iPlant Collaborative

Executive Summary

The iPlant Collaborative held its inaugural conference "Bringing Plant and Computing Scientists Together to Solve Grand Challenges" at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory from the evening of April 7 to the afternoon April 9, 2008. The purpose of the conference was two-fold: 1) to explain the nature of the project and 2) to facilitate community discussion regarding compelling grand challenges, as well as the data, computational tools, and cyberinfrastructure necessary to solve those grand challenges.

In an effort to determine the participating community’s perception of the conference, the external evaluator deployed an online survey via email to each conference participant. The survey was deployed on April 16, 2008 to 150 participants who physically attended the meeting at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and 45 participants who attended virtually. A total of 12 questions were asked to general participants and 15 to those who remained through Wednesday afternoon. Responses were received from 54 physical attendees (36% response rate) and 18 virtual attendees (40% response rate).

The survey created for the iPC kick-off conference was designed to collect participant perspectives regarding the delivery, reception, and impact of the information presented during the general meeting and break-out sessions. Select items from each category are provided in the following:

• The project team was successful in the delivery of information based on the analysis of questions answered by the survey respondents.

• 85% of respondents agree or strongly agree that discussion regarding grand challenges was facilitated during the conference.
• 76% of respondents indicate that the core principle of being “by, for, and of the community” was largely evident during the conference.
• 85% of respondents reported the speakers presented information that was relevant to the project.

• The information provided by the survey respondents indicates that the participants left the conference with a general understanding of the iPlant Collaborative, but continue to struggle with understanding the particulars of the project and how the project facets fit together.

• 92% of respondents agree or strongly agree that they understand the nature of the iPlant Collaborative as a result of participating in the conference.
• Qualitative analysis of open-ended responses indicates that 61% of participants are unable to describe a Grand Challenge in terms of the project, while 59% are unable to define the term Discovery Environment.

• Participants were asked three questions regarding their post-conference plans. Three categories are evident from the data provided: individuals who have a clear vision for their participation, those who are seeking a means to participate, and those who are not interested in direct participation. Participants report that their top three current needs are to connect with others, gather more information about iPlant, and get started on a GC proposal.

• Wednesday afternoon was reserved for self-forming groups to meet for discussion. Individuals attended a topical session of their choice in an effort to organize individuals with similar interests. Of those completing the survey for physical attendees, 15 completed the survey questions related to the self-forming sessions. The Wednesday afternoon self-forming group sessions appear to have been successful in that groups initiated communication with colleagues of similar interest and generated some consensus statements.

The full analysis narrative and supporting tables and figures are presented in the survey report entitled “Participant Post-Conference Survey Report: iPlant Collaborative Inaugural Conference.”