Why Become a DCMI Member?
DCMI is a not-for-profit organization committed to the development and open availability of resources that support a healthy global metadata ecosystem. Contributions by DCMI members play a significant role in ensuring that DCMI continues to advance this commitment to support innovation in metadata design and best practice. Affiliate Members and Institutional Partners help shape DCMI by bringing their institutional perspectives to the work agenda of the Initiative and by supporting the efforts of an international community of volunteer metadata experts.
The work of DCMI requires dedicated, paid effort funded through the generosity of DCMI members. These paid efforts include:
- Managing ongoing discussion of current DCMI-wide 'work themes';
- Setting up and managing international and regional events;
- Curation and open availability of the meeting assets including proceedings, project reports and meeting minutes;
- Creation and delivery of training resources in metadata best practices including tutorials, webinars and workshops;
- Managing long term curation of DCMI specifications and metadata terms namespaces; and
- Coordinating the global community of DCMI volunteers.
Affiliate Members
Governance Structure: Voting
An Affiliate Member is a public entity, a not-for-profit organization, a governmental agency, a quasi-governmental agency or a supra-governmental agency. Affiliate Members provide an important link between the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative as a worldwide activity and the local and regional activities of practitioners. They promote the adoption of Dublin Core specifications and best practices, thereby increasing the global network value for all. They help assure the availability of authoritative documentation and maintain translations of base DCMI standards and documentation as appropriate for the locale.
Affiliate Members can: (1) help focus a local concentration of expertise to promote deployment and development of DCMI metadata and architectures within the context of a given locale and language environment; and (2) advance the development of a healthy metadata ecology by supporting metadata best practices. As local custodians of the DCMI brand, Affiliate Members are a critical link in promoting DCMI standards through educational and training offerings, as well as bringing local concerns to the attention of the larger metadata community, thereby improving the international coherence of the overall architecture and semantic content of metadata.
Rights/Benefits:
- Affiliate Member status provides the Affiliate Member with the right to exercise "exclusive coverage" of DCMI-endorsed activities and outcomes within the "Locale of Influence" in the following four areas:
- Affiliate Members actively encourage development of Institutional Partner, Supporting Partner and Supporting Member memberships within the Affiliate Member's "Locale of Influence";
- Affiliate Members engage in development, organization and delivery of metadata best practice education and training within the "Locale of Influence";
- Affiliate Members promote and manage standardization processes for DCMI specifications within the "Locale of Influence"; and
- Affiliate Members promote and manage translation processes for DCMI specifications and best practice documentation within the "Locale of Influence".
- Affiliate Members appoint a voting representative to the Oversight Committee and actively participate in deliberations and decisions including matters reserved to Affiliate Members under the Singapore Companies Act;
- Affiliate Member logos are linked from the DCMI website, DCMI annual conference website (OCS), and regional meetings websites;
- Affiliate Member memberships and renewals are announced through DCMI's social media channels, RSS feed and other news outlets;
- Affiliate Member can use the DCMI "Affiliate Member" logo on the Affiliate Member website and in other Affiliate Member-related media;
- Affiliate Member can provide information (brochures and other media) for placement in the DCMI annual conference delegate bags and on USB memory drives containing the DCMI proceedings;
- Reduced fees are available to DCMI events (DCMI annual conference, NISO/DCMI webinars) for one Affiliate Member representative;
- DCMI 'premium content' is available for Affiliate Member representatives;
- Affiliate Members can organize event presentations at DCMI annual meeting; and
- Affiliate Members can initiate regional events co-organized with DCMI (to the extent DCMI resources permit).
Obligations:
- Affiliate Member agrees to an initial membership term ranging from 2-3 years with optional annual renewals thereafter;
- Payment of a fixed annual membership fee on or before the anniversary date of membership;
- Affiliate Member promotes and manages standardization processes for DCMI specifications within the "Locale of Influence";
- Affiliate Member provides ongoing reporting to the DCMI community on relevant metadata activity within the Affiliate Member's "Locale of Influence";
- Ongoing and active advocacy of activities advancing the well-being of DCMI through the identification of new members in all DCMI membership categories within the "Locale of Influence" and beyond; and
- Active participation by Affiliate Member representatives in DCMI governance through contribution to Oversight Committee deliberations and voting.
Institutional Partners
Governance Structure: Voting
An Institutional Partner is a public entity, a not-for-profit organization, a governmental agency, a quasi-governmental agency or a supra-governmental agency. Institutional Partners need not be incorporated entities if otherwise recognized by DCMI. An Institutional Partner may be an entity within the "Locale of influence" of a DCMI Member.
Benefits:
- Institutional Partners appoint a voting representative to the Oversight Committee and participate in governance deliberations and decisions;
- The logos of Institutional Partners appear on the DCMI website, DCMI annual conference and regional meetings websites and are linked to the Partners' homepages;
- Institutional Partner membership and renewals are announced on the DCMI website, on DCMI social media channels, and RSS feed;
- Institutional Partners may use the DCMI "Institutional Partner" logo on their websites and in other Institutional Partner-related media;
- Institutional Partners can provide information (brochures and other media) to be included in DCMI annual conference delegate bags and on USB memory drives containing the conference proceedings;
- One Institutional Partner representative pays reduced fees to DCMI events (DCMI annual conference, NISO/DCMI webinars);
- Early availability to the Institutional Partner representative of DCMI 'premium content' is available;
- Select Institutional Partner-organized event presentations can be arranged at DCMI annual meeting; and
- Institutional Partner-initiated regional events can be co-organized with DCMI (to the extent DCMI resources permit).
Obligations:
- Payment of a fixed annual fee on or before the anniversary date of the Institutional Partner membership;
- Institutional Partner actively advocates for, and advances the well-being of DCMI through the identification of new members in all DCMI membership categories; and
- Institutional Partner representatives actively participate in DCMI governance through contribution to Oversight Committee deliberations and voting.
Supporting Partners
Governance Structure: Non-voting
A Supporting Partner is any private sector entity including companies and foundations interested in promoting the well-being of DCMI. A Supporting Partner need not actually use DCMI specifications in either products or services.
Benefits:
- Supporting Partner representatives may attend meetings of the Oversight Committee as observers;
- Name and a logo of the Supporting Partner are listed on the Partner page of the DCMI website;
- Name and a logo of the Supporting Partner will be listed in the Partner area of the DCMI Open Conference System website;
- Supporting Partner initial membership and annual renewals will be announced in the announcements section of DCMI website, distributed through the DCMI RSS feed, and through DCMI's social media outlets;
- Supporting Partner logos on the DCMI website and the DCMI conference website will be linked to a page on the Supporting Partner's website;
- The Supporting Partners have the right to use the DCMI Partner logo on its website and printed marketing material;
- The Supporting Partner logo will be included in all official DCMI presentations where Affiliate Members, Institutional Partners, Supporting Partners and Supporting Members are listed; and
- The Supporting Partner has the right to distribute two partner-provided brochures in delegate bags at the DCMI annual events.
Obligations:
- Payment of a fixed annual fee on or before the anniversary date of the membership.
Supporting Members
Coming 1st Quarter 2013
Governance Structure: Non-voting
The Supporting Member category is designed for individuals interested in supporting the work of DCMI.
Benefits:
- Supporting Members receive discount registration for fee-based DCMI events including:
- International Conference on Dublin Core and Metadata Applications;
- NISO/DCMI Joint Webinars
Obligations:
- Payment of a fixed annual fee on or before the anniversary date of the membership for two categories: Regular and Student
How to Join
An organisation wishing to become a DCMI Affiliate Member, Institutional Partner, or Supporting Partner needs to contact the DCMI Directorate at dcmi-feedback (at) dublincore (dot) net expressing interest. Current membership fees:
- Affiliate Membership: US$5,000-20,000
- Institutional Partner: US$3,000
- Supporting Partner: US$5,000
Agreement templates are available for review by prospective partners: Institutional Partner & Supporting Partner.
Review and decisions
The DCMI Managing Director, in consultation with the DCMI Oversight Committee, reviews the application and accepts or rejects the application.
Implementation
After a positive decision, the applicant will receive an Affiliate Member or Partner agreement. Agreements come into effect after reception of the signed agreement and payment.
