/pages/850853895/Scientific+Board+Revision+-+temporary+working+group</a><div><br>The recommendations include:<div><ul><li>ScientificBoard restructuring.docx. This short note is intended to explain the thinking behind a new plan to organize, operate, and engage with the Scientific Board of the DDI Alliance.</li><li>Bylaws-2020-Final_Draft-20200619.docx. This contains the proposed changes to the DDI Alliance Bylaws to accommodate the reorganized Scientific Board.</li><li>ScientificBoardOperationalGuidelines-draft.docx. This specifies the operational guidelines of the reorganized Scientific Board.</li></ul>As a next step, we ask that you review the recommendations and send any comments to Ingo Barkow <<a href="mailto:Ingo.Barkow@fhgr.ch" target="_blank">Ingo.Barkow@fhgr.ch</a>>, chair of the temporary working group, by <u>17 July</u>. <br><br>Ingo and the temporary working group will finalize their recommendations and then send them to the Executive Board, which under the Bylaws can propose amendments. "Amendments must be adopted by a two‐thirds majority vote of the Designated Member Representatives after written electronic notice of the vote of at least sixty days" (DDI Alliance Bylaws, (Section XVII). <br></div></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="DE-CH"><font color="#000000">Jared Lyle<br>Executive Director, <a href="https://ddialliance.org/" target="_blank"><span id="m_8357461861117742953m_3003900699012198441gmail-m_7995381895470255192gmail-m_4762175954782216410m_-7173036272154285788gmail-m_4733858839372711956gmail-m_-3387988494985437205:fmz.5">DDI</span> Alliance</a><br><a href="https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/" target="_blank"><span id="m_8357461861117742953m_3003900699012198441gmail-m_7995381895470255192gmail-m_4762175954782216410m_-7173036272154285788gmail-m_4733858839372711956gmail-m_-3387988494985437205:fmz.6">ICPSR</span></a>, University of Michigan<br><a href="mailto:lyle@umich.edu" target="_blank"><span id="m_8357461861117742953m_3003900699012198441gmail-m_7995381895470255192gmail-m_4762175954782216410m_-7173036272154285788gmail-m_4733858839372711956gmail-m_-3387988494985437205:fmz.7">lyle</span>@<span id="m_8357461861117742953m_3003900699012198441gmail-m_7995381895470255192gmail-m_4762175954782216410m_-7173036272154285788gmail-m_4733858839372711956gmail-m_-3387988494985437205:fmz.8">umich</span>.<span id="m_8357461861117742953m_3003900699012198441gmail-m_7995381895470255192gmail-m_4762175954782216410m_-7173036272154285788gmail-m_4733858839372711956gmail-m_-3387988494985437205:fmz.9">edu</span></a></font><br></span></p><div><font color="#999999"><br></font></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="DE-CH"></span></p><div><div style="color:rgb(136,136,136)"><font color="#000000" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><i>Follow the <span id="m_8357461861117742953m_3003900699012198441gmail-m_7995381895470255192gmail-m_4762175954782216410m_-7173036272154285788gmail-m_4733858839372711956gmail-m_-3387988494985437205:fmz.10">DDI</span> Alliance on <a href="https://www.twitter.com/ddialliance" target="_blank">Twitter</a></i></font></div></div></div><div style="color:rgb(136,136,136)"><div><img src="cid:ii_kc6bjcge0" alt="DDI-tagline2.png" width="202" height="72" style="margin-right:0px"><br></div></div></div>
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