Step 1: VeriMe Governance Launch
When building research infrastructure, a fundamental challenge is integrating open design principles. Often we infrastructure nerds are entirely focused on the technology. The schema, standards, servers, software, and data exchange protocols. We tell ourselves (and we hear from advisors) that we should only innovate in one dimension, so we continue to focus on the technology to the near exclusion of everything else.
But, infrastructure is more than technical architecture. It is people. It is power. And it is important that all of these dimensions are an essential component of the design and build process. We cannot simply default to certain organizational structures, business models, or engagement strategies. We need to think deeply about our stakeholders, their needs, and how our infrastructure may affect power dynamics in the stakeholder community.
It is my experience that it is possible and desirable to innovate in multiple dimensions. If the goal is to provide open research infrastructure, it is necessary to explore the technology, community engagement, and decision-making aspects that together are the infrastructure.
One of the reasons I am so jazzed about being a VeriMe co-founder is the opportunity to do just that. Identity verification remains a consistent issue in the research community. It is a critical factor in researcher reputation services, in authentication protocols, in credentialing. Having to re-prove identity individually on each platform a researcher uses is not only time consuming, it also exposes a person – and the entity collecting the information – to the risk of releasing private information that can lead to identity theft.
So, we set out to concentrate the work of identity verification so that everyone benefits.
We are taking the time to engage with stakeholders in need of identity verification services, explore their use cases, and intentionally design a multi-dimensional solution.
Our first milestone in this journey is organizational structure. Many start-ups in this space are either an equity-based corporation with stockholders, or are non-profits seeking grant funding as a primary fundraising model. We’ve heard from some advisors that to be considered “open” we must structure as a non-profit. Instead of default, we decided to take a principled approach, and “follow the value”. Specifically, who is creating the value.
The VeriMe infrastructure derives its value from researcher participation and from the people who build and maintain it. To recognize this value, VeriMe has developed a cooperative organizational and governance structure that recognizes and rewards value generation. Researchers can create a VeriMe account and link to third party accounts like ORCID for no fee. Researchers and VeriMe staff may step up their participation by becoming VeriMe Members, and taking part in our governance as well as patronage distributions. Our members are responsible for ensuring VeriMe remains aligned with our principles, reviewing our budget, and for assuring our living will provisions. We do not have preferred stock, so an “equity exit” (aka sale) is not a driving factor in our growth and sustainability strategy. Rather, it is the user experience for researchers, the organizational culture for our staff, and the services we provide to our subscribers.
We encourage you to read our governing documents. On our Purpose and Principles page you will find our guiding principles, code of conduct, articles of incorporation, and our bylaws. Feel free to re-use what works for your organization. And please get in touch to share your ideas and experiences!
This is Step 1. What about next steps? We will be releasing our Membership agreement later in May along with more details on when you can create a VeriMe account and help to build VeriMe by becoming a Member. Get in touch if you’d like to register for a demo webinar.
