Governance workflows

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Governance of NFDI4Microbiota

Governance is the process of making and enforcing decisions within an organization or society. The following will introduce the governance structure, and the governance bodies are defined. Details on the bodies of the NFDI4Microbiota can be found in the introduction to NFDI4Microbiota.

Workflow General Assembly

Frequency of the General Assembly

The GA takes place twice a year, most likely in March/April and in October/November.

Preparation of the General Assembly

The Administration Unit and the Board of Directors have to prepare the GA. Each member of the consortium can hand in topics he/she would like to discuss during the GA (has to be of relevance to the whole consortium).

Timeline

x-5 weeks	x-2 weeks	x-1 week	x	x+2 weeks	x+4 weeks
Start to generate an agenda, and prepare files for resolution and slides for the GA.	Sent agenda to the consortium with the possibility to add points or change the agenda.	Correct agenda if required and send out an updated version.	General assembly meeting	Protocol generated for consortium and NFDI directorate	Send protocol to the consortium, NFDI directorate, and ZB MED controlling

The preparation includes the following steps:

Creating an appointment in the calendar of choice (Google, Outlook, etc.) that includes the date, time, and the link or location for the meeting. This will be sent to the whole consortium.
Collecting topics for and generating the agenda (latest 4 weeks ahead). If resolutions are planned the according documents need to be prepared to be circulated two weeks ahead to the General Assembly.
Sending the agenda to all members of the consortium (two weeks ahead), mentioning the possibility of comments, adaptations, and additions within one week time. In addition, inform the Task Area (TA) leads, that they need to give input on their TAs. If further topics are addressed, where input from specific members is required, they need to be contacted as well.
Changing the agenda accordingly.
Preparing a presentation for the General Assembly addressing the agenda.

Example for the agenda of the General Assembly

Welcome, approval of open election, and the agenda
Reports from the TAs
Finances
…
NFDI updates
AOB

Conduction of the General Assembly

For the conduction of the General Assembly meeting, one moderator and at least one note-taker are required. To make resolutions during the meeting, the co-applicants are entitled to vote. Therefore, ten votes in total are possible. For a resolution, the presence of 2/3 of the committee is required (2/3 Quorum), which means that 7 of 10 co-applicants or their representatives have to be present at the beginning of the committee meeting (physically or virtually). If this is not fulfilled, the meeting has to be canceled and a new meeting needs to be arranged. A simple majority is required to approve a resolution, which means more than half of the cast votes. A representative can be sent. An Email that informs about the representative is sufficient, as agreed by the General Assembly.

Entitled to vote are the following persons:

Bielefeld University (BIBI): Alexander Sczyrba
European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL): Peer Bork
German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures (DSMZ): Jörg Overmann
Friedrich Schiller University Jena (FSU Jena): Manja Marz
Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research (UFZ): Ulisses Nunes da Rocha
Helmholtz Center for Infection Research (HZI): Alice McHardy
Justus-Liebig-University Giessen (JLU Giessen): Alexander Goesmann
Philipps-Universität Marburg (UMR): Anke Becker
RWTH Aachen University (RWTH): Thomas Clavel
ZB MED – Information Center for Life Sciences (ZB MED): Konrad Förstner

Follow-up of the General Assembly

After the GA took place, the moderator and the note-taker will update the minutes for the GA for a) internal use and b) for the NFDI Directorate. After the approval of the BoD, the minutes will be shared with the consortium for information and review for two weeks. Afterwards, the minutes will be forwarded to a) ZB MED controlling and b) NFDI Directorate and filed.

Documentation of the General Assembly

All files regarding the General Assembly are filed in Nextcloud (internal link).

Workflow Scientific Advisory Board

A detailed description of the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) of NFDI4Microbiota can be found in the introduction to NFDI4Microbiota.

Information flow to the Scientific Advisory Board

To update the SAB regularly, they will receive the following information via their mailing list:

quarterly updates about the outputs and the work of the consortium via the NFDI4Microbiota newsletter,
the outcome and the proposals of the annual FlexFunds call, and
a season’s greeting email.

Frequency of the Scientific Advisory Board and Board of Directors meetings

The SAB meets once a year with the Board of Directors (BoD) for updates on the consortium work and consultation. In addition, they will be invited to other consortium-related events like the annual NFDI4Microbiota conference.

Preparation for the Scientific Advisory and Board of Directors meeting

The Administration Unit (AU) and the BoD have to prepare for the SAB and BoD meeting.

Timeline

x-6 months (min)	x-5 weeks	x-2 weeks	x	x+2 weeks
Start a poll to find a date for the meeting	Start to generate an agenda and slides for the meeting.	Sent agenda to SAB	SAB and BoD meeting	Protocol generated for SAB and BoD

The preparation includes the following steps:

Creating an appointment in the calendar of choice (Google, Outlook, etc.) that includes the date, time, and the link or location for the meeting. This will be sent to the SAB members and the BoD.
Collecting topics for and generating the agenda (latest 4 weeks ahead).
Sending the agenda to all members of the SAB (two weeks ahead)
Preparing a presentation for the meeting addressing the agenda.

Agenda of the SAB and BoD meeting

Welcome
Report on the work of the consortium and NFDI updates.
…
AOB

Conduction of the SAB and BoD meeting

For the conduction of the SAB and BoD meeting, the BoD acts as moderators. At least one person from the AU is attending as a note-taker.

Follow-up of the SAB and BoD meeting

Afterward, the note taker will update the minutes for the SAB and BoD. The protocol will be shared with the SAB and the BoD for approval to share with the consortium. Once approved, the protocol will be sent to the consortium.

Documentation of the SAB and BoD meeting

All files regarding the SAB are filed here (internal link). The members of the SAB are displayed on the web portal.

Workflow Project Review Board

The Project Review Board (PRB) is responsible for selecting new projects within the scope of the flexible funding and allocation mechanism, thus reacting to new and unforeseen scenarios. It is staffed based on suggestions made by the SAB and decision-making includes a peer review process.

Aim

To realize the dynamic adaptation of services and support of further data types, develop new training programs, and improve our ability to react to unforeseen technical challenges, we will establish a flexible fund allocation mechanism for a substantial portion (∼10%) of the total funding. These so-called Flexible Funds Projects will be awarded annually through a project call process with external peer review. For this purpose, a Project Review Board (PRB) – an external body whose members will be selected based on suggestions made by the SAB – will be implemented. It will consist of renowned scientists in changing compositions, based on the topics required for review and excluding members with potential conflicts of interest. The PRB will be responsible for selecting new projects within the scope of the flexible funding and allocation mechanism, thus reacting to new and unforeseen scenarios. It will be staffed based on suggestions made by the SAB and decision-making will include a peer review process. The PRB will:

be convened as needed to review proposals for innovation and implementation projects, and
provide an unbiased review of innovation and implementation projects.

Based on these reviews, the General Assembly (GA) will select projects that best serve the overall mission of NFDI4Microbiota.

Obligations

The Project review board will have the following obligations:

Evaluate the Flex fund applications
Rate the Flex fund applications
Make suggestions regarding the Flex Funds applications to the GA

The rough expenditure of time is 16 hours p.a and includes a minimum of one annual meeting (approx. 3 hrs). The time for the review process will be at the end of September.

FlexFunds Review Workflow

The FlexFunds workflow is described in the finances workflows in detail. The PRB receives FlexFunds applications and the review template from the Administration Unit after the call for Flex Funds applications was closed. They will receive these latest 2 weeks after the call was closed.

Information flow to the Project Review Board

To update the PRB regularly, they will receive the following information via their mailing list:

quarterly updates about the outputs and the work of the consortium via the NFDI4Microbiota newsletter,
the outcome and the proposals of the annual FlexFunds call, and
a season’s greeting email.

Workflow Circulation Procedure

If resolutions have to be made between the meetings of the General Assembly or the Scientific Advisory Board, a circulation procedure can be performed. A simple majority is required to approve a resolution, which means more then half of the cast votes.

Preparation, conduction, and follow-up of the circulation procedure:

A new circulation procedure document will be filled with details regarding the specific topic.
If necessary, informational files with further details will be created to be attached to the circulation procedure document.
The documents will be sent to the GA or SAB with a deadline of at least two weeks.
A resolution will be written from the results of the circulation with details regarding the voting and the outcome of the circulation procedure.
The resolution will be communicated to the GA, respective SAB, and the whole consortium and filed.

Documentation

All templates are filed here (internal link). All circulation procedures (Except for the documents containing results) are filed in a respective folder created. The resolutions are written separately and have a similar layout but contain information regarding the voting and the outcome.