The Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) welcomes the start to 2018 by launching its new Strategic Plan for 2018-22 this week.
Refreshed and updated to reflect an emerging and evolving set of digital preservation challenges, the plan entitled ‘A Secure Digital Legacy’ sets out a mission to support the delivery of resilient long-term access to digital content and services.
“In the context of a diverse and growing Coalition, set against a changing landscape for digital preservation, our new strategic plan identifies how to articulate and realize the benefits that accrue from robust and accessible digital assets,” explains William Kilbride, Executive Director of the DPC. “This new plan establishes how we will continue to help our members derive enduring value from their digital assets whilst simultaneously raising awareness of the strategic, cultural and technological challenges we now all face.”
Designed to build on and maintain the momentum experienced over the last three years, whilst reflecting considerable growth in the Coalition’s membership, the DPC will pursue its mission in the period 2018-2022 through an additional two strategic objectives, making six in total:
- Community Engagement: enabling a growing number of agencies and individuals in all sectors and in all countries to participate in a dynamic and mutually supportive digital preservation community.
- Advocacy: campaigning for a political and institutional climate more responsive and better informed about the digital preservation challenge; raising awareness about the new opportunities that resilient digital assets create.
- Workforce Development: providing opportunities for our members to acquire, develop and retain competent and responsive workforces that are ready to address the challenges of digital preservation.
- Capacity Building: supporting and assuring our members in the delivery and maintenance of high quality and sustainable digital preservation services through knowledge exchange, technology watch, research and development.
- Good Practice and Standards: identifying and developing good practice and standards that make digital preservation achievable, supporting efforts to ensure services are tightly matched to shifting requirements.
- Management and Governance: ensuring the DPC is a sustainable, competent organization focussed on member needs, providing a robust and trusted platform for collaboration within and beyond the Coalition.
The launch of the Strategic Plan coincides with the introduction of a new Chair of the DPC Board and a re-organisation of the Coalition’s structure. Juan Bicarregui, Head of the Data Services division for the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) was elected into the role of Chair at the DPC AGM on 28th November 2017. Juan is the DPC’s fifth Chair succeeding Laura Mitchell who held the position since 2013.
“I’m absolutely delighted to take on this role at such an exciting time for the Coalition,” Juan says. “The DPC’s strength comes from its membership. We now have more than seventy members from a vast range of organisation types and sectors across three continents. This makes the DPC a diverse and dynamic coalition offering a fantastic opportunity for its members to collaborate and address the common challenge that digital preservation presents.”
William Kilbride said: “Juan has been a DPC Board member for many years, and during that time has played a key role in formulating UK policy on digital preservation in research data management. We are very much looking forward to using his experience across the DPC’s other sectors and working with him in this new role.”
Carefully reviewed for legal compliance and updated to more effectively govern a large and international Coalition, a new set of ‘Articles of Association’ will come into effect on 1st January 2018 alongside the new Strategic Plan. The new Articles present a new structure: a large Representative Council formed of full members will set the agenda for the DPC, and a smaller Executive Board will act on matters of corporate governance.
“Full and associate members will be invited to continue their participation in Sub-committees for each of the strategic objectives,” Maureen Pennock, Chair of the DPC Management and Governance Subcommittee which has led the work to refresh the DPC’s Articles and structure. “In that way we ensure we remain always close to members’ needs, responsive to them and transparent in our decisions.”
The new Strategic Plan, Chair and structure support the DPC’s ongoing programme of activities which recommences in the new year with Briefing Days on ‘Certification and Accreditation’ in London on 9th January, ‘Research Data Management for All?’ in Glasgow on 18th January, as well as the ever popular ‘What I Wish I Knew Before I Started’ Student Conference and a second Briefing Day on ‘Email Preservation’ both in London on 24th January.
With more international members than ever, the DPC is committed to making sure activities continue to be useful, relevant and accessible by offering more online sessions and resources, recordings and live streams from briefing days, as well as the opportunity to connect through the members blog. DPC members receive free-of-charge priority access to events and publications and the program is overseen by full members who commission research tied directly to their strategic needs.
The not-for-profit DPC is an advocate for digital preservation, and ensures its members can continue to deliver resilient long-term access to digital content and services through community engagement, targeted advocacy work, training and workforce development, capacity building, good practice and standards, and through good management and governance. Its primary objective is raising awareness of the importance of the preservation of digital material and the attendant strategic, cultural and technological issues.
For more information about joining the DPC, visit the member page of the website and download the DPC's new Strategic Plan 2018 - 2022 .