November’s Community Call: Shaping future CSCCE programming

The recent shift to remote work, virtual meetings and events, and convening and connecting communities predominantly online has impacted how we all work, and in many cases required us to acquire new skills. Here at CSCCE, we’ve created programming and resources to support you throughout that shift, and now we invite you to shape what comes next. 

In this month’s community call, we’d like to explore with you the next stage of our programming around the transition online – with the intention to discuss, develop and deliver resources together into 2021. Join us on Wednesday, 18 November at 7pm UTC / 2pm US EST to join the conversation, inform the resources we’ll develop, and shape the activities we’ll host over the next few months. 

Our October community call will crowdsource input on how CSCCE can support community engagement managers as they work to nurture and grow online communities. Image credit: CSCCE

Virtual communities, events, and tools

Since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in the Spring of 2020, we’ve created a range of programming to support the transition online – including a member-authored guide to virtual events with 12 event recipes formats, weekly tools trials to test out and review online tools for convening, and a community call focused on event planning, accessibility and evaluation. We’ve threaded DEI through all of these conversations – considering accessibility, privacy, and inclusive facilitation techniques and tools – and we’ve learned a lot together about new features and successful formats.  

However, while we pride ourselves on being responsive and able to offer such programming quickly, we also know that without intentional planning and forethought we will miss critical areas that need attention. And so, in our November community call, we want to hear from you. What resources do you wish existed to help you with your day-to-day community management work? Would you appreciate drop-in clinics on specific topics to discuss challenges with your peers? Or maybe you’d like to share some of your own lessons learned about tools selection? How can we best support you over the next six months as virtual events and conferences continue to be the only way to convene large groups? 

Get involved

On November 18th, we’ll lead a scaffolded brainstorming and discussion session to explore where you’re currently at with the transition online and where you’re looking for support. We’ll focus small group discussions around three areas: i) convening online communities, ii) hosting events online, and iii) using virtual tools in innovative and engaging ways. You don’t need to be an expert in any of the topics and we plan to allow you to discuss up to two of them during the call.

We’ll also give you the opportunity to sign up to co-create resources with us and co-host tools trials, drop-in clinics, or other community activities. We don’t expect everyone to take on an active role; we’re just as interested in what you’d like to use as what you’d want to make. 

November’s call

Join November’s Community Call to:

  • Offer feedback on the direction of CSCCE programming to continue to support the transition online over the next few months. 
  • Sign-up to co-create to new resources or co-host activities in collaboration with CSCCE staff. 
  • Connect with other scientific community managers and convenors in small group activities. 

Note: If you’ve never attended a CSCCE community call before, you’d be most welcome to join. We’re interested in hearing new voices and supporting all those who are thinking deeply about online convening and collaboration. If you have any questions, please get in touch: info@cscce.org.

How to join

November’s call will take place on Wednesday 18 November at 7pm UTC / 2pm US Eastern Time.

Add to Calendar

Our calls are hosted in Zoom – simply click here and we’ll see you in the webinar!

Video or not? You’re welcome to turn on your webcam if you like but fine if you prefer just to use audio.

Our community calls last 90 minutes. If you’re only able to stay for an hour, you’ll likely have the opportunity to discuss one of the topics in detail. Stay for 90 minutes and cover two.Come for the hour – or for the full 90 mins, as your schedule permits!

Please note: We won’t be recording this month’s call but we will report out via the blog on next steps that result from the conversations. 

ADDITIONAL INFO ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY CALLS

Our community calls usually take place on the third Wednesday of every month at 2pm Eastern, but occasionally times and dates vary depending on speaker availability so please keep an eye on our calendar of events.

Wonder what we’ve talked about in previous calls? The archive listings can be found here, with select recordings available on YouTube.

Not yet in our Slack group? Request to join here.