01 Cohort Call Digest [ 2024-SWRCB ]

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Hi All,

Thanks for a great first session Wednesday! Thank you to Dr. Stefanie Butland for guest teaching about Better Science for Future Us, and showing us the potential time and resource savings, reproducibility, and communication benefits to implementing open science principles into our workflows. Our team heard recurring themes of the importance of documentation and the benefit of open data (even if open doesn’t always mean public) and saw some exciting examples of ongoing projects that are using open science principles.

Below is a light digest of Call 1, including a reminder to schedule your Seaside Chat before Call 2 and to save the date for an additional optional Co-Working time after Call 2 on Wed., August 28th, 10:30-11:30 am. Looking forward to seeing you then!

Have a good week,

Danielle & the Mentor Team

Digest: Cohort Call 1 [ 2024-SWRCB ]

• Cohort OneDrive Folder - contains agendas, slides, recordings and the Pathway template
• Cohort Webpage
• Water Boards' Openscapes Teams Channel - connect with all Openscapse Champions cohorts at the Water Board

Goals: We started working towards a common understanding of the Openscapes mindset (a safe space to learn!) and what your pathway forward looks like for your team.

Task for next time:

- Have a Seaside Chat & start your Pathway

• Get familiar with the Pathway: Think about how to make it your own and start to focus on your trailhead (where are you now?).
  • Create a copy of the Pathways Sheet (File > Make a copy)
  • For now, we recommend focusing on the overall structure. Are there rows/columns/tabs to add to make the Pathway more suited for your needs?
  • Pathways details & examples

Upcoming OPTIONAL Cohort Co-working Session: Wed., Aug. 28th, 10:30-11:30 am.

• This is a time to come work on your own things, but also be able to talk things through and screenshare to get help from others.
• Calendar invitations have been sent to all Cohort members. If you do not see the invitation on your calendar, please reach out to Anna.

Slide Decks:

• Openscapes Mindset
• Better Science for Future Us

A few lines from shared notes in the Agenda doc:

• In the open data science landscape, there are many paths forward. Through the Champions program we will help you explore and navigate pathways with your team – and help the whole cohort become champions and stewards as you become more familiar, confident, and work together.
• The Openscapes mindset is all about kinder science, for Future Us!
  • For every work process and product, think about institutionalizing procedures and workflows for future participants/users +1 +1+1 +1 +1
  • Build documentation and future-thinking workflows into the initial project set-up to save time in the future and make the work easily translatable to other groups. +1000
• Emphasis on cultivating a culture that embraces and practices vulnerability, empathy, failure, and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
  • Working on the communications culture (i.e. more regular check-ins, we’re too often siloed) +100+1+1
  • Make specific efforts to talk to a variety of interested groups, stretch ourselves to get feedback and just talk with groups we don’t normally talk to +1 +1+1
• A common theme of this year’s cohort: Many people are new to the Water Boards with new data set exposure, and ready to modernize data approaches.
  • Figuring out which is the best place to start! I have so many things I want to do that it’s overwhelming – taking time to write it all down and then work with my team to prioritize will be really helpful. +1 +1 +1
• We are here to develop modern skills and habits that are of immediate value, including confidence and agency as leaders.
  • Automate as much as possible with the tools we have access to. Use of Github? PowerAutomate? AI? +1 +1