Metadata IG rev-002

RDA Metadata Interest Group Charter Statement (200words)         Keith G Jeffery 20130729

History

Due to confusion over the definitions/roles of WGs and IGs we have both a WG and an IG with essentially the same remit – metadata standards / directory of metadata schemas.

Proposal

After discussions, it is proposed that the Metadata IG is wide-ranging and long-standing and acts as an umbrella coordinating over the WGs concerned with metadata (Metadata Standards, Contextual Metadata, likely WGs on particular subject domains such as agriculture, marine…) which have time-limited task-focused.

Charter

The Metadata IG will concern itself with all aspects of metadata for research data.  In particular it will attempt to coordinate the efforts of the WGs concerned with metadata to produce a coherent approach to metadata covering metadata modalities of description, restriction, navigation, provenance, preservation, and the use of metadata for the purposes of discovery, contextualisation, validation, analytical processing, simulation, visualisation and interoperation.  It will also liaise with the other WGs especially Data Foundation and Terminology, PIDs, Standardisation of data categories and codes and Data Citation.  This IG activity relates to data management policies and plans of research organisations and researchers, and to policies and standards of research funders and of research communities which may or may not be official standards.

The metadata IG will organise itself through online meetings and face-to-face meetings of members of the IG present at RDA Plenary events.  It is proposed that – while membership is open to any RDA registered member – key members will be the leaders of the WGs concerned with metadata.  In order to get the renovated IG working, I volunteer to initiate this activity but would expect elections and handover to someone else after an initial period.