The main role of the steering committee is to (1) arbitrate disputes about data use, publication and authorship, (2) seek further funding for maintenance of network resources through their own research activities, and (3) assist the network coordinator in his or her assigned activities by providing informatics support, recruiting network participants, leading annual workshops, etc.
From 2015 to 2020 the DIPnet steering committee comprises (alphabetical order):
| Name | Affiliation |
| Paul Barber | University of California Los Angeles, USA |
| Michael Berumen | King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia |
| Chris Bird | Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi, USA |
| Eric Crandall | Pennsylvania State University, USA |
| Neil Davies | Gump Field Station, French Polynesia & UC Berkeley, USA |
| John Deck | University of California Berkeley, USA |
| Michelle R. Gaither | University of Central Florida, USA |
| Rachel Gotanco | University of the Philippines, Diliman |
| Harilaos Lessios | Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama |
| Hawis Madduppa | Bogor Agricultural University, Indonesia |
| Cynthia Riginos | University of Queensland, Australia |
| Rob Toonen | University of Hawai‘i, USA |
| Sophie von der Heyden | Stellenbosch University, South Africa |
