CSCCE working groups: Member expectations

CSCCE staff host working groups within our community of practice (CoP) to further specific goals in service of our mission and give community members an opportunity to engage with both CSCCE staff and other CoP members in a structured manner.

Working group outputs are intended to benefit the broader CSCCE community in some way, and may include co-created resources ultimately published by CSCCE. Expressing gratitude and showing recognition is one of our core values and where resources are co-created, contributions will be acknowledged in alignment with our “how we give credit” policy.

Working groups differ from CSCCE’s special interest groups (SIGs) in both scope and participation. This page lays out what it means to be a member of a working group, and will be shared with all new members as part of an onboarding process for working groups. 

Key features of a CSCCE working group

CSCCE working groups:  

  • Are facilitated by CSCCE staff, sometimes in partnership with contractors or community members.
  • Work together on a specific project. This might be development of a policy (e.g., the CSCCE Community Participation Guidelines) or resource, (e.g., community champions program tipsheets) or consultation on a CSCCE staff project (e.g., the initial round of CSCCE Community Profiles). 
  • Meet regularly via Zoom. The precise schedule may vary, but in general these groups meet monthly for approximately an hour. 
  • Connect between meetings via a dedicated private Slack channel. 
  • Convene for a specific period of time, or until the project is completed. Unlike SIGs, working groups will likely close when their work is done – or may evolve into a follow up project or convert to a member-led SIG. 
  • Are less likely to invite rolling membership. Exceptions have been made, for example, the Champions Programs working group has accepted new members after a few months of operation.

Participation expectations

CSCCE working group members are expected to: 

  • Consistently and actively participate. The success of the group depends on all members taking part and moving forward the group’s work. Members who do not participate will be asked to confirm whether they have capacity to step up and take on a more active role or prefer to leave the group. 
  • Attend meetings regularly and communicate with CSCCE staff about expected absences. 
  • Respect the confidentiality of the group. Working group products-in-progress and discussion topics should not be shared with people outside the group without explicit consent from CSCCE staff or by consensus from the group. This is to protect both the shared intellectual property of the group and the ability of members to have difficult and meaningful conversations. Where there is any doubt about what is available for reuse and under what terms, please contact the working group lead in the first instance.

What you can expect from participation

All activities in CSCCE’s community of practice are underpinned by our Community Participation Guidelines. In addition to those guidelines, here are some specific behaviors you can expect in a working group: 

  • To be included in decisions about when the group meets
  • To be sent calendar invites about working group meetings – and informed ahead of time when meetings are cancelled or rescheduled
  • To be invited to a private channel on Slack for the group
  • To access working group resources in a Google Drive folder for the group
  • To understand the general goals and timeline for the group and be kept updated about deadlines, outputs and other information about the project
  • To be given credit for your contributions to the group

What to do if you no longer want to be a working group member

We know that interest and availability are personal resources that change over time. If, after some time in a working group you would like to step back, please reach out to a member of CSCCE staff about offboarding. Offboarding will include: 

  • A short call to discuss confidentiality, credit for work done, and your willingness to participate in future working groups or activities
  • Removal from the working group Slack channel
  • Removal from the shared working group Google Drive folder
  • Removal from calendar invites to future working group meetings