AGM Business - Community Organization Evolution

[Noah Smith]

In July of 2024, the Leadership Group (LG) was reorganized and merged with the Islandora Collaboration Committee. At the same time, Islandora membership categories were updated, allowing for additional community members to serve on the LG. For the fiscal year 2024-25, the LG focused on defining roles and responsibilities for decision-making, hiring and onboarding the new Community Manager, and coordinating work on the Strategic Plan.

The Board and The Leadership Group have discussed and are proposing the following changes that support ongoing strategic and governance activities, as well as foster increased community participation and growth. These items are presented to the community for a vote at the AGM (Annual General Meeting) on July 17, 2025. These changes do not legally require approval at the AGM, so this vote is largely to demonstrate community approval of these plans:

1. Formally recognizing the Metadata Interest Group and the Documentation Interest Group as Committees:

   1. We seek to recognize the longstanding contributions both groups have made to the overall development of the Islandora Framework and community, and ensure that their voices are part of future strategic and governance efforts.

   2. The IFLG therefore proposes changing the names of these groups to the Metadata Committee and Documentation Committee; new Terms of Reference are being reviewed and will be finalized in the coming weeks.

2. Creation of three NEW Committees:

   1. Roadmap Committee

      1. This Committee will create and maintain a public roadmap for the Islandora Framework, that is regularly updated and presents a clear indication of what work is planned, what is in progress, and what is completed. It will also propose a 3-year plan for the code, and a process for community input.

   2. Events Committee

      1. This Committee will support planning and execution of IslandoraCon, Camps, and any other community/Foundation events, and review and renew training and special event offerings.

   3. Membership & Fundraising Committee

      1. This Committee will develop a renewed promotion and marketing campaign for Islandora with the goal of building memberships and participation, and develop a Grants and Partnerships Strategy to help drive new revenue streams.

3. Creation of two new Working Groups

   1. Workbench Working Group

      1. The Islandora Workbench Working Group will be created to smoothly facilitate Islandora Workbench’s transition to being fully managed and maintained by the Foundation. The IWWG will be a sub-group of TAG. 

   2. Adoption Working Group

      1. The Adoption Working Group will be created to smooth the path to adoption, supporting one of the Foundation’s strategic priorities. 

Terms of References and Committee charges will be developed in the coming weeks after these plans are endorsed at the AGM. In addition to asking for ratification of the above changes at the upcoming AGM, we would like to pass along news of a few additional updates:

• The IRIG has been sunset after a period of inactivity. When and if this becomes an important topic within the Islandora Community, a similar group could be re-formed. 

• Interest Groups will in the future be represented at LG by our Community Manager, and will no longer send a representative to serve on LG themselves.

I'll look forward to seeing folks at the AGM on Thursday, on the final day of IslandoraCon! As a reminder, the AGM is open to all and does not require IslandoraCon registration. The link will be available in the community calendar.

All the best,

Noah Smith

Islandora Board Chair