New AgGateway Structure and Resource Development Policy Designed to Increase Efficiency, Information-Sharing and Participation

Resource Development

New AgGateway Structure and Resource Development Policy Designed to Increase Efficiency, Information-Sharing and Participation

By AgGateway Communications Director Susan Ruland

A primary reason AgGateway is reorganizing in 2020 is to speed the process of creating and implementing new digital resources. A big first step is the launch next month (August 1) of our new digital resource development process and the associated new patent policy. The digital resource development process will be managed through two oversight groups that are part of the AgGateway 2020 structure. The new process will be operating in a transitional phase until January 2020:

  • The Portfolio Management Center (PMC) provides a centralized point to track AgGateway’s current, planned and potential project work, increasing efficiency and the ability to better share information about AgGateway’s portfolio with members and the industry. The PMC will manage a dashboard of Working Group activities and provide budget oversight as needed. The PMC will consist of a group of volunteer leaders supported by staff; during the transition leading up to January 1, staff will act in the role of the PMC.

  • The Digital Resource Center (DRC) will publish and maintain AgGateway’s digital resources, in close coordination with the PMC. Committees such as ADAPT Oversight, Architecture, Directory Oversight (AGIIS), and Standards & Guidelines will all report into the DRC. The DRC will be comprised of the leads from those committees and supported by staff; during the transition leading up to January 1, the Standards & Guidelines Committee will act as the DRC.

Digital Resource Development

The new digital resource development process goes into effect August 1. The process outlines how AgGateway members can create or update digital resources, as well as how AgGateway will produce and deliver resources to collaborating bodies such as standards organizations. The policy includes process diagrams to help visualize the flow of events, demonstrating how Working Groups are formed, and how new proposed resources are approved and published. The steps will be familiar to AgGateway members who have created resources and run them by the Standards & Guidelines Committee for review. Members can review the new digital resource development process on the AgGateway wiki.

Patent Policy

The new Patent Policy also goes into effect August 1. Its purpose is to reduce the likelihood of intellectual property from a Working Group contributor unintentionally being included in an AgGateway published digital resource. The policy will reduce the likelihood that an implementer of an AgGateway published digital resource will be sued for patent infringement by a contributor to that resource. The policy supports AgGateway’s efforts as members develop royalty-free digital resources that can be widely adopted within the industry.

Specifically, the policy requires all participants in a Working Group to agree that any digital resource produced by the Working Group will be implementable on a royalty-free basis with respect to patents held by the participants. (ADAPT and AGIIS, which have established policies and processes, are currently exempted from the new policy.) Members can review the Patent Policy on the AgGateway wiki.

More information on the Portfolio Management Center and Digital Resource Center, and the activities of AgGateway Working Groups, will be will be included in upcoming newsletter issues.