Advisory Committee on a National Portal for Museum Collections

Below is a copy of the terms of reference that will guide the committee in it’s inaugral year. The terms are subject to revision and maye be changed or updated for future iterations of the committee, as deemed necessary by its members.

Table of Contents

Section Content
1 Purpose of the advisory committee
2 Responsibilities
3 Membership
3.1 Composition of membership
3.2 Duration of membership
3.3 Chair and Vice Chair
3.4 Appointment process
4 Meetings
5 Policies

1. Purpose of the Committee

The purpose of the advisory committee is to assist the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN) by reviewing proposals and making recommendations related to the development of a new national portal for museum collections from the perspective of heritage professionals. The committee also provides input on other services offered by CHIN in support of the portal, where appropriate.

2. Responsibilities

Advisory committee members are responsible for:

  • contributing strategic insights and operations expertise from their professional practices to support the project of a new national portal for museum collections;
  • maintaining an awareness of developments in the Canadian museum sector, as well as the wider heritage sector and trends in museology internationally;
  • providing guidance on new or improved functionalities of the portal, such as new tools for data contribution, search, discovery and engagement;
  • providing guidance on CHIN’s research activities as they relate to the portal, such as a survey of users on a specific topic;
  • providing guidance on the dissemination of data derived from the project for the benefit of contributing museums and the wider Canadian heritage sector.

Advisory committee members are not responsible for:

  • advising CHIN on strategic partnerships, whether with vendors, heritage institutions, other governmental agencies, or any other entity;
  • making formal decisions about the direction of CHIN’s work, including the development and maintenance of the national portal for museum collections.

3. Membership

3.1. Composition of membership

While the purpose of the advisory committee is to ensure adequate input from a wide range of heritage professionals, it also has a practical role. Therefore, the number of members is limited to a minimum of 8 and a maximum of 10 to ensure adequate representation and efficiency.

To this end, the membership must include at least one representative from:

  • a small museum*
  • a medium museum*
  • a large museum*
  • the Prairies and Northern region
  • the Western region
  • Ontario
  • Quebec
  • the Maritimes
  • the English-speaking community
  • the French-speaking community
  • an Indigenous community
  • the research community
  • the Humanities
  • the Natural Sciences
  • a heritage institution with a national portfolio

Together, the 8 to 10 members must meet all of the criteria mentioned above, which means that some of them must meet more than one criterion.

* Museum size is determined by annual operational budget; where “small” denotes an institution operating with a annual budget of $100,000 or less, “medium” denotes and institution operating with an annual budget between $100,000 and $1,000,000, and “large” denotes an institution operating with an annual budget in excess of $1,000,000.

3.2. Duration of membership

  • All members participate in the advisory committee for a term of 12 months.
  • At the end of a given term, members can self-nominate for a second term. However, only 50% of the committee may renew for a second term simultaneously.
  • No member can serve for more than two consecutive terms.

3.3. Chair and Vice Chair

In addition to the above responsibilities shared by all advisory committee members, CHIN appoints a Chair and Vice Chair at the outset of each term.

  • The Chair is responsible for setting the agenda of meetings in coordination with CHIN and for presiding over the meetings. They can also call ad-hoc meetings when required, so long as quorum is met.
  • The Vice Chair assumes these same duties in the absence of the Chair.

3.4 Appointment process

Two months prior to the end of each term, a call for nominations is published. Interested parties can self-nominate or be nominated by a colleague. The call for nominations remains open for 30 days.

Upon closing the call for nominations, the advisory committee reviews the list of nominees that meet the criteria outlined in section 3.1 of these terms of reference and selects committee members for the following year. Selection is reviewed and approved by CHIN. For the inaugural year of the committee, CHIN will select members from the list of nominees.

While priority is given to representatives of museums contributing to the national portal of museum collections, this is not a requirement of membership.

4. Meetings

Meetings are held in accordance with the following criteria:

  • Meetings take place every other month, with a minimum of four meetings per term.
  • Ad-hoc meetings can be called by the Chair, when necessary.
  • Quorum for meetings is 75%.
  • Meetings last no longer than 60 minutes.
  • Meetings follow a set agenda, to be shared with the committee by the Chair no later than one week prior to each meeting.
  • Meetings are led by the Chair.
  • A staff member of CHIN coordinates with the Chair to assist with administrative duties and attend meetings as a designated note taker.

5. Policies

  • CHIN does not tolerate any form of violence or discrimination against committee members or external parties.
  • The committee can invite experts to any meeting with prior approval from the Chair.
  • Service on the committee is unpaid.

Last updated: 2026-09-28