Added on 3 November 2015


The DPC is owned and run for its members. We need to understand members needs and need to be accountable to them.

Our working assumption has always been that the Board, constituted from our full members, ensures we are responsive and transparent. On that basis our programme and our membership have expanded substantially in recent years. It’s a success but we are aware that complexity challenges transparency and makes it harder for us to understand your needs. So the Board has approved a plan to change how we do things. We want your help with two things…

Firstly, we’d like to invite members to nominate themselves to join one of 4 sub-committees which will guide and review our work. The sub-committees will be chaired by a Board member and each one will take ownership of one our strategic objectives. We’ve been quietly recruiting members for these sub-committee so that we can ‘boot strap’ them into existence but we would like to hear from anyone interested in joining. The sub-committees are as follows:

  • Workforce Development

This sub-committee will help our Head of Training and Skills, Sharon McMeekin deliver the strategic objective of competent and responsive workforces ready to address the challenges of digital preservation

  • Partnership and Sustainability

This sub-committee will help our Business Manager, Alyson Campbell deliver the strategic objective of closer and more productive collaboration within and beyond the Coalition

  • Research and Practice

This subcommittee will help the Head of Research and Practice, Paul Wheatley, deliver the strategic objective of better tools, smarter processes and enhanced capacity in digital preservation

  • Communications and Advocacy

This subcommittee will help the Head of Communications and Advocacy, Sarah Middleton, and her maternity cover officer Lorraine Murray deliver the strategic objective of a political and institutional climate responsive to the need for digital preservation

The commitment is one meeting each quarter for about 2 hours, meeting mostly by teleconference. We’re currently reviewing terms of reference and will be holding kick off meetings in the next couple of months. The sub-committees will review the work plans, quality improvement plans and risk and opportunity registers for each area, reporting to our quarterly board meetings. Membership is open to individuals employed or associated with DPC members (associates or full members) as well as our small band of personal members. We’re looking for one or two volunteers to complement those already signed up. The only other qualification is a willingness to roll your sleeves up and get stuck in. It’s a great opportunity to steer the ship: if you are interested in helping out please contact the relevant member of staff.

Secondly, the Board would like to co-opt from the membership to a new role, Finance Director who will act in effect as honorary treasurer for the Coalition. It’s because our finances are becoming more complicated as our programme has grown. This new role will strengthen financial oversight and planning and comes with a full seat on the Board. It will become quite a significant position and we’d envisage the candidate bringing relevant experience or qualifications. The Board has approved terms of reference for the post . Time commitment is expected to be something in the region of 6 hours per month.

If you are interested in any of these roles, or you know someone whom you think be interested then contact us as usual: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.