How to measure community value: Findings from a new CMX report

Community managers often face the challenge of communicating their communities’ impact and value back to their organization. As we reported on the blog last year, “defining and measuring shared value” … Continue reading “How to measure community value: Findings from a new CMX report”

Measuring tape
proper measure(ment)” by Barbara Krawcowicz, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Community managers often face the challenge of communicating their communities’ impact and value back to their organization. As we reported on the blog last year, “defining and measuring shared value” is a top goal for successful communities. Now, a new report from CMX explores the ways in which brand communities are doing just that. In the 2017 Community Value and Metrics Report, CMX shares data from over 500 participants about the ways they measure the impact of the communities they work with.

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Deadline approaching: Applications for the AAAS Community Engagement Fellows Program due this Sunday, October 16

A few weeks ago we opened applications for the pilot year of the AAAS Community Engagement Fellows Program. We’ve been excited to see applications coming in from individuals and potential … Continue reading “Deadline approaching: Applications for the AAAS Community Engagement Fellows Program due this Sunday, October 16”

Adapted from “Deadline” by palomaleca, licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

A few weeks ago we opened applications for the pilot year of the AAAS Community Engagement Fellows Program. We’ve been excited to see applications coming in from individuals and potential host organizations. Some individuals are interested in joining the scientific community engagement field for the first time and others are current community managers, all from a wide variety of backgrounds and institutions. The potential host organizations we’ve been in touch with are also wide-ranging, from discipline-focused professional societies to major international research projects.

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The new AAAS Community Engagement Fellows Program is now accepting applications

We’re excited to announce that applications are open for the AAAS Community Engagement Fellows Program through Sunday, October 16, 2016. Funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Fellows Program … Continue reading “The new AAAS Community Engagement Fellows Program is now accepting applications”

"Application - glasses - pen" by Flazingo Photos, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
Application – glasses – pen” by Flazingo Photos, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

We’re excited to announce that applications are open for the AAAS Community Engagement Fellows Program through Sunday, October 16, 2016.

Funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Fellows Program is in its pilot year. The program’s mission is to improve community-building and collaboration within scientific organizations, including both professional associations and research collaborations. The program will provide training and support to a cohort of scientific community managers for a full year.

You can learn more about the purpose and timeline of the program on our About page.

How to apply

We’re seeking two types of applicants for the fellowship: current scientific community managers, and individuals looking to enter the field and be placed in an organization. See our Become a Fellow page to read about what’s expected of Fellows during the program, and for info on the eligibility and selection criteria for each of these options.

We’re also keen to hear from organizations interested in hosting a Fellow. If your organization is interested in developing or facilitating your collaboration or community, please email us at communityfellows@aaas.org to start a conversation. You can read more about expectations during the program, eligibility, and application requirements for host organizations on the Host a Fellow page as well.

For more information about the program, including interviews with existing scientific community managers, see these related posts on the Trellis Blog.

Community manager journal club recap: Fostering a sense of belonging

Posted by Gabrielle Rabinowitz, Community Manager at Trellis We’ve recently started a monthly community management journal club at AAAS. In our first two meetings, we’ve focused on two questions at the heart … Continue reading “Community manager journal club recap: Fostering a sense of belonging”

Posted by Gabrielle Rabinowitz, Community Manager at Trellis

"Passt 2" by Willi Heidelbach, licensed under CC BY 2.0
Passt 2” by Willi Heidelbach, licensed under CC BY 2.0

We’ve recently started a monthly community management journal club at AAAS. In our first two meetings, we’ve focused on two questions at the heart of community building: “What makes a group of people a community?” and “How do these communities vary?” The readings for these meetings included an excerpt from Jono Bacon’s The Art of Community and a blog post by Lou Woodley, Considering Community: What types of community are there?

One theme that emerged from our discussions was the importance of belonging. Read on for different interpretations of this value and how to foster it in your community.

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Why we’re running monthly community manager journal clubs at AAAS – and how you can join in on the blog!

Posted by Lou Woodley, Trellis’ Community Engagement Director. It’ll come as no surprise that I spend a lot of my time thinking about community management. But in recent years that’s … Continue reading “Why we’re running monthly community manager journal clubs at AAAS – and how you can join in on the blog!”

Posted by Lou Woodley, Trellis’ Community Engagement Director.

Prepping for book club
Adapted from “Prepping for book club” by Britt Reints, licensed under CC BY 2.0

It’ll come as no surprise that I spend a lot of my time thinking about community management. But in recent years that’s expanded from focusing on the strategy and mechanics of community-building, to thinking in more detail about the people that actually support group work: the community managers.

Continue reading “Why we’re running monthly community manager journal clubs at AAAS – and how you can join in on the blog!”

Building interdisciplinary communities – what hurdles do we need to overcome?

Posted by Lou Woodley, Trellis’ Community Engagement Director. Last week I took part in a session at the ESOF16 conference on building interdisciplinary communities. ESOF – the EuroScience Open Forum … Continue reading “Building interdisciplinary communities – what hurdles do we need to overcome?”

Posted by Lou Woodley, Trellis’ Community Engagement Director.

Runners jumping over hurdles
Determination Wallpaper” by Alisa Cooper is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

Last week I took part in a session at the ESOF16 conference on building interdisciplinary communities. ESOF – the EuroScience Open Forum – is a biennial conference focusing on various European science and science communication activities, with a mixture of different session formats.

In our session, one of the other presenters, Ismael Rafols, gave a good overview of some of the different barriers to successfully building community, which I’ve listed out below (taken directly from his slides).

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Best Practices in Community Building: 3 Takeaways from CMX Summit East 2016

Posted by Gabrielle Rabinowitz, Community Manager at Trellis In May I attended CMX Summit East, a community management conference focused on the future of the community industry. I met community managers … Continue reading “Best Practices in Community Building: 3 Takeaways from CMX Summit East 2016”

Posted by Gabrielle Rabinowitz, Community Manager at Trellis

Gabrielle Rabinowitz Badge CMX Summit 2016
The CMX Summit badge decoration station, including my artistic rendition of a lego & pipe cleaner “trellis”.

In May I attended CMX Summit East, a community management conference focused on the future of the community industry. I met community managers from new startups and industry giants, across a wide variety of fields. We got to know each other over coffee at the badge decorating station and then got to work learning about modern community management in a series of workshops and lectures stretching over two days.

In this post I’ll share three questions for community managers followed by strategies discussed at the Summit.
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The Trellis team hits the road!

Here at Trellis we believe in the importance of community building between scientists and beyond. As the scientific enterprise depends more and more on long-term collaboration between various groups, often … Continue reading “The Trellis team hits the road!”

"The open road" by Hatters! is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
The open road” by Hatters! is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

Here at Trellis we believe in the importance of community building between scientists and beyond. As the scientific enterprise depends more and more on long-term collaboration between various groups, often across continents, active community management is more important than ever. On Trellis, we want to provide the best tools for both fledgling and experienced scientific community builders to grow and strengthen the communities with which they work.

To ensure that we are up to date with best practices in the field of community management, the Trellis team is making stops at several community-themed conferences this month. We will be reporting back on this blog and hope to be able to incorporate some of what we learn into our documentation for Trellis group admins.

Here’s where you can find members of the Trellis team in May:

Continue reading “The Trellis team hits the road!”