A Task Force is the main working vehicle within the VIVO Community and may be created out of existing Working Groups, the VIVO Management Team, the VIVO Steering Group or any other VIVO group. Task Forces are created to undertake work in a defined area and timescale, thereby allowing collaborative work in a structured environment.
Everything you need to know about creating a Task Force
Task Forces should be able to form with minimal effort and emerge naturally from discussions and needs within the community. A Task Force should show promise of inter-institutional convergence, joint development, and must encourage participation from community members. Work should document needs and requirements in the form of a brief charter (see charter template here and examples here). Documentation (charter, meeting schedule, agenda and minutes) must be accessible on the VIVO wiki.
The documentation process should result in a common understanding of:
1. The overall domain into which the discussion falls
2. The shared needs and requirements within that domain
3. Use cases that demonstrate these needs and requirements
4. A path towards one or more products that would meet the requirements
5. The organizations willing to commit resources towards realizing the product(s)
6. The timeframe in which the product(s) are needed and should be possible
The charter provides the definition of the Task Force and its deliverables. It is not a contract and may be changed with the consensus of the members of the Task Force at any time, however significant changes such as a 6 month or more delay in timeframes, the abandonment of a deliverable, or the change in the overall scope of the work should be announced to the VIVO community via typical communication channels.
Task Force Approval
Once the draft charter is in acceptable form, community members are invited to participate via appropriate mailing lists. The email message includes access to the charter and seeks the engagement of the additional participants. Organizations must respond publicly that they are willing to take part and commit development resources towards the goals of the Task Force. At least three Partners should respond positively, and no more than three Partners may respond negatively, for the working group to be approved. If fewer than three Partners are willing to contribute, then the Task Force is likely too specific and the work should be done outside of the Task Force process. If more than three Partners object to the work being done, then there is a significant issue that should be resolved before committing resources.
At least one calendar week must pass to allow participants to respond. If there are only one or two participants interested in working on the Task Force, the charter should be discussed and modified before re-announcing.
Once the Task Force is approved, a link to the charter will be added to the VIVO Wiki page that lists active Task Forces.
Task Force Requirements
All members of a Task Force must be licensed VIVO contributors covered by the appropriate CLAs. This is to ensure that the deliverables of the group are unencumbered by intellectual property restrictions. Participants meeting these requirements may join at any time, without any prior approval process.
All discussions within the working group must be transparent. Meeting times should be published in advance to encourage participation. Meetings should be added to the VIVO wiki calendar by including vivosurvey@gmail.com in the list of invitees. Meeting Agenda and Notes should be published on the VIVO wiki
Working groups must strive to meet their timelines and produce the deliverables designated in their charter.
Each Task Force must have at least one participant designated as Facilitator. Facilitators are responsible for promoting continued activity within the group
A Task Force may self-organize in the most convenient manner to accomplish its tasks, including creation and assignment of additional roles and responsibilities as appropriate. Sub groups may be formed and disbanded at will, consisting only of members of the Task Force and do not need to separately meet the requirements of the Task Force, such as having their own Facilitator or Partner members.
Task Force Dissolution
A Task Force is dissolved under the following circumstances:
• All of the deliverables have been met. Hooray!
• The group becomes inactive
• The group does not engage three or more participants from the community
• The group does not have anyone willing to be the Facilitator
At such a time as a group is dissolved, it is moved from the active list of working groups into a working group archive page with the reason for its dissolution noted.
Communication Channels
Several communication channels are available and can be used as appropriate: