Standing Committees and Action and Interest Groups
IASSIST has an Administrative Committee and six Standing Committees. In addition there are appointed committees and action and interest groups. The Administrative Committee will establish Committees and Groups as required.
Committees | Action Groups | Interest Groups
Committees
The Administrative Committee and the Standing Committees are responsible for the day-to-day running of the organization.
Administrative Committee
The Administrative Committee is the executive body of IASSIST. It implements policies, develops future directions, and coordinates activities for the organization.
- 2023-2025 Chair: Robin Rice, robin.rice [ at ] ed.ac.uk
Constitutional Review Committee
Responsible for receiving proposals for the enacting, amending, and repealing of the by-laws of IASSIST and for preparing revised articles and by-laws for members’ approval, as well as for undertaking an annual review of the constitution and by-laws and proposing amendments as it deems appropriate.
- 2023-2025 Chair: Tuomas J. Alaterä, tuomas.alatera [ at ] tuni.fi
Professional Development Committee
Responsible for promoting the development of professional skills of IASSIST members through education, training, information, networking and mentoring.
- 2024-2026 Chairs: Wei Yin, wy2288 [ at ] columbia.edu and Olatunbosun Obileye, bosun.obileye [ at ] gmail.com
IASSIST Fellows
Provides support for data professionals from countries with emerging economies and underrepresented regions who are developing information infrastructures regarding the use and preservation of research data. Provides support for early career professionals new to data in the social sciences, who may not otherwise have the funding to travel.
- 2024-2026 Chairs: Florio Arguillas, foa2 [ at ] cornell.edu and Sarah Young, sarahy [ at ] andrew.cmu.edu
Membership Committee
Coordinates activities meant to grow IASSIST membership and addresses needs of existing and future members. Also undertakes representation and liaison activities; connects with sister organizations that have similar goals; and helps to increase the visibility of IASSIST. This Committee’s membership includes the Membership Chair, Regional Secretaries, the Vice President, and other IASSIST members as needed.
- 2023-2025 Chair: Amanda Tickner, atickner [ at ] msu.edu
Elections Committee
Responsible for receiving nominations for the election of the Administrative Committee, the Regional Secretaries, and the officers of IASSIST, distributing ballots and electoral information according to regulation, tallying the ballots, reporting on the results of the tally, and for recommending alterations in procedures. This committee is chaired by the immediate Past President. Administrative Committee members at large not up for election assist the chair.
- 2023-2025 Chair: San Cannon, sancan99 [ at ] gmail.com
Communications Committee
Responsible for enabling productive and transparent communication among members and between the organisation and the broader community. Scope includes delivering publications such as the IASSIST Quarterly, developing and maintaining the organisation’s communications mechanisms; oversight of the membership discussion list; and moderating social networking spaces which use the IASSIST brand name. The Committee shall advise other committees and groups on the use of appropriate communication tools for online collaboration and solicit content from them for public channels. This Committee’s membership shall include the IQ Editor and the Web Editor as well as reviewers and web section editors.
- 2023-2025 Chair: Tuomas J. Alaterä, tuomas.alatera [ at ] tuni.fi
- 2023-2027 IQ Co-Editors: Michele Hayslett, Ofira Schwartz-Soicher
- 2023-2027 Web Editor: Zac Painter. zp5928 [ at ] princeton.edu
- The IASSIST Web Team
Programme Committee & Local Arrangements
Responsible for deciding on an annual conference title as well as general thematic structure. The Program Chairs are responsible for the intellectual content of the conference, and choosing members of the multi-national Program Committee, deciding how it will function, and assigning responsibilities to its members. The Committee works along with the Local Arrangements Committee to set an agenda for putting together sessions, plenaries, workshops, and social events.
- 2023-2024 Program Co-Chairs: Sophia Lafferty-Hess, Zach MacDonald, Kristi Thompson
Action Groups
Action Groups are appointed by the Administrative Committee and undertake specific tasks, find solutions to specific problems, or develop and compile relevant materials for specific projects.
Organizational Archive Action Group
This group is charged with processing and curating documents and memorabilia in the IASSIST Archives to commemorate the 50th Annual Conference, IASSIST 2025.
- 2024-2025 Chair: Christine Nieman Hislop, cnieman [ at ] hshsl.umaryland.edu
Program Committee Review Action Group
To review the program committee procedures.
- 2024-2025 Chair: Bobray Bordelon, bordelon [ at ] princeton.edu
Read more: Former Action Groups
More about IASSIST Action Groups and how to establish one is described in the Constitution.
Interest Groups
Interest Groups share information on specific subjects with the larger IASSIST membership and serve as a forum of discussion between as well as during annual meetings.
Read more about IASSIST Interest Groups and how to establish one in the Interest Group Checklist.
Data Collection Development Interest Group (DataCDIG)
This group’s mission is to build community and share experiences and insights on data acquisition and its challenges, such as licensing, storing, curating and providing access.
- 2024-2025 Co-Chairs: Barbara Esty, barbara.esty [ at ] yale.edu and Ron Nakao, ronbo [ at ] stanford.edu
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Data Resources Interest Group
The work of the group will include maintaining the work done thus far and may expand over time to address other types of discrimination such as by indigenous group, migrant/refugee status, gender/transgender, sexuality, cultural/ethnic groups, religion, etc.
The Interest Group has gathered various resources on diversity, equity and inclusion.
- 2024-2025 Co-Chairs: Abigail Goben, agoben [ at ] uic.edu and Todd Quinn
Geospatial Interest Group
The central purpose of the IASSIST-Geo interest group is to create a network for members focused on issues of geospatial data as related to the social sciences. Expected outcomes include developing a connected and informed group, opportunities for professional development through training, shared professional tools, resources for all IASSIST members to make use of, both members and non-members of the IG, and an elevated awareness of social sciences and place.
- 2024-2025 Chair: Amanda Tickner, atickner [ at ] msu.edu
Professionals New to Data Support Interest Group
NEW This group’s focus will be on the support and development of professionals growing into data support roles.
- 2024-2025 Co-Chairs: Sophia Adeyeye and Paula Lackie
Qualitative Social Science and Humanities Data Interest Group (QSSHDIG)
The central purpose of the IASSIST Qualitative Social Science and Humanities Data Interest Group is to bring together researchers and those working in data infrastructure to share and create resources to support good management and use of qualitative data throughout the data lifecycle. We aim to connect an informed group of professionals working with qualitative data, raise awareness about key issues in qualitative research, provide opportunities for professional development, and create resources for all IASSIST members to better understand working with qualitative data.
- 2024-2025 Co-Chairs: Maureen Haaker, Cheryl Annette Thompson, Jessica Hagman and Hilary Bussell.
Contact the co-chairs: QSSHDIG [ at ] gmail.com
Previous interest group resources
Previous Interest Groups have produced resources that may be of use for the membership or the data community at-large.
Explore interest group topics and resources