Special Interest Groups Details

Purpose of SIGs

SIGs represent an increased effort to provide professional development opportunities to IT staff at UNC system campuses throughout the year, in addition to our annual conference.

SIGs can help us:

foster cross institutional relationships
provide communication avenues for common topics or technology
provide continuity and opportunities for collaboration during the year
provide more timely opportunities for working groups
provide opportunities for knowledge sharing

Requirements for SIGs

There are no hard and fast requirements or expectations out of every SIG that is formed. A SIG is what the members make of it. The desire however is for the SIG to serve as a common source of information for members. A place to communicate, grow professionally, and a place to ask other similarly interested people questions you may have.

We do encourage the following for each SIG:

Host at least one in-person event per renewal cycle (currently set at 2 years)
Give a presentation or update at the annual UNC CAUSE conference
Host virtual meet-ups on a regular basis

For more information on hosting a SIG event, see the SIG Event Guide.

Guidelines for Creating a SIG

If possible, we would prefer one SIG to represent multiple, related services/products within a discipline. In general, building SIGs of interest to a larger community is more valuable, with the understanding that some delineation between groups may still be required.

Each SIG requires two (2) sponsors/facilitators from separate institutions. These individuals will be responsible for aiding in the organization and operation of the SIG for a two year period. While a renewal process has yet to be formalized, after the 2 year period, a SIG will need to determine to continue with new (or renewing) facilitators or letting the UNC CAUSE board know that this SIG is no longer needed.

For more information on the process for creating a SIG, see the SIG Toolkit.

Benefits and Resources

UNC CAUSE wants to ensure the success of our SIGs and as such has put together a series of resources that will be available to official SIGs.

Some of the items currently available include:

A page/website within the UNC CAUSE WordPress environment
UNC CAUSE Google Apps resources – Groups, email address, document collaboration
Event hosting assistance:
- Funding (requires budget approval by the UNC CAUSE Executive Committee and Board)
- Advertising assistance
- Scheduling, including scheduling with the annual conference
- Mailings to members
- UNC CAUSE-owned resources for event usage (easels, projectors, lanyards, and other conference-related paraphernalia)

For more information on the benefits and resources provided to SIGs, see the SIG Toolkit.

More Information and Contact

Additional information about SIG processes and operation can be found in the documents below:

If you have additional questions or comments, feel free to email sigs@unccause.org.