[DDI-SRG] DDI regional users group?

[Joachim Wackerow]

Nikos and others,

Probably my answer focused mainly on the communication over a forum like 
the email list.

Don't understand me wrong: I also think the idea is good. But I'm just 
thinking about the right time and form. For a more differentiated 
communication and/or meeting structure a critical mass is important.

Normally the IASSIST conferences in May are a good place to meet other 
DDI users and to hear or present DDI papers. Also the DDI Expert meeting 
(members of the DDI Alliance) takes place after the conference.

Additionally we had an informal ("regional European" ) DDI Expert 
meeting in October 2006 in Mannheim. October 2007 we had an intense 
workshop on DDI 3.0 in Dagstuhl, Wadern.

We are already planning for autumn 2008 another intense workshop in 
Germany and an informal DDI Expert meeting in Europe or Germany.

Looking at all these conferences/meetings my impression is that only a 
handful Germans are present at these meetings. So maybe the idea of 
regional users group is a bit too early.

But in general we should take the idea of regional (or subject) users 
groups and discuss it at the next DDI Experts meeting in Stanford in 
May: Which users groups can make sense, in which form should they 
organized, etc.

Hopefully the IZA will be present at the IASSIST conference to discuss 
issues like that.

Cheers, Achim

Nikos Askitas wrote:
> Joachim hi,
> thanks for the quick reply. I still think it a good idea because I see
> that in the German space there is
> a lot of activity which is not always (properly) connected to the
> world.... For example we have been
> working on and with DDI for the last 3 years and know not many people in
> the center of the DDI
> development.
> Moreover the people who need it or use it or want to use it do not know
> each other. Also there appears to be a
> discrepancy across the board between those who know why they need it
> (data oriented people) and those
> who would know how to use it (IT). Such a forum would bring people
> together.
> They can continue to communicate virtually  the rest of the year but
> once a year there could be a European meeting
> to re enforce the bonds and create a community of persons...
> I had this idea I must say based on what stata does with their Regional
> User Group meetings (we are hosting it in 2009)
> which are well attended and allow the users to lobby the direction in
> which the software develops.
> I think the gathering and interaction on a person-level are more
> powerful and will result in more active and more
> meaningful virtual interactions since not everybody can survive the
> virtual abstraction layer and make it
> onto a discussion group...
> I have seen a lot of engaged young people around the places I have
> visited so far in Germany and I am sure
> they could use the meetings to start growing themselves and grow their
> output and contribution. They can also
> be helped to bring interesting views back to base once a year or so. I
> assume the case is similar elsewhere.
> 
> 
> 
> What do you think?
> 
> Nikos
> 
>> Pascal and Nikos,
>>
>> We discussed this issue already at the last TIC conference call. In
>> general I welcome the idea of regional DDI groups and the willingness
>> of the IZA to support this kind of groups.
>>
>> I think in the current state we should stick to one global user group
>> communicating by the DDI users email list. When this group is too
>> active or the subjects have too much regional concern, we can switch
>> to regional groups. Similar we can invent new subject groups when
>> specific subjects are discussed intensively on the general interest
>> group and the subjects are of interest only for sub-groups of users.
>> (On the other hand a non-active discussion forum doesn't look
>> attractive to the community)
>>
>> Currently - looking at the activity of the global user group
>> discussion - I don't see the necessity to make a step into this
>> direction. First we need more activity on several levels, then it
>> makes sense to think about a finer grained communication structure.
>>
>> Cheers, Achim
>>
>> Pascal Heus wrote:
>>> Achim:
>>> as you know I was at IZA in Bonn a couple of weeks ago. We had very
>>> productive discussions and IZA will soon join the DDI Alliance as
>>> well as come to IASSIST 2008 to share their experiences using DDI in
>>> an RDC environment.
>>>
>>> One of the activity that IZA would like to put forward as an initial
>>> contribution is the establishment of a Germany or European DDI Users
>>> group. The idea would be to not only have a virtual space but for
>>> members to get together on a regular basis for sharing experiences
>>> and technical discussions. This would be hosted by IZA (or possibly
>>> other locations in Germany). Such initiative will of course be
>>> conducted in close partnership with the DDI Alliance. Given your
>>> extensive knowledge of DDI and  familiarity with the DDI landscape in
>>> Germany, your input on this topic would be most valuable. So far, we
>>> have only mentioned this to Mary as we want to stategize it right
>>> before sharing the idea with a broader audience. Nikos Askitas, my
>>> primary contact at IZA , has asked me to put him in touch with you to
>>> further discuss the idea. As a newcomer to the DDI community, he
>>> would also in general greatly benefit from your general DDI expertise
>>> and knowledge.
>>>
>>> all the best,
>>> Pascal
>>
> 
> 


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