I just want to make a quick suggestion about the research group and ‘how things are done’. There are some things that have to happen in order for it to ‘maintain’ each week, and sometimes these things ‘fall into the middle’ of the group, and the person doing them is someone who happens to have the time, or sometimes it does not get done. Very appreciative of course of all the work that @JonahW@Asimong and @laurenw have done in this regard!
I wonder if it would make sense for there to be a small ‘stewarding’ group chat for the research group, with two or three people, who each week take care of the ‘basic tasks’ and activities? ie: sending the link, setting the agenda, uploading the videos, and so on; so that the research chat itself can be cleared of those more task-based messages, and we don’t have to worry about them, and that these tasks have clearly defined roles.
Obviously, it would be a bit of work for whoever takes on the role, and, just as a suggestion, perhaps we can go in cycles here: perhaps every quarter, or six months, change (if it feels right) the ‘stewards’.
So the ‘stewards’ of the research group would be in charge of covering the tasks, as well as of tapping into and guiding the overall flow of the group, which would include the recent conversations that were happening the other day in the chat regarding when to do the more sensemaking related calls as a group. Additionally, maybe, with making sure the website is updated etc.
Just a thought; and let me just also quickly say that at the current moment I probably don’t have the time to do this, but I can see myself having the time either at the start of 2026 or maybe even this fall.
Thanks for the feedback Matthew! I guess just to say that I think @Asimong and I do currently have a fairly well-defined role as group stewards (we are called ‘meeting coordinators’ on the sign-up sheet)- and that others including you are welcome to help coordinate when you have time.
We currently work with @laurenw and the other Second Renaissance curators to do the coordination you mention - in particular the Life Itself Research page has recently been updated. If there’s anything you feel hasn’t happened recently that should have happened, do let us know!
I think you make a very interesting point though about whether the research group chat is the right place to have these discussions. I think we have tried to have it in the chat so as to open up the decision-making process to input from others, but I’d be interested to know if others also feel that it ‘clogs up’ the chat.
I’d love to welcome others onto a more clearly established research stewards team. And I’d like to keep an eye on diversity as well … while not being over-anxious about politically correct diversity, I would very much like to include different research paradigms, if we can do sufficient ontological commoning to create a communicative basis of mutual understanding, recognition and respect. This for me would be the essential requirement: that anyone new on the team either already respects the perspectives of those there, and is in turn respected; or alternatively is able and willing to engage in a not-too-long journey into that space of mutual understanding and respect.
to clarifying the existence of such a group and naming it.