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Outreach Plan

Broad engagement with the neuroscience community is essential for the optimization, integration, and adoption of the Resource components. To achieve this, we conduct five types of outreach activities, each requiring a tailored approach:

1. Precursor Projects

As part of our Selection Process, a Precursor Project is required for any new experimental modality to be incorporated into DataJoint Elements.

A Precursor Project involves the development of a DataJoint pipeline for specific experiments, either independently or in collaboration with our team. Our outreach activities for Precursor Projects include:

  • Engaging Development Teams: Reaching out to teams developing DataJoint pipelines for new experimental paradigms or modalities.
  • Identifying Key Components: Collaborating with these teams to identify essential design motifs, analysis tools, and related interfaces.
  • Team Interviews: Conducting interviews the core team to understand their collaborative culture, practices, and procedures.
  • Code and Dissemination Review: Reviewing their open-source code and dissemination plans to assess compatibility and adaptability.
  • Continuous Collaboration: Staying in contact with the team throughout the Element development process to incorporate their contributions, gather feedback, and evaluate design tradeoffs.

When the new Element is released, a full attribution is given to the Precursor Project, ensuring their contributions are recognized.

Rationale: The Resource does not aim to create fundamentally new solutions for neurophysiology data acquisition and analysis. Instead, it systematizes and disseminates existing open-source tools already proven in leading research projects.

2. Tool Developers

DataJoint pipelines depend on a variety of analysis tools, atlases, data standards, archives, catalogs, and other neuroinformatics resources created and maintained by the broader scientific community. To ensure the long-term sustainability of the Resource, we reach out to the tool developers to establish shared sustainability roadmaps.