RDA is a pragmatic and agile organization, and through the work of its Working and Interest Groups, directly and logically tackles numerous data infrastructure challenges.
Any RDA member may initiate or join a Working or Interest group. To become a member of the RDA, individuals should register with the RDA online community and affirm their support for the RDA Guiding Principles.
Working Groups & Interest Groups: what's the difference?
Working Groups
Working Groups are short-term (18 months) and come together to develop and implement data infrastructure, which could be tools, policy, practices and products that are adopted and used by projects, organizations, and communities. Embedded within these groups are individuals who will use the infrastructure and help in making it broadly available to the public.
As of May 2019, RDA boasts 36 working groups.
Interest Groups
Interest groups are open-ended in terms of longevity. They focus on solving a specific data sharing problem and identifying what kind of infrastructure needs to be built. Interest Groups can identify specific pieces of work and start up a Working Group to tackle those.;
As of May 2019, RDA boasts 66 interest groups.
Many of our members propose Birds of a Feather Meetings at the bi-annual RDA Plenary Meetings to gauge interest and gather momentum and consensus for the creation of Working & Interest Groups.