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Organizational structure

The NTC's place within DSA

The NTC is a national committee of the DSA. National committees are volunteer organizations that contribute technical or professional expertise or skills to DSA's organzing and operations. The NTC in particular researches and implements tech solutions for DSA's national leadership and local chapters.

Leadership

The NTC is led by a Steering Committee (SC) of 7 members. Members of the SC are selected per the National Political Committee's (NPC) open applications standards once a year, and serve from October 1st to the following September 30th. Applications are reviewed by the NPC's liaison to the NTC, and passed to the NPC with recommendations and comments for approval. Annual applications for SC candidacy open in August, with new SC members being confirmed at the end of September.

The SC meets twice a month and publishes meeting minutes, which can be found in the NTC Google Drive. Such meetings are generally open to NTC's membership, unless they pertain to sensitive issues such as security. Current members of the NTC SC can be found here.

As a national committee, the NTC and the SC answer directly to the National Political Committee (NPC, mentioned above) - the 16-member elected body that is DSA's primary political leadership and "board of directors". The SC is responsible for coordinating between the NPC, DSA's national membership, staff, and the NTC membership to determine priorities and meet the technological needs of the organization.

Subcommittees and Projects

The work of the NTC is presently coordinated across three "subcommittees".

  1. Formation Services Subcommittee - responsible for projects supporting local chapters and other national committees and working groups
  2. Member Services Subcommittee - responsible for projects supporting DSA membership
  3. Engagement Subcommittee - responsible for communications and projects that internally support the NTC

Each subcommittee is led by a member of the SC, who is called the "liaison" for that subcommittee. The individual projects taken on by the subcommittee are generally led by "stewards", who act as project or product managers. Check each tab of this document to see the current projects and their stewards within each subcommittee.

The process for proposing that a new project or subcommittee be created is fairly open. NTC members may prepare a proposal document that would act as the charter for the subcommittee or project and submit it to the SC. The SC will provide feedback, and vote on whether to establish the subcommittee or project formally. See the NTC Google Drive for examples of past proposals and charter documents.

Membership

Any DSA member in good standing can become a member of the NTC by indicating interest and going through the onboarding process, including a meeting with an organizer authorized by the SC. NTC members are volunteer contributors to its work. Members are generally channelled to subcommittees and projects that match their skills and interests during on-boarding to the NTC, but they can get involved where and how they want, and to the extent that they are able.