ESIP believes that all of its partner organizations can contribute to leading. Indeed, the whole membership assembly makes fundamental decisions over strategy, policy, mission, and vision. ESIP gathers leaders from its edges; you can step up at any time and lead an ESIP cluster.

ESIP also works to help build leadership capabilities so that its members can take on more leadership at their own organizations. ESIP elects leaders every year. These volunteers help guide ESIP's path and accomplish its immediate activities. Mostly, they listen to their committees and clusters, and work to add to the ability of ESIP to grow in its capabilities.

The ESIP Data Stewardship Committee has worked to improve data practices on a number of fronts for many years and remains at the forefront of data preservation, technologies, techniques and thinking

Below are items that the ESIP Assembly has endorsed:

Data Management Clearinghouse – The Data Management Training (DMT) Clearinghouse is a registry for online learning resources focusing on research data management. It was created in a collaboration between the U.S. Geological Survey's Community for Data Integration, the Earth Sciences Information Partnership (ESIP), and DataONE.

FUNding Friday, held at the ESIP Summer Meetings, is an opportunity for ESIP students and members to receive small grants. The Products and Services Committee hosts an evening event for those interested in putting together a poster (their proposal), which is the presented to the ESIP community for review. From 2013 to 2016, ESIP awarded 19 FUNding Friday grants.

All individuals who are awarded ESIP funds for travel should complete the Travel Report Form to share outcomes and benefits with the broader ESIP Community.