Outreach and Advocacy

On 16th October 2007 Annotation-Outreach and User Advocacy were brought together as described below. I am noting this here as it gives a clear view of roles for the coming year and of the reporting that is expected at the next meeting.

Dear GO folk;

At the recent GOC meetings in Princeton, we had a discussion that reviewed the work of the Annotation Outreach Group and the User Advocacy Group. We decided that after a year of annotation outreach, we had reached a plateau with this effort. We decided to combine the Outreach and Advocacy Groups. (minutes on wiki at http://gocwiki.geneontology.org/index.php/GO_18th_Consortium_Meeting )

Jen Deegan will now be manager of this (now combined) 'Outreach and Advocacy Group'.

We will keep the wiki organization as is for the moment since this reflects the aims of the grant and we will report on progress for annotation outreach and user advocacy separately. Eurie, Jane, those involved with the gohelp rotation, as well as the annotation mentors will still continue to be involved in this work. Jane, as you know, is currently on maternity leave, and Eurie will devote most of her effort to SGD. Here is a summation of the work of the Manager of Outreach and Advocacy Group.

Manager of combined User Advocacy and Annotation Outreach:
This person (Jen) will:

 1. provide oversight of the gohelp effort including tracking of user requests and development of FAQ for common questions,

 2. represent 'user perspective' in efforts to improve web/database accessibility for all users,

 3. ensure regular release of GO newsletter as part of the GO newsletter team,

 4. promote the posting of the teaching / presentation materials on GOC web and /or wiki,

 5. support the use of standardized and easily useable systems of documentation and progress reporting for user adovacy and annotation outreach activities,

 6. keep a current listing of presentations/tutorials/posters/papers for the yearly report.

 7. and coordinate mentoring of new annotation groups as necessary.

Thanks Jen for agreeing to take on this role.

Judy, Mike, Michael, Suzi