Quick Summary

HAAM is an international and open community of researchers interested in studying human population history, ancestry, and mobility through ancient DNA. HAAM is affiliated with the International Society of Biomolecular Archaeology

• Our primary community space is on Slack, and we also have an annual conference and other online events.

• All career stages are invited, but the emphasis is on providing a welcoming space for early-career researchers.

• We have a variety of initiatives to support the community, from classes to informal meetings and seminars

• HAAM initiatives and events are supported by a Steering Committee but are often led by HAAM members; reach out if you have ideas or are interested in helping

• HAAM membership is free, but donations may be sought during the annual meeting – and if you are interested in supporting HAAM financially, please reach out to the Steering Committee!

Definition of HAAM and history

HAAM stands for Human Ancient DNA, Ancestry, and Mobility. We are a community of researchers from around the world focusing on studying human population history through ancient DNA.

We aim to openly share knowledge and experience to find solutions to common challenges and obstacles that the field faces, primarily within online community spaces (Slack). We run various collaborative projects for the benefit of the whole community and to progress the field including an annual conference for early career researchers. We have various events throughout the year with cycling organisation committees to improve networking.

The idea of HAAM originated in 2023, with the first community announcement taking place during the International Society for Biomolecular Archaeology biannual conference in Tartu, Estonia. HAAM was inspired by the communities built by SPAAM and PAASTA. It has been designed to be an open, supportive community led by early career researchers to promote collaborative and open science within the field of human archaeogenetics. We have been associated with the International Society of Biomolecular Archaeology since our inception in 2023.

Location

Our main community space is Slack. We also gather either in-person or online for an annual conference and online for various events. We keep information about the community archived on our website, along with information on how to get involved.

Membership

We welcome all early stage career researchers, as well as Principal Investigators (PIs) and other senior researchers, to join our community. However, the community is intended to be especially beneficial to early career researchers; thus, we encourage PIs to not monopolise discussions.

All members of our community are obliged to follow our Code of Conduct. Before joining the community be sure to read and understand what this entails. This Code of Conduct outlines our expectations for all those who participate in our community, as well as the consequences for unacceptable behaviour. All members of HAAM are required to agree and comply with this Code of Conduct. Safety officers are responsible for enforcing this code within the community, including dealing with any violations. We expect cooperation from all participants to help ensure a safe and positive environment for everybody.

To report any violations of this code of conduct within activities in the scope of the community, please reach out to our safety officers whose contacts can be found within the Code of Conduct. The actions taken by the safety officers will depend on the gravity and nature of the concern raised. Safety officers are entitled to remove a member from the community.

Finances

There is no membership fee to join the HAAM community. However, opportunities for voluntary donations will be presented in community-wide HAAM meetings. We are financially supported by voluntary donations by members and research group leaders. If you are able to contribute financially and would like to support the HAAM community, please contact a member of the Steering Committee.

Constitution

The constitution (this document) outlines the structure and information about the HAAM community. The constitution is a living document which will be updated as needed to fit the needs of the HAAM community. It is primarily maintained by the Steering Committee, but other members can make suggestions by reaching out to the Steering Committee and advocate for changes as they see fit.

HAAM Steering Committee

Definition - Steering Committee

The Steering Committee is an executive board that manages the daily operations of the community and provides support, guidance and oversight of particular issues or projects within the context of the community.

The tasks of the Steering Committee involve brainstorming and proposing new initiatives and helping new initiatives to get off the ground, by increasing engagement and support for HAAM members and events, helping with ongoing organisation efforts, publicization of HAAM, and sourcing funds for the maintenance of HAAM.

The Steering Committee is formed by teams consisting of the managing team: a chair and a secretary, a treasurer team, a social media team and an engagement team. The teams meet on a regular basis to divide responsibilities and set up a communication method that ensures tasks are fulfilled.

Description of the Roles

Management team:

Formed by the chair and the secretary. Responsible for ensuring the committee functions smoothly and achieves its goals.

Chair: leads meetings, sets agendas, moderates discussions and delegates tasks to volunteer members. It represents the HAAM community in any official meetings or interviews. They are also responsible for having an overview of the various initiatives by maintaining a close communication with the treasurer, social media and engagement teams. Allows for discussion around long-term topics, needs to be forward thinking on this end.

Vice-Chair: Will support the Chair and fill in when the Chair is not available. Distribution of work can be discussed between the Chair and Vice-Chair.

Ideally, the Chair and Vice-Chair should come from different institutions!

Secretary: Takes meeting minutes, sends them out via slack when they are ready, makes sure that assignments are noted. Organisational responsibilities (i.e. keeping google docs in order, annotating the minutes with required links, possibly doing same for the agenda ahead of time).

Treasurer team

The treasurer team is responsible for managing the funds, for the communication related to funds and responsible for allocating funding to initiatives by serving as a line of communication between the organising committees and the Steering Committee. The treasurer team is also responsible to collect funds as well as finding grant opportunities to continue to fund HAAM initiatives.

Social media team

The social media team is responsible for the outreach of the community, by tweeting, emailing as well as updating the website. Social media officers will announce new initiatives, conferences, papers and jobs that are relevant for the HAAM community.

Engagement & Event management team

The engagement officers are responsible for coming up with new initiatives (projects, summer schools, outreach activities, etc.) and propose them to the community. They will also oversee ongoing initiatives and provide support for them to reach their goals. They will ensure that the initiative is known in the community, as well as outside the community together with the media team. As well as suggesting potential funding sources for the initiative, by engaging with the treasurer team.

Amending the Constitution

Any member can propose amendments they wish to see to the Constitution by contacting either the Chair or Vice-Chair. Proposed changes will be reviewed by the Steering Committee and voted on by the community during a general meeting.

Wednesday 14th of February 2024