Meet the VIVO Project Director
Layne JohnsonJune 25, 2014
Welcome!
• Formally trained as a PhD life scientist–Microbial metabolism and genetics–Discovery research in
pharmaceuticals• Anticancer, anti-infectives, agriculture• High-throughput screening – lots of data
• Evolved into an information scientist• Global Head Information Management
Experience with Collaboration Tools
• Lotus Notes - Drug Development Teams– Open culture, content, ease of use
• Plumtree portal – GIN – global use– Market segmentation critical– Internal and external information
• Harvard Profiles – Academic Health Center– First ever research network at UMN
• SciVal Experts/PURE – UMN – useful beyond biomedical disciplines
My First Face to Face Involvement with VIVOVIVO Conference – 2010
A Gathering for the Like-Minded
Taking Notes at VIVO 2010
University of Florida VIVO Outreach
What Did I Learn at VIVO 2010?
• The VIVO Community is open, willing to share and learn, committed to excellence
• VIVO served noble causes– Assisting researchers– Supporting medical advances– Flexibility – boundless & cross-disciplinary
• Standard data formats allow easy reuse• Ontology is not a dirty word• Attendees were platform agnostic & aligned
VIVO Values - Widely Adopted
• Clinical and Translational Science–Research Networking Affinity Group–DIRECT2Experts – to federate searches–User Survey 2012 – adoption status–LOD Standards – endorsed by CTSA
• Locally at UMN–Expanded research networking–Migrated to VIVO standards
Adoption of LOD & VIVO Ontology
LOD & VIVO Ontology Adoption Status – 48 CTSA Institutions
Obeid, et al. 2014. in press
The Foundation is Sound
• Realizing that semantic web and ontology standards were critical for widespread, facile data sharing, I recognized that VIVO was core to the success of a wide variety of applications
• The collaboration of VIVO and DuraSpace formalized a model to ensure the long-term sustainability
• The stage had been set, but yet there remained a need for a Project Director
Project Director: Primary Responsibilities
• Oversee operations• Oversee software projects• Community management• Marketing and communications• Provide strategic vision
Understanding VIVO Operations
–Participation with Steering Group–The VIVO Charter
• In development when I came on board• Finalized by Steering Group, undergoing
Leadership Group review• Outlines key elements for operations and
VIVO governance• Critical for establishing the guidelines
within which VIVO operates is governed
Elements of the VIVO Charter
• Vision & Mission• Overarching Goals
– Manage the open-source VIVO platform– Manage the VIVO-ISF Ontology as a linked data
standard– Lead & support VIVO & VIVO-ISF implementations– Conduct conferences, summits & related events– Work with partner institutions, commercial
affiliates, and organizations to support the open exchange of information about researchers, research resources, and scholarship using Linked Open Data
THE VIVO ORGANIZATION
The overarching goals of VIVO are accomplished through various governance roles.
These roles have new names.
Their purpose is to ensure the sustainability of VIVO.
Leadership Group
• Establishes priorities and is responsible for making strategic decisions– Annual budget allocation;– Substantial changes in allocations during
the year;– Strategic project roadmap;– Strategic community direction.
• Platinum Members ($20,000+), or 0.5 FTE as approved by Leadership Group
Steering Group
• Provides overall guidance to the project– ensures that the goals of the project are
met– provides strategic guidance and support to
the Project Director• Nine members, two at large, two ex-
officio• Set strategy subject to Leadership
Group Approval, deal with major operations issues
Management Team
• New group – follows DuraSpace Model– Yet to be fully adopted – I plan to use this
group to address strategic issues, priorities– Led by VIVO Project Director, includes
Working Group Leads, principal VIVO-funded project positions, and key DuraSpace staff (especially communications and funding expertise)
– Provides on-going operational project management – relies on Steering Group
Working Groups
• Apps and Tools – Chris Barnes, Ted Lawless
• VIVO-ISF Ontology – Melissa Haendel, Brian Lowe
• Implementation & Development (Joint Working Groups) – Jon Corson-Rikert, Jim Blake
• Outreach & Engagement – Kristi Holmes & Julia Trimmer – Revamp & Retool
VIVO Organization Recap
Leadership Group
Steering Group
Management Team
Working Groups
Oversee operations
–Spoken to all Working Group Leads–Met with key Leaders–Two-day DuraSpace Introduction–Met with University Colorado Boulder
and Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) VIVO teams
–Met with American Psychological Association VIVO Leadership
Oversee software projects
–Upgrade to VIVO 1.7–Extension of VIVO-ISF–Moving VIVO from Incubator to
Project Status–Update the VIVO wiki–Migrate VIVOweb.org to DuraSpace–Becoming familiar with key
applications
Community Management
–Reviewed and updated key contacts– Launched VIVO Membership Campaign–Adopting DuraSpace best practices–Migrating to ZOHO CRM–Outreach & Engagement Working Group
Review - to make engagement easy
Marketing and Communications
– Identify current processes, targets, and ensure appropriate, timely messaging – leverage our resources
–Engage DuraSpace Director of Marketing and Communications
–Encourage collaboration and transparency
Provide Strategic Vision
–Operational Issues, like the Charter, communications, membership campaign and engaging DuraSpace support took priority
– It’s clear to me: we need to develop a plan with clear, near term objectives
–VIVO needs for a Roadmap to ensure we know where we want to go
Where I’m Focusing My Efforts
• VIVO Membership – we must gain financial support of our stakeholders to accomplish our goals and build the VIVO Community
• VIVO Search – aggregate and expand• Registered Service Providers – these
relationships will provide users with implementation, adoption, and participation support
• The role of VIVO and National Data Services
Focus on Engagement
• Increase member participation on Working Groups
• Make it clear to new and existing VIVO members how to engage
• Underscore the importance of member engagement in open-source communities
• Expand the VIVO Community• Ensure long-term sustainability
Build a Clearer Understandingof User Needs
• Would be nice if standard software were being used – Java, Python, Solr, Funnelback, e.g.
• Need for greater Harvester support• Version updates are sometimes difficult
because of ontology changes• Trust frameworks could further validate
authors• A need for greater user design input
“Can you hear me now?”
• Two-way communication channels are not clearly understood
• DuraSpace: include as an integral part of marketing and communications
• VIVO wiki and VIVOweb.org are in need of upgrading, cleanup, and organization
• Good channels and support exist, but it’s difficult to use them efficiently
Create the VIVO Strategic Plan
• The VIVO Community, Working Groups, and others want and deserve direction
• A Strategic Plan must be developed – to create “orchestration with a purpose”
• I cannot provide strategic vision without a plan
• Our hope is to gather this fall to develop a pragmatic strategy that is vetted and embraced by the community
Do We Have What We Need?
• The Foundation is Sound• The Community includes world-class
talent• VIVO Leadership and DuraSpace have a
firm commitment• The key elements are in place and you
can play a role in shaping the future of VIVO
Your Membership is Important
Membership Gives You A Voice
Primarily through VIVO Governance Benefits and
DuraSpace Membership Benefits
VIVO Governance Benefits
DuraSpace Member Benefits
• A variety of benefits, which include advance VIVO project announcements, discounts for training, seating at the Annual DuraSpace Summit, DuraSpace governance opportunities
• Level of benefits increase at higher levels of membership
DuraSpace Umbrella Services
• Legal • Licensing • Governance • Developer resources • Mentoring • Technology expertise • International
exposure • Contributors • Recognition • Marketing and
Communications
• Webinars • Education • Peer Support • Conferences • Community
development • Service providers • Admin support • Grants • Advocacy • Strategic planning
This Year’s Membership Goal
• $240,000• To date, slightly more than $140,000 has
been raised• A mixture of corporate and institutional
members• Some new members have already
contributed• I will be working with you and your
institution to discuss funding opportunities
VIVO 2014 – August 6-8, Austin, TX
My Vision for the Future
• The VIVO Community maintains & increases its commitment to its open source users
• We become more nimble as the VIVO Community grows, participates, & engages
• We have the patience to work hard for what we need
• VIVO continues to go far beyond research networking – serves as a semantic platform for a wide variety of functionality that is only limited by our imagination
Thank You !
Questions?
Top Related