Atlanta, GA - June 11, 2020 - LYRASIS is pleased to announce the creation of a new Research and Innovation Division. Led by Erin Tripp, the new division focuses on convening leaders, stewarding ideation, accelerating innovation by testing and piloting new programs, and mapping the knowledge community ecosystem. It will have a strong role in shaping the strategy of the broader organization.
Under Tripp's leadership, the LYRASIS Research and Innovation Division will include the Leaders Circle (members focused on innovation), the Leaders Forums (brainstorming and collaboration sessions), and the Catalyst Fund (an award program to test ideas). Complementing these are LYRASIS Learning, our consulting team, new research initiatives and our successful grant writing team (awarded nearly $10M since 2015) and special projects such as Performing Arts Readiness (PAR). Recently, the division launched a series of online Leaders Circle events focused on Leadership during Crisis, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility and Inclusion (DEAI) and Scholarly Communications. In addition, Tripp will perform extensive outreach to LYRASIS members and partners around the globe to understand their needs, priorities and challenges.
LYRASIS CEO, Robert Miller says, "This new division underscores our commitment to investing in the technologies, services and collaboration the community needs to recover, advance and thrive even in the current financial climate. As a global organization that represents libraries, archives, museums and research organizations, LYRASIS is uniquely positioned to convene these important conversations and generate new solutions and tools that are needed now more than ever. Investing in this work now helps unite and strengthen our community by leveraging experience and knowledge from multi-faceted organizations across the globe."
"I strongly believe investing in ideation and innovation during the current financial downturn will make LYRASIS and our members more resilient," said Tripp. "The functional areas of this division support the assessment and advancement of ideas. The staff working in this new division are world-class. We are sending a strong message that testing and advancing ideas are at the heart of growing and evolving what we do now and dreaming up solutions for our future. By building a division around the shared value of innovation, we can leverage our size, scale and impact to drive ideas from the brainstorming phase all the way into viable, sustainable projects and programs that can be used by the entire community."
Tripp has a background working with academic, cultural, and research communities, stewarding community-supported technology, implementation of digital repositories and archives, and business development. She previously served as the Executive Director of DuraSpace.
Meet the entire team of the new division here.
About LYRASIS
LYRASIS is a not-for-profit membership organization that supports enduring access to our shared academic, scientific and cultural heritage through leadership in open technologies, content services, digital solutions and collaboration with archives, libraries, museums and knowledge communities worldwide.