Dear all, <br>Please call USA (+1) 617-324-7294 at noon EST tomorrow Thu, to take part in what could be the most exciting teleconference of your life: "How best to steer the OWW ship? the role of the steering committee in times of change"<br>
<br>This is [my] chosen title for the teleconference tomorrow. As OpenWetWare goes through times of change in terms of Bill and Lorrie coming in and key founders moving on, what should the role of the steering committee be? What is the mission of OWW (see below for a reminder) and how best could they be achieved? How do we welcome new users and keep existing ones excited and interested in participating. How to we manage our distributed time effectively so that we can best execute our mission?<br>
<br> The conference number
is USA (+1) 617-324-7294. We'll also have a simultaneous chat session at <a href="http://openwetware.org/chat/" target="_blank">http://openwetware.org/chat/.</a> <br>You're welcome to do either/or, but it's much better if you can both talk and chat at the same time. If you're new and feel intimidated by the teleconference then do not be, it's fine just to say hello, introduce yourself and your interest in OWW and then just listen until you feel comfortable.<br>
<br>Cheers, <br>John<br><br clear="all"><br><b><br><font size="4">OWW Mission </font></b><font size="4"><br></font><a href="http://openwetware.org/wiki/OpenWetWare:Mission">http://openwetware.org/wiki/OpenWetWare:Mission</a><br>
<p><b>The goals of OWW are to support open sharing of research,
education, publication, and discussion in biological sciences and
engineering. We promote and support collaborations among researchers,
students, and others who are working towards these goals. We believe
that open sharing of research improves the quality and pace of
scientific and engineering research.</b>
</p><p><br>
We are taking three approaches to achieve our mission -
</p>
<a name="1._Lower_the_technical_barriers_to_sharing_and_dissemination_of_knowledge_in_biological_research"></a><h5><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://openwetware.org/index.php?title=OpenWetWare:Mission&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: 1. Lower the technical barriers to sharing and dissemination of knowledge in biological research">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">1. Lower the technical barriers to sharing and dissemination of knowledge in biological research</span></h5>
<p>Scientific and engineering research have strong traditions of
publishing research. However, the pace of publishing research (often
6-12 months) has lagged the pace of research. Moreover, much of the
information generated in the course of research fails to get captured
in research articles (the traditional mechanism for sharing research).
Thus, we advocate new, faster timescale publishing mediums like
OpenWetWare that can capture biological knowledge as it is generated to
complement the existing scientific publishing mechanisms. We are always
seeking new tools and technologies that make this open sharing of
research easier. </p>
<a name="2._Build_a_community_of_researchers_in_biology_and_biological_engineering_that_values.2C_practices.2C_and_innovates_the_open_sharing_of_information"></a><h4><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://openwetware.org/index.php?title=OpenWetWare:Mission&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: 2. Build a community of researchers in biology and biological engineering that values, practices, and innovates the open sharing of information">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">2.
Build a community of researchers in biology and biological engineering
that values, practices, and innovates the open sharing of information</span></h4>
<p>Peer review is a fundamental part of biological research. We use it
to assess papers for publication, talks to be presented at conferences,
grant proposals for funding and job hiring and promotion. Thus, an
important part of our mission to promote the open sharing of research
is building a community that recognizes and values that sharing.
</p>
<a name="3._Integrate_OpenWetWare_into_existing_and_future_reward_structures_in_research"></a><h4><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://openwetware.org/index.php?title=OpenWetWare:Mission&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: 3. Integrate OpenWetWare into existing and future reward structures in research">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">3. Integrate OpenWetWare into existing and future reward structures in research</span></h4>
<p>Ultimately, for the open sharing and digitization of research to be
standard practice in scientific research, it will need to be integrated
into existing reward structures in science. Researchers need to
"receive credit" when they make their protocols, datasets, model files
etc. freely available to others. We consider this to be a critical but
long-term goal of OpenWetWare.
</p><br>-- <br>John Cumbers, Graduate Student<br>Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry<br>Biology and Medicine, Brown University, Box G-W<br>Providence, Rhode Island, 02912, USA<br>Tel USA: +1 401 523 8190, Fax: +1 401 863-2166, UK to USA: 0207 617 7824<br>
<br>Delivery address: Brown University (EEB) Biomed Stock Room<br>34 OLIVE ST, Providence, RI 02912<br>