Steering Committee Notes, 10 July 2024

• Update on REFEDS Activities
• Financial health of the organization
  • GEANT finance is short staffed right now, so no formal report. Overall health of the org is positive. No major outlays of money so far this fiscal year. We will get a full report this summer; we may have enough funding to do something (small) this year.
  • Sponsorship is still the main (sole?) source of funding;

• Planning for the 2025 REFEDS Coordination contract posting
  • Could post a statement of "intent to open a bid" in early 2025 that will describe the process of how to enter the system to get a bid.
  • Alternatively, we could not go with an independent contractor and get someone sponsored by another organization.
  • SC should think about the structure they want. What do we want REFEDS to achieve? Is there another way to meet our strategic goals? Are we ready to recognize that our scope in terms of industries we influence (see the work on wallets and digital credentials) has grown?
  • It would be helpful to have a short video describing REFEDS, both for new people and for new industries. We need to position ourselves to other groups.
    • Example from AAF: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkCAEtKM0lM
    • Would like to get a statement from our stakeholders (e.g., GEANT) as to what they want from REFEDS
    • AAF
  • It may be useful to have someone more deeply connected with industry and wallets in the coordination role.

• Read out from REFEDS 48 at TNC
• Planning for REFEDS 49 at TechEx (Boston, Monday, 9 December)
  • Ten Great Things REFEDS has done in the last ten years; use a mentimeter to develop this
  • The origin story of REFEDS (and its relationship to eduGAIN)
  • Think tank → Stewardship. We're now both, and it's important to talk, but the unique value is that standardization and stewardship.
• TIIME 2025  - probably too close to TechEx to warrant a separate side meeting
• 50th REFEDS (20 years!!!) meeting at TNC25??!!

REFEDS Marketing

• What do other SDO's do wrt marketing? What we want is a professional, solid answer to what we are and how to engage with us