In this blog post DRI’s Training and Engagement Manager Lorraine Marrey discusses the Expert Advisory Group (EAG) and explains why it’s an integral part of DRI’s operations and yearly calendar.
What is the EAG?
The Expert Advisory Group (EAG) is a forum for Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI) staff to draw in a formal way on national and international expertise in a range of disciplines and sectors including the repositories and archives, cultural heritage, research and education, humanities and social sciences, legal, technical, and creative domains.
Members of the EAG are expected to:
- share expertise and best practice in their field
- attend DRI’s annual EAG meeting to discuss DRI chosen topics
- provide individual or group expertise on an infrequent, ad-hoc basis when DRI is drafting or significantly revising new policies or initiatives, to ensure we align with international best practice
How does the EAG work?
The EAG convenes virtually once a year, and DRI staff present and seek advice on upcoming projects, workflows, and campaigns that they are working on, or have in the pipeline. Feedback, advice, and comments are sought and taken on board. In the months that follow a short update is issued to all EAG members on those projects and how they are progressing. EAG members often comment and give further advise at this stage, particularly if new research has emerged, or new experiences have been gained.
DRI also draws on the knowledge and expertise of the EAG members when undertaking new policies such as in 2023 before the publication of the EDI Policy, and in 2024 with drafting DRI’s first organisational strategy.
EAG members usually sit for at least one two-year term, and at the end of 2023 five valued EAG members rotated off the group – we would like to thank them for their considered contributions:
- Ingrid Dillo,Deputy Director, DANS (Data Archiving and Networked Services)
- Catherine Ferris, Open Scholarship Officers, IReL (Irish Research e-Library)
- Silvia Loeffler, Artist/Lecturer, National College of Art and Design
- Rosaleen McDonagh, Playwright, Writer, Co-Director of Pavee Point
- Erzsébet Tóth-Czifra, Open Science Officer, Digital Research Infrastructure for the Arts and Humanities (DARIAH-EU).
What topics were discussed at the last EAG meeting?
Some of the projects that DRI staff presented on at the end of 2023, and received feedback for moving the projects on were:
- The Single Ingest Pathway policy changes implemented in 2023 provided the framework for DRI to launch the Legacy Data Preservation Pilot Scheme, enhancing opportunities for Irish researchers to share and preserve significant collections of Irish cultural, linguistic and social history within the Repository.
- DRI implemented changes to the Repository in line with recommendations developed for the WorldFAIR Project WP13 Cultural Heritage Case Study, including:
- A new citation style for Cultural Heritage resources which promotes recognition of the stewarding organisation for the creation of both data resources (the digital objects) and interpretive metadata (description and documentation).
- A CC0 licence is now visible on all Repository metadata landing pages as part of the Metadata Statement (unless otherwise clearly indicated by the depositor).
- Depositors are now able to select from a range of Rights Statements to clarify free-text rights information.
- The Reuse Licence, selected from the range of Creative Commons licences, is visible on each object landing page.
- More information about the conclusion of the WorldFAIR Project can be found in D13.3 Implementation and Testing of Cultural Heritage Image Sharing Recommendations: DRI Case Study Report and in M13 Cultural Heritage Test Ingest.
These sessions not only give staff a chance to pull the project proposal together in a cohesive manner for presentation, but to avail of the advice of a plethora of multidisciplinary experts.
For 2024 the EAG welcomed:
- Adrian Grant, Ulster University
- Beulah Ezeugo Eireann and I
- Janet Hancock Head of Digital Services, PRONI
- Leo Konstantelos Senior Assistant Archivist (Digital), University of Glasgow
We look forward to working with them, as well as the rest of the EAG over the coming two years. You can find out more about the group and its members on the DRI website
