Working Groups

Open Modeling Foundation Working Groups coordinate key activities, enabling a diverse spectrum of modeling scientists to participate directly in OMF activities and self-governance and ensuring that it can fulfill its vision, mission, and goals. Five Working Groups are established and described below; additional Working Groups may be established with approval of the Members Council.

Any modeling scientist can join an OMF Working Group. Working Groups are self-organized collectives of OMF members, supported by the Executive Committee, and led by a Working Group Chair and any number of Working Group Co-Chairs who must all be approved by the Members Council. Working Group Chairs and Co-Chairs serve for a three-year, renewable term. Each Working Group may nominate any number of Co-Chairs as appropriate, each with the same term length and responsibilities as the Chair. However, each Working Group only has a single vote within the Executive Committee.

Working Groups should meet as needed at least once per year either virtually or in person.

For more information on each Working Group please follow the links below to each groups dedicated page.

Standards Working Group

The Standards Working Group (SWG) oversees the adoption, dissemination, and administration of Open Modeling Foundation standards for access, documentation, reusability, and interoperability. It proposes standards to be reviewed, revised, and approved by the OMF Members Council. The SWG works with Administrative Coordinator to communicate proposed and adopted OMF standards to OMF member organizations and other stakeholders, and solicit input about proposed standards from the modeling community. In coordination with the Certification Working Group, it helps OMF member (and other) code repositories implement OMF standards for access, discoverability, and recognition of model developers who implement OMF best practice standards.

Certification Working Group

The Certification Working Group (CWG) develops and administers programs to certify model code that meets OMF standards for modeling best practices, and officially recognize model developers who apply these standards. CWG activities include developing and administering a community-wide program for model code peer review, establishing metrics for standards compliance, creating and assigning digital certification badges that follow guidelines being developed by the National Information Standards Organization (NISO). The CWG helps OMF member (and other) code repositories to ensure that models meeting OMF standards are clearly identified and developers who create standards-based models are publicly recognized. The CWG coordinates collaborative efforts with journals, funding agencies, societies, institutions/labs, other software/modeling consortia, and professional bodies to disseminate and administer OMF standards across the community of modeling science, and to promote recognition of OMF standards.

Education and Outreach Working Group

The Education and Outreach Working Group (EOWG) helps OMF member organizations reach and train next generation scholars and ensure proactive outreach to groups and nationalities that are underrepresented in modeling science. Depending on available resources, it may develop and deploy educational and training materials, organize workshops, symposia, clinics, and other promotional or engagement events to disseminate OMF standards and help modeling scientists meet those standards. The EOWG coordinates with the SWG to ensure that standards adopted by the OMF are supported by appropriate training and educational programs, and accessible via the OMF Science Gateway. The EOWG coordinates with the OMF Early Career Scholars to develop programs to support early-career scientists. Depending on available resources, such programs may include scholarships to attend trainings in standards-based modeling or presenting standards-based modeling research at professional meetings.

Cyberinfrastructure Working Group

The Cyberinfrastructure Working Group (CYWG) coordinates development and management of the OMF Science Gateway, an online platform for collaborative governance and standards. CYWG works to to identify, develop, and enhance tools and processes that lower the technical barriers towards adoption of OMF standards and facilitate their use by modeling scientists. CYWG staff assist the EOWG in developing online training modules and making them available on the OMF Science Gateway.

Early Career Scholars Working Group

The Early Career Scholars (ECSWG) helps the Open Modeling Foundation to support student and early career development. The ECSWG is open to any student enrolled in an institution of higher learning (e.g., college or university) or early career scholar (recent graduate). The ECSWG provides input to the Executive Committee. The ECSWG can organize student-focused programs, manuscripts, and events, assisted by the Administrative Coordinator and other OMF WG’s as appropriate.

Additional Working Groups

Other Working Groups may be proposed by the Executive Committee to oversee and coordinate additional OMF activities. The establishment of any new working groups must be approved by the Members Council.