Community Groups

Established under the DARE UK (Data and Research Analytics Environments UK) community-led pathfinding workstream, DARE UK Community Groups are collaborative community-led initiatives highlighting the importance of working together towards common goals.

DARE UK (Data and Analytics Research Environments UK) Community Groups are collaborative environments established under the programme’s Community-led pathfinding workstream to encourage different communities within the UK sensitive data research landscape to co-create components and pieces of work that align with the DARE UK programme’s vision. With a focus on open communication and fostering the sharing of information and best practices, these groups will look to enhance sensitive data research and practice in the UK.

Community Groups

Interest Groups Endorsed by DARE UK

Working Groups Endorsed by DARE UK

Communities of Practice Recognised by DARE UK

Group Creation and Management Requirements

DARE UK Community Groups are modelled after similar groups set up by Research Data Alliance and IETF and are established according to a charter outlined by the group convener, which covers the ‘why’, ‘what’, and ‘how’ of each group. Each group charter will be subject to an endorsement process prior to setup and will be guided by a code of conduct to ensure that community management best practices are upheld.

While DARE UK may endorse community interest and working groups’ purpose and objectives as set out in their community group charters, DARE UK does not necessarily endorse any outputs produced by these groups. DARE UK Community Groups are open to anyone to propose, join and/or contribute to, and they each serve a unique purpose.

DARE UK community groups are expected to have a UK-wide focus and outputs applicable across data domains in alignment with the DARE UK programme. However, community groups that have a regional focus within the UK and/or a specific data domain (e.g., health) may still be endorsed/supported by the DARE UK programme when:

  • those regional networks are the building blocks of a broader national network or
  • the regional problems are more broadly applicable, and the solutions are potentially scalable across the UK and other data domains.
Categories

There are three community group categories: Interest Groups, Working Groups, and Communities of Practice.

  • Interest Groups are open-ended and focus on a broad-based challenge within the programme’s scope. These groups will motivate Working Groups to address specific pieces of work.
  • Working Groups, on the other hand, are short-term in terms of their longevity and focus on specific, tractable pieces of work. They are generally linked to an Interest Group but may come from anywhere, providing they are within the scope of the programme and the sensitive data research landscape the programme is aiming to serve.
  • Communities of Practice are community-driven, self-managed, and independent of the DARE UK programme and, therefore, will define their purpose and ways of working themselves. These communities will be important forums for the DARE UK programme to engage with and be a part of and may inform the programme’s thinking.
Outputs and Support from the DARE UK Programme

DARE UK Community Groups’ outputs may take various forms, such as (but not limited to) recommendation documents, open-source software (including documentation) and metadata schema. All Working Group outputs under the DARE UK programme must have a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) and be linked to the DARE UK Zenodo community. This ensures that they are part of the shared body of knowledge of the programme and the sensitive data research communities more broadly. DARE UK may also provide the Community Groups with operational support, such as setting up a group email account, document collaboration and sharing, and signposting via the DARE UK website and other communication channels when appropriate.

Setting Up a DARE UK Community Group

We invite all those interested in sensitive data research to propose relevant groups or join existing ones to help grow the sensitive data research community. To propose a group, outline your proposal using this Interest Group Charter template or Working Group Charter template and send it to enquiries@dareuk.org.uk. The DARE UK programme delivery team will carefully review your submission with the programme leadership and inform you of the outcome via email once a decision has been made.

We look forward to receiving your proposal!

Relevant Documents

For enquiries about the DARE UK Community Groups initiative, please send an email to communities@dareuk.org.uk.