Legend:

Text in Black: Information

Text in Red: Action items


  1. EC/MPI Updates
    1. Jira and Wiki recommendation: The EC reviewed the working group recommendations and submitted to Bill Gropp.
      1. What’s the new wiki proposal? On prem Confluence with Jira. Includes paying atlassian for a consultant for configuration for a period of time. Not much different than current (continuity).
      2. We need a place to house NCSA policies on the wiki (currently on Savannah, but documents are out of date).
    2. Decision Making Diagram:  In response to the concerns raised as part of the culture study, a diagram to reflect how decisions are made and communicated was drafted.  After some discussions and comments, the EC supported this being further developed with assistance from MarComm to clarify the diagram.
    3. Staff Equipment:  The past year has shown that the budget for new laptops/desktops could not support the requests being made by staff.  Nearly all ere opting for a machine at the top of or beyond the top of the budget range ($1,500-$3,000).  It was felt that many were opting for what was offered but more than what they needed.  The EC adopted a recommendation to set the Center support limit to $1500 per system.  Costs for system beyond this threshold will come form Directorate operational budget subject to review and approval by the appropriate AD.
    4. NPCF Utilization:  This was a brief discussion of the use of space in NPCF.  There are multiple planned systems to be going into NPCF over the next 24 months and it could be quite full by that point in time.
    5. Local Food and Meal Reimbursement Policy: This is an NCSA policy of when it is appropriate to use Center funds to buy food and refreshments, particularly for internal meeting.  The EC supported this and recommended it to Bill Gropp for his consideration.
  2. Budget Update
    1. Targets given to Engagement for FY24 are based on the FY23 Budget and are missing some new items transferred over this year. 
    2. Most groups in Engagement are aligned with budget targets based on FY23.
    3. John T. will have guidance for a few groups by the end of the day.
    4. Budget review takes priority over performance evaluations; some evaluations may be delayed in order to complete budget in May.
  3. NCSA Work Mode Request
    1. NCSA Space Committee is embarking on this year's Work Mode (Office Utilization) Analysis.
    2. Engagement Leads and Managers are requested to meet 1-on-1 with staff to discuss remote/hybrid/on-site arrangement options by May 25, 2023. 
    3. Charges for space may increase in the future; NCSA would like to focus on efficient use of space.
    4. At a team level, consider what will help the group work most effectively.
  4. NCSA Wiki Discussion:
    1. Topical Questions:
      1. Do you use the NCSA wiki? 
      2. How are you using the Wiki?
      3. Are your wiki resources regularly updated?
    2. NFI: regularly use it, updated multiple times a day, critical to operations; persistent place for information regarding project activities.
    3. CAII: use it daily:
      1. keep track of all our activities across the center; also for ISL.
      2. Use it for internal activities and external public information as well.
      3. Use it for help requests and internal updates.
    4. PDO: we have a wiki; not sure how often it is used; updated regularly - having PDO website coming up in the fall so that may take some functionality.
    5. Wiki usage statistics may help with how often it is used.
    6. Any group that doesn’t use it? Why not?
      1. DES used the open source wiki. We’ve not re-assesed that since we moved. Open for external collaborators.
        1. Gap is that it’s not a neutral space for collaboration.
        2. Onboarding process is outside the wiki; giving access to everyone is a challenge (LDAP groups allow this).
        3. Wiki is useful for finding information across NCSA, but not necessarily for internal DES activities.
      2. Is it used for external users? ACCESS uses it as a reference resource. ICI uses it as public reference information for some services (restricted and unrestricted information).
      3. Able to restrict or open information to various audiences.
    7. HIPO: uses Sharepoint for internal reference.
    8. LSST: Use a different instance of Confluence/Jira outside of NCSA; use it “A LOT”.
      1. Difficult to find information on NCSA activities.
      2. Search function is challenging.
      3. Meeting notes, technical notes.
      4. Public/private pages for various meetings.
    9. MBDH: depends on the role at the Center
      1. Internal DS coordination is all on the wiki
      2. MBDH project: so much external collab that wiki does not make sense (all on GDrive shared docs and workspaces)
      3. Clickup for PM work
    10. Jira ticketing is key for internal services and updates
    11. Proprietary protected information? Open question for now; John T. can find what is currently approved for what level and pass it along.
    12. Issues with using shared folders when a collaborator off-ramps - where to place information if someone leaves the University.
      1. Google Workspace allows ownership by org rather than by individual.
    13. Main thing of concern for migration:
      1. NCSA pages private for NCSA.
      2. External pages for everyone else.
      3. Will need a lot of support and help for migration.
      4. Opportunity for housecleaning.
  5. Presentation: DIGI-MAT (Angela)
    1. Friday seminars may be applicable to NCSA staff as well; would be great to give those talks to NCSA staff.
    2. Continue to keep up to date on cohorts following their participation in the program, currently working with the University to extend the program after NSF funding ends.
    3. So far haven’t had students leave during their PhDs; 3 students left at the masters level.
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