Fall 2018 Vote: Roadmap Council Charter & Ratification of Changes to Steering Bylaws

Owned by rsteans
Last updated: Nov 21, 2018
4 min read

Timeline

Election Begins:  

Election Ends:   


The Vote

  • Partners will be able to place a single up/down vote for each item. 
  • Only one ballot may be cast per Partner Institution. 
  • Each initiative must pass by a 2/3rds majority vote. Failure to reach 2/3rds will send the item back to into the respective committees or groups for review.
  • If an institution wishes to change who will cast their vote, please alert Ryan Steans at ryan.steans@northwestern.edu 


The Ballot

This ballot will include two items.  

Item #1 Approval of the Roadmap Council Charter 

The Roadmap Council has developed the charter set out below to guide the work and scope of the group.

  • A "Yes" vote counts toward ratification of the Roadmap Council Charter
  • A "No" vote recommends that the Roadmap Council Charter be returned to the current committee for revision

Charter:

The Roadmap Council exists, as much as possible, to minimize conflicts between the roadmaps of the Core Components, Hyrax, Hyku, and Avalon in consultation with the Metadata Interest Group, the Repository Management Interest Group, and a Samvera Service Provider, while allowing the individual work-streams to progress at their own pace.  They will identify when cross-project development and maintenance sprints need to be arranged and coordinate communication to the Samvera Community about these activities.  This group is chartered per the Governance Recommendations adopted by the Samvera Partners in April 2018.  More information about the Roadmap Council can be found in Recommendation #4 of the Samvera Governance Next Steps document.

Further details may be found here on the Samvera wiki.


Item #2 Ratification of Changes to Steering Group Bylaws

At the Partner Meeting in Salt Lake City at the University of Utah Marriott Library , Partners discussed a new set of Bylaws to govern the operation of the  Samvera Steering Group.  Richard Greenprovided Partners with an overview presentation of the proposed new Bylaws which reflect the recommendations of the Governance Working Group noted on the first slide.  The minor additions suggested in the subsequent discussion have been made and are denoted in the slides by red text. 

  • A "Yes" vote counts toward ratification of the Steering Group Bylaws
  • A "No" vote recommends that the Bylaws be returned to the Steering Group for revision


The proposed Bylaws now read as follows:

  1. The Samvera Steering Group shall consist of nine (9) voting members.  

  2. The voting members of the Samvera Steering Group shall be individuals supported in their participation by a Samvera Partner institution.  No two members of the Steering Group shall be supported concurrently by the same Partner institution. Should a Steering Group member move institutions, such that this bylaw causes an ambiguity, the Steering Group will work with Partners to resolve it.

  3. Members of the Samvera Steering Group are elected to serve for a term of three (3) years. They may not serve more than two contiguous three-year terms.

  4. Steering Group elections shall be held each Fall for three (3) of the nine seats in rotation.  Each Partner institution shall exercise one vote in this process. Candidates for Steering Group elections must have the explicit support of a Samvera Partner institution.

  5. Decisions in the Steering Group shall be made by consensus; in the event that consensus cannot be reached, decisions shall be reached by majority rule.

  6. Steering Group members can resign at any time with notification to the other members and the Partners.  Steering Group members can be removed following a recommendation by Steering and a vote by Partners.

  7. In the event that a seat on the Steering Group becomes vacant part way through a three-year term, an election to fill the seat shall be held as soon as practicable.  The successful candidate is elected to serve the remainder of the three year term. In the event that this period is less than twelve months their tenure extends to include the next three year period and they may, at the end of it, stand for a further contiguous three-year term.

  8. The Steering Group shall elect a Chair and Chair-Elect.  The Chair-Elect succeeds the position of Chair immediately following their one-year term.  The Chair, working in close collaboration with the Chair-Elect, will facilitate Steering meetings and act as the conduit for communication with any hired Samvera staff.

  9. The Steering Group may include any permanent Samvera staff in its meetings and calls as non-voting, ex-officio contributors.  It may also co-opt members of the Samvera Community as non-voting participants should this be beneficial to its work.

  10. The Steering Group will meet virtually each calendar month with additional calls as required.  Steering will hold at least one dedicated face-to-face meeting each year.

  11. The Steering Group provides stewardship and central administration of the Community; they are responsible for helping create the structures to see that critical tasks are addressed, and backstopping the Partners' group in the event that they do not fulfil these critical tasks.  See the Community Framework for additional details.

  12. The bylaws should be reviewed by Steering Group members and by the Partners each year and may be modified at any time by an absolute 2/3 majority vote of the Samvera Partners.


To Place Your Vote

Please visit the URL below.  You will be required to identify yourself on the ballot.  This information will be used strictly to ensure institutions do not place duplicate votes and that votes are placed by the representative of record.  The voting record will not be shared beyond the Election Committee, comprised of Ryan Steans and Officers of Steering (Richard Green - Chair, Jon Dunn - Chair Elect) for purposes of verification, only.


Cast your ballot:  https://goo.gl/forms/J2fYyVMH1xU1PTQg2