Community

The Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative (ECAI) is a global consortium incorporating:

• scholars in the humanities, social sciences and history
• archivists, librarians and curators
• members of non-governmental organizations
• information technology researchers.
  
  

Please join us in the endeavor to create a global atlas of historical and cultural resources.

The ECAI community numbers over seven hundred affiliates who are developing content and technology for the cultural atlas at almost three hundred institutions located on every continent except Antarctica. The ECAI community gathers at conferences every six months.

ECAI is primarily grant funded. Sponsors include United States government foundations, private foundations, and the University of California. ECAI affiliates fund their own project development, and do not generally receive funds from the central office.

ECAI includes both formal structures and informal groups.

Executive

• ECAI is headed by a Director, Lewis Lancaster, and a Co-Director, Michael Buckland, who make policy under advisement by a Strategy Committee.
• The ECAI Central office, based at UC Berkeley, is under the jurisdiction of International and Area Studies. A small staff at the central office coordinates ECAI activities.

Global Groups

• ECAI affiliates are organized into informal groups called teams. Regional teams coordinate activities of all ECAI affiliates from a given world area. Regional teams are lead by editors.
• ECAI Primary Centers and Partners are institutions collaborating with ECAI on large scale projects or institutions whose members make a significant contribution to ECAI.