During May and June 2021, CSCCE staff conducted nine 45-minute interviews with members of the EDSIN community with the goal of ascertaining perceptions about the community and its purpose, and possible next steps for its growth. We carefully selected participants to gain a representative range of perspectives across career stages, organizational affiliations, and current engagement levels within the community. We asked a series of questions regarding their current roles and responsibilities, relationship with EDSIN, current needs, and the value they obtain from EDSIN membership.

Of the nine people we interviewed, four were junior faculty members, one was a postdoc, one was a PhD student, and three were administrators and leaders from a university, a federal agency, and an infrastructure organization. Two had attended the 2019 EDSIN conference. At least four are currently engaged members of the community, meaning that they are active in the EDSIN Slack workspace and/or regularly attend meetings such as the monthly community calls.