SPARC DRC Operation

The DRC is led by the SPARC DRC Council, comprising the PIs of the four Cores and NIH. The Council meets regularly to discuss and decide on matters related to the joint strategy and operative governance across the four Cores. Details of Council operation and decision-making are found in the SPARC DRC governance document.

DRC operations include standing committees who report to the Council. Each committee includes members of each of the Cores, project management support, SPARC investigators, plus outside expertise as needed.

• Tech Committee: Meets biweekly to address technical issues across the Cores.

• Communications Committee: Develops and implements SPARC communications. Meets biweekly to develop and implement a communications strategy for SPARC. Activities include:

  • SPARC mailing list
  • SPARC.science Twitter
  • SPARC YouTube
  • Selective promotion of SPARC-related News and Events to the SPARC Portal

• Change Control Boards (CCBs): SPARC maintains three change control boards who meet every six weeks to inform and approve development sprints.

  • DAT-Core CCB: Oversees development of the SPARC data platform to support SPARC users, including the Pennsieve Data Management Platform and the public SPARC data repository.
  • Portal CCB: Oversees development of the SPARC Portal based on the roadmap and user priorities.
  • Flatmaps CCB: Oversees development sprints for the MAP-Core flatmap interface on the SPARC Portal, including the visual presentation of the connectivity knowledge contained in the SPARC Knowledge Graph within the flatmap interface.

• User teams: Committees representing different groups of users from both inside and outside of the SPARC Consortium who provide feedback and advice on SPARC platform development.

  • Team Blue: Advises on the data side of the SPARC Portal
  • Team Black: Advises on the development and helps with the improvement of existing functionality of o²S²PARC
  • Team Red: Provides high-level expert advice to help drive future development of MAP-Core visualizations and tools and their use on the SPARC Portal.

• Data Standards Committee: This group has been retired and a new SPARC Standards Process is followed (implemented in 2024) to support the needs of a broader community. .

• User Interface/User Experience: Siso Solutions leads Portal UI/UX efforts.

• SPARC Anatomical Working Group (SAWG): Anatomical experts who provide independent anatomical oversight of anatomical knowledge management for K-Core and MAP-Core.

  • Jackie Bresnahan, PhD, Professor Emeritus, Neurological Surgery, University of California, San Francisco
  • Bernard de Bono, M.D, PhD, Associate Professor, The University of Auckland, New Zealand
  • Maryann Martone, PhD, Professor Emerita of Neuroscience, University of California, San Diego
  • Monique Surles-Zeigler, MS, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, San Diego
  • Jyl Boline, PhD, SPARC K-Core project manager, Informed Minds Inc., Walnut Creek

User feedback is welcome and managed through a ticketing system.