This year as we celebrate ORCID’s first decade, we’re taking time to reflect before we forge ahead. Additionally, with the 2023 Board elections in process, we are also taking time to recognize the outgoing Board Chair and Treasurer and to welcome their incoming colleagues. One of the things most apparent from this transition is the incredible shape previous Board members have left the organization in and the good hands we’re in to set forth into our second decade.
Linda O’Brien, outgoing Board Chair and Daniel Hook, outgoing Treasurer, share with us their reflections and words of wisdom from their time serving on the Board. Additionally, Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe, incoming Board Chair, and Clare Appavoo, incoming Treasurer, share their thoughts from their first two years on the Board and what they plan to bring to ORCID in their new roles.
Over the years, our Board has ensured that ORCID has stayed on course with its vision: a world where all who participate in research, scholarship, and innovation are uniquely identified and connected to their contributions across disciplines, borders, and time, and stayed true to our 10 founding principles. We’re grateful to the Board members, past and present, who have contributed to ORCID’s strategy and direction, which have enabled us to achieve the organizational capacity necessary to pursue this bold vision.
Linda O’Brien, outgoing Board Chair
(2017–2022) Griffith University (AU)
During your tenure, what is the one thing that has surprised you the most?
I have been both surprised and delighted about the way in which such a diverse Board, with people from such different backgrounds, worked so collaboratively, constructively and respectfully to support ORCID. I have no doubt that the diversity of the Board is one of ORCID’s (not so) secret weapons.
What are you most proud of bringing to the ORCID Board?
I’m proud to have made a small contribution to evolving the maturity of the Board’s processes—a journey that began before me and will continue into the future under subsequent Chairs.
What words of wisdom do you have for incoming or future Board members?
It is a wonderful opportunity to help shape a critical and valued part of the global research ecosystem. Take time to enjoy learning from, and building relationships with, the amazingly talented and passionate fellow directors and ORCID senior team.
Daniel Hook, outgoing Board Treasurer
(2017–2022) Digital Science (UK)
During your tenure, what is the one thing that has surprised you the most?
I think that I’ve been most surprised by our ability for the Board to continue to feel like a team during COVID. Prior to COVID, the Board would meet in person three times a year and so there was a natural sense of cohesion and camaraderie. Once we went into lockdown and couldn’t do that anymore it didn’t surprise me that we continued to have that feeling of shared purpose and vision for ORCID. However, we’ve now had two new intakes of colleagues—all in lockdown. Last month was the first time that the board had met in person in more than two years, and yet within minutes, we felt like a cohesive team with shared values and purpose.
I think that speaks volumes, at three levels—firstly, to the very special place that ORCID has in the hearts and minds of people in the community; secondly, to the wonderful colleagues who have come on board in recent years; finally, to the amazing work done by ORCID staff to support the Board and make us feel like part of their team.
What are you most proud of bringing to the ORCID Board?
I think that I must be very dull here—I think that my contribution to the Board has been quite narrow, but hopefully helpful. I have worked closely with the wonderful finance and membership colleagues in the ORCID team to evolve their financial reporting capabilities so that the organization has a more accurate view of itself and hence is better able to understand whether it is taking enough risk. In organizations such as ORCID, there is a strong urge to be conservative in what one does in the interests of serving the community well. However, sometimes one can serve the community better by taking some well-understood risks and I hope that I left the organization with better tools to understand whether it should engage with those opportunities that could benefit the community, but which may look more risky.
What words of wisdom do you have for incoming or future Board members?
Being a member of this Board can be a great joy. The ORCID team, the other Board members and Directors are an amazing group doing something with true impact in the world—the creation of an infrastructure that will power the scholarly discourse of the future. Be proud, be humble and use this as an opportunity to learn all you can from the very smart people around you!
Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe, incoming Board Chair
(2021–present) University of Illinois Library at Urbana-Champaign (USA)
What was your inspiration to join the ORCID Board?
Being engaged in various organizations is one of my greatest professional joys. The opportunities to contribute and to learn is unparalleled. I am an unabashed advocate for collective work across institutional lines, silos of expertise, and geographic boundaries. ORCID ticks all these boxes as a global organization supporting and fostering a global scholarly communications ecosystem.
What’s the one thing that has surprised you the most so far?
Between the pandemic, onboarding a new executive director, and the growth of the organization, one might have expected a certain kind of chaotic disruption over the past two years. I think it is a testament to strength of ORCID’s organization and leadership at all levels that we’ve been very even-keeled, pursing the mission while adapting successfully to changing circumstances.
What is the top thing you hope to bring to ORCID with your time as Chair?
My extensive experience with board and shared governance is perhaps the most obvious thing I bring to the role of Chair. Underlying that is that I just plain enjoy this kind of work immensely. As ORCID enters its second decade, there is tremendous opportunity to grow the value that ORCID provides to the scholarly communications ecosystem. Clarity of purpose, strong decision making processes that are inclusive and nimble, and robust policymaking are all key to actualize the potential of this moment.
Clare Appavoo, incoming Board Treasurer
(2021–present) Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CA)
What inspired you to join the ORCID Board?
The Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN) has been the administrative lead organization for the ORCID consortium in Canada, ORCID-CA, since its inception in 2016. As we have grown the ORCID community in Canada, I was inspired to support this critical component of research infrastructure that enables open scholarship. In addition to my experience as an Executive Director for a national consortium of university libraries, I felt that my experience serving in leadership positions with the global initiative SCOAP3 (Sponsoring Consortium for Open Access Publishing in Particle Physics) would be valuable to the ORCID Board.
What is the one thing that has surprised you so far?
Rather than surprised, I would say that I have been very impressed with the critical strides that the management team at ORCID, under the leadership of Chris Shillum, have made in the past two years to transition from a start-up organization to a mature, mission-driven organization with the capacity to improve the lives of researchers around the world. The dedication and enthusiasm of the team is inspiring.
What is the top thing you hope to bring to ORCID during your time as treasurer?
I hope that I can build on the excellent work of past Treasurer, Daniel Hook, in supporting the ongoing transition to a sustainable, mature organization. I look forward to working with Sarah Hershberger, Director Finance and Operations, to further develop governance structure that will support the financial practices of ORCID into the future.
