Date Approved: December 15, 2021
Date of Last Update: August 25, 2023
Version: 1.1
Background
Membership is a core definition of a consortium, including establishing roles and responsibilities of various levels of membership. Defining membership also establishes who is subject to all other consortium policies (e.g., data sharing and data access, publication, etc.).
Scope
This policy addressed the question, “What defines a core member of the GREGoR Consortium?” as well as the responsibilities, benefits, and limitations of core membership. Specific details of how membership relates to other Consortium activities (e.g. Consortium data access) may be found in other policies (see “Related Policies” section below). Affiliate membership is also addressed in a separate policy.
Policy Language
Core membership includes:
- Access to the internal portion of the Consortium website, which includes notes and other materials from Committee and Working Group meetings, a Consortium directory with affiliation and contact information for all members, and a Consortium calendar
- Receiving Consortium-wide invites and communications via a Consortium member distribution list (gregor_all@uw.edu)
- Eligibility to lead and/or be members of GREGoR working groups
- Eligibility to be part of GREGoR’s Banner Authorship list (to be further defined in Consortium Publication Policy)
- Eligibility to attend Consortium annual meetings (note non-members are not eligible to attend unless as invited guests/speakers)
- If applicable, core members may be granted Consortium level access to GREGoR AnVIL workspaces
- Not all core members will require access to these workspaces; further eligibility and requirements are to be defined in a Consortium Data Access and Use Policy.
An individual is eligible for core membership in the GREGoR Consortium if they are an integral part of a Center directly funded as part of the GREGoR Consortium (Research Center or Data Coordinating Center) or are NHGRI extramural program staff working with the GREGoR consortium.
Examples of Core Members include Center PIs (contact and multiple), co-Investigators with sub awards, analysts, project managers, computational team members, and Center researchers.
The PI (contact or multiple) of a Consortium grant (Research Center or Data Coordinating Center) or NHGRI program officer will provide the names and contact information of their core members to the DCC. All members regardless of membership level will be asked to acknowledge and sign a Code of Conduct when creating a username and password for the GREGoR website. Core membership lists will be accepted via email from the Center PI or NHGRI program officers (or designated administrator).
Responsibilities of PIs who nominate Consortium members include:
- Providing the name, email and designated level of membership to the DCC
- Informing the DCC of any changes in the above information in a timely manner
- Performing an annual review of all current members and notifying the DCC of any changes to the list of members
- Members can be added, removed, or modified at any time during the year, but this annual review will serve as a reminder in case any changes were missed throughout the year.
- Responding to questions about membership lists from NHGRI program officers, if they arise
- Informing the member of purpose for the membership level, including the benefits and limitations of that role
- Ensuring that their members act in accordance with the Code of Conduct and handling appropriate action if a violation occurs
Responsibilities of all Members include:
- Maintaining an updated user account and secure login to the internal Consortium website
- Signing a Consortium Code of Conduct that covers protecting the confidentiality of unpublished scientific results (i.e. on the website and in meetings) and adherence to all Consortium policies.
- Maintaining your Center’s minimal human subject research and privacy training
Related Policies:
- Data Access, Data Use and Data Sharing Policy (tbd)
- Partner Membership Policy
- Publication Policy (tbd)
Change Log
- V1.1 - Minor clarification that all Core Members are eligible to attend Consortium annual meetings.
- V1.0 - Initial Policy