Epic: Shared Allocation Clarifications

[wwarriner]

Goal: Clarify terminology and descriptions around Research Computing Shared Allocations

Tasks:

• Include the following Central Text in a sensible location in the docs.
• Standardize shared allocation terminology across the docs.
  • Replace "PI" and similar terms with "Research Lab Supervisor" and link to the Terminology subsection.
  • Replace "Core Director" and similar terms with "Research Core Director" and link to the Terminology subsection.
  • Replace "Shared storage" and similar terms with "Shared X Allocation", where X is a context-specific descriptor. Link to the Terminology subsection. See Standardizing names for storage and cloud environments. #734 for examples of existing terminology.
    • shared storage allocation
    • shared LTS allocation
    • shared GPFS allocation
    • shared Cloud.rc allocation
• Tag resources with a special "Supports Shared Allocations" element, possibly an admonition, at the top of the relevant page.
• Work in the quoted text from Further changes to shared resource language #865.

Central Text

Terminology

All of the following terms are specific to the context of UAB RCS and take precedence over definitions used in other contexts.

There are two recognized Organization types, each with a unique Owner role. The combination of Organization type and Owner role form an Entity. Each Entity has distinct eligibility requirements. Each Organization may have up to one Shared Allocation for each RCS service. Additionally, Research Lab Supervisors cannot be Owner of more than one Shared Allocation for any RCS service.

• Shared Allocation: a subset of an RCS resource provided to an Owner, for the purposes of collaboration within an Organization.
• Organization: a group of people officially affiliated with and financially accountable to UAB.
  • Research Lab: group of faculty, staff, and students, led by a Research Lab Supervisor, directly engaged in funded research activities.
  • Research Core: group of faculty, staff, and students, led by a Research Core Director, engaged in research support activities available to all UAB researchers.
• Owner: the UAB employed person assuming responsibility for usage of a Shared Allocation by an Organization.
  • Research Lab Supervisor: faculty with professor title (except adjunct)
  • Research Core Director: faculty or staff with director title or higher, or equivalent.
• Steward: a UAB employed person granted authority by the Owner to manage data or other relevant resources in a Shared Allocation.
• Manager: a UAB employed person granted authority by the Owner to manage who has access to a Shared Allocation.

Note that our definition of "Research Core" differs from common uses of the term "Core".

The following entities, while commonly understood by UAB researchers, are not necessarily included or excluded by our definition. This list is not intended to be comprehensive. Please contact us to determine eligibility.

• NIH P30 Center Core Grants and associated Cores
• UAB Institutional Research Core Program (IRCP)
• UAB Core Facilities

Organization Eligibility

Each Organization type has distinct eligibility requirements, with the following in common.

• Affiliated with UAB.
• Officially recognized by UAB.
• Legally and financially accountable to UAB.

To be eligible as a Research Lab, all of the following must be true.

• Led by exactly one Research Lab Supervisor.
• Directly engaged in funded research activities overseen by the UAB Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP).
• Cannot already have a Shared Allocation for the requested RCS service.

To be eligible as a Research Core, all of the following must be true.

• Led by a Research Core Director.
• Provide services to research faculty at UAB. Services must be open and available to all UAB faculty. Services may also be available to other parties.
• Adhere to UAB Service Center regulations.
• Agree to not recharge for RCS services provided at no charge.
• Cannot already have a Shared Allocation for the requested RCS service.

Note that IRB approval, IACUC approval, and other UAB Administrative approvals are not relevant in determining Organization eligibility for Shared Allocations on RC systems.

Owner Eligibility

To be eligible as an Owner, all of the following must be true.

• Currently employed by UAB.
• Receive financial compensation as part of employment by UAB.
• Authority to hire and fire within their Organization.
• Ultimate financial responsibility for their Organization.

Each role has additional eligibility requirements based on official employment information.

	Research Lab Supervisor	Research Core Director
Employee Type	Faculty	Faculty or Employee
Primary Affiliation	Faculty	Faculty or Staff
Title	Any professor, except adjunct	Director, equivalent, or higher

Note that IRB approval, IACUC approval, and other UAB Administrative approvals are not relevant in determining Owner eligibility for Shared Allocations on RC systems.

Other Role Eligibility

To be eligible as a Steward or Manager for a Shared Allocation, all of the following must be true.

• Currently employed by UAB as part of the Owner's Organization. May be a graduate student.
• Receive financial compensation as part of employment by UAB.
• Authority approved in writing by the Owner.

Stewards and managers are not authorized to request role changes for other Shared Allocation members.

Stewards are granted the following authority when approved.

• Manage all resources within the Shared Allocation.
• Manage internal access controls within the Shared Allocation.
• Request RCS assistance for resource management and internal access control tasks. RCS may require Owner approval for destructive tasks.

Managers are granted the following authority when approved.

• Manage membership of the Shared Allocation. RCS requires Owner approval to remove other Managers.
• Manage external access controls at the boundary of the Shared Allocation.
• Manage internal access controls within the Shared Allocation.
• Request RCS assistance to change membership of the Shared Allocation.
• Request RCS assistance for all access control management tasks. RCS may require Owner approval at its discretion.