Communications Committee

Communications Committee Charge:  This committee is responsible for publishing a newsletter (3-4 times per year); helping organize the annual meeting of the Organization (including publicity); and maintaining the Web site, mailing list, and other communications and information sharing mechanisms for the Organization.

2010 Goals and Objectives:

1. Manage and communicate information to OFWIM members
   1. Distribute information to members via member e-mail lists, OFWIM public Web site, OFWIM collaboration portal community, and other means as needed or directed.
   2. In collaboration with the Membership Committee, maintain current e-mail mailing lists consisting of members from the current and previous calendar years.
2. Develop, maintain and enhance effective communication tools to facilitate the distribution of exchange of information with members and non-members
   1. Publish at least three online newsletters each year, with the publication schedule driven largely by major events such as the annual meetings, important topics of interest to members, and training and outreach opportunities. Key publication events would include:
      1. An issue to follow the annual meeting that includes summaries of conference events, awards, and outcomes of annual elections
      2. An issue that includes preliminary plans for the upcoming annual meeting, including the location, theme, and a first call for papers
      3. An issue 4-6 weeks prior to the annual meeting, that includes more details about the meeting, the slate of candidates for the forthcoming election of officers, and instructions for voting online
   2. Manage the OFWIM public Web site, ensuring currency of information based on input provided by other OFWIM committees and/or members.
      1. Establish timeline for ongoing updates to the OFWIM Web site and distribute to OFWIM committees
   3. Where possible, provide access to data gathering tools and/or information dissemination techniques on the OFWIM Web site, including electronic voting.
      1. Coordinate with Elections, Awards and Nominations Committee to implement the electronic voting system for bylaws changes and officer elections. Have online voting system in place for annual OFWIM elections no later than 4 weeks before the annual Business Meeting
   4. Coordinate with other committees to update existing content, including committees' goals and objectives; solicit ideas from the committees for the development of new products, services, and information. Establish timeline by 1 April.
   5. In collaboration with the Membership and Outreach Committees, identify additional means for communicating effectively with others likely to be interested in OFWIM who may not be familiar with the organization.
   6. With support from the U.S. Geological Survey Biological Informatics Office, maintain content and manage member access to the OFWIM collaboration portal community within the National Biological Information Infrastructure's portal system. This community will be used for internal communication and collaboration that is conducted apart from the activities of the OFWIM public Web site.
      1. Support the activities of OFWIM committees through collaboration Projects within the portal community, where documents, discussions, and tasks can be managed
      2. Support other OFWIM activities, both persistent and ad-hoc, that require a collaboration workspace/li>
      3. Provide access to, and manage the accounts of OFWIM members in this collaboration workspace, to ensure that members in good standing have access to these resources
      4. Coordinate with the OFWIM Secretary to maintain an updated list of members who are entitled to access to the collaboration portal community
   7. Professionally complete the duties of the committee as efficiently as possible by:
      1. Convening conference calls to conduct committee business;
      2. Participating in Executive Committee (ExComm) conference calls, as requested, to provide updates about committee activities;
      3. Preparing an annual written report of committee accomplishments for submission to the ExComm and distribution at the annual meeting; and
      4. Presenting an oral report of accomplishments at the annual business meeting.

   2010 Communications Committee Members:

   Chair: Viv Hutchison (U.S. Geological Survey) - vhutchison (AT) usgs.gov
   Vice Chair: Lisa Zolly (U.S. Geological Survey) - lisa.zolly (AT) usgs.gov