Part 1 – The Community Manager’s Survival Guide: Emphasizing “Inreach” to Overcome Geographic Dispersion

We’re continuing to share reflections from the 2017 Community Engagement Fellows on the blog. In today’s post, Andy Leidolf introduces his four part series, “The Community Manager’s Survival Guide: Building … Continue reading “Part 1 – The Community Manager’s Survival Guide: Emphasizing “Inreach” to Overcome Geographic Dispersion”

We’re continuing to share reflections from the 2017 Community Engagement Fellows on the blog. In today’s post, Andy Leidolf introduces his four part series, “The Community Manager’s Survival Guide: Building Social Capital in Large, Heterogeneous, Geographically Dispersed Research Networks.” You can catch up on all posts by the Fellows here.

Posted by Andy Leidolf, Coordinator, Honors Program, Utah State University, and Executive Director, Society for Freshwater Science. Leidolf served as iUTAH Assistant Director and Project Administrator from 2014-2018.

The Challenge

When I began my tenure as Assistant Director of the iUTAH EPSCoR project in October 2014, the fact that the members of my research collaboration were not co-located, but dispersed among eleven institutions of higher learning spread all over the state of Utah, as well as 100 state, national, and—in some cases—international partner organizations, made settling into my position, frankly, a scary prospect. We were funded by a five year, $20M grant from the National Science Foundation to enhance Utah’s water resources through research, training, and education. This included studying the state’s water system, as well as working to understand how factors like population growth, climate variability, changes in land use, and human behavior impacted the sustainability of our state’s water resources. No small feat. How was I ever going to learn who all these people were, what role they played in and for our community, and—most importantly—how to communicate and engage with them?

Continue reading “Part 1 – The Community Manager’s Survival Guide: Emphasizing “Inreach” to Overcome Geographic Dispersion”

Introduction – The Community Manager’s Survival Guide: Building Social Capital in Large, Heterogeneous, Geographically Dispersed Research Networks

We’re continuing to share reflections from the 2017 Community Engagement Fellows on the blog. In today’s post, Andy Leidolf introduces his four part series, “The Community Manager’s Survival Guide: Building … Continue reading “Introduction – The Community Manager’s Survival Guide: Building Social Capital in Large, Heterogeneous, Geographically Dispersed Research Networks”

We’re continuing to share reflections from the 2017 Community Engagement Fellows on the blog. In today’s post, Andy Leidolf introduces his four part series, “The Community Manager’s Survival Guide: Building Social Capital in Large, Heterogeneous, Geographically Dispersed Research Networks.” You can catch up on all posts by the Fellows here.

Posted by Andy Leidolf, Coordinator, Honors Program, Utah State University, and Executive Director, Society for Freshwater Science. Leidolf served as iUTAH Assistant Director and Project Administrator from 2014-2018.

It’s Monday morning, 9 am. I am fresh off a two-week trip that seemed like a great idea when it was conceived three months ago. Confronted with the stark reality of my overflowing e-mail inbox, endless to-do lists spread across no less than three project management software applications, and the surly looks with which I am greeted by my co-workers, that axiom clearly no longer holds. In exactly four weeks, iUTAH EPSCoR will hold its last Annual Symposium and Summer All-hands Meeting, to cap off a successful 5-year run of advancing water science, training, education and outreach for the citizens of the state of Utah. And I am way behind.

I need to recruit people to introduce five invited talks of participants sharing their personal journeys with our project. I need to confirm 39 oral presentations spread among seven concurrent sessions. I need seven session chairs and one panel moderator. I need to sweet-talk/coerce/beg contacts at ten state institutions of higher education into convincing their top-level administrators to record a short video message congratulating iUTAH on its successes. I need to breathe. I need help. Fast.

Broader Impacts forum and workshops on March 31 in Salt Lake City UT. Credit: UU Office of Undergraduate Research
Broader Impacts forum and workshops on March 31 in Salt Lake City UT. Credit: UU Office of Undergraduate Research

Continue reading “Introduction – The Community Manager’s Survival Guide: Building Social Capital in Large, Heterogeneous, Geographically Dispersed Research Networks”

Curating diverse content that represents your community

Today we continue our series of regular posts on the Trellis blog for science community managers interested in diversity, equity and inclusion. This installment was authored by Marsha Lucas, Society for … Continue reading “Curating diverse content that represents your community”

Today we continue our series of regular posts on the Trellis blog for science community managers interested in diversity, equity and inclusion. This installment was authored by Marsha Lucas, Society for Developmental Biology, Melissa Varga, UCS Science Network Community Manager and Partnerships Coordinator, and Josh Knackert, UW-Madison Neuroscience Training Program. Additional series coordinators are Jennifer Davison, Urban@UW, University of Washington, and Rosanna Volchok, The New York Academy of Sciences. You can find all of the posts in the series here.

For the scientific community manager who values diversity, equity, and inclusion, seeking out diverse content and diverse content creators is of utmost importance. Your content strategy, whether for written (e.g., blog posts, discussion threads), visual (e.g., videos, social media posts), or in-person gatherings (e.g., journal clubs, conferences), is an expression of what your community values.

Create a space for your community's stories to be told. Image Credit: https://pixabay.com/en/microphone-performance-stage-2574511/
Create a space for your community’s stories to be told.
Image Credit: https://pixabay.com/en/microphone-performance-stage-2574511/

Here are five tips for broadening your community content.

Continue reading “Curating diverse content that represents your community”

Changing our Plantae Fellows Program from Exclusive to Inclusive

In December, we wrapped up the first year of the AAAS Community Engagement Fellows Program (CEFP), funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The first cohort of Fellows was made up of … Continue reading “Changing our Plantae Fellows Program from Exclusive to Inclusive”

In December, we wrapped up the first year of the AAAS Community Engagement Fellows Program (CEFP), funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The first cohort of Fellows was made up of 17 scientific community managers working with a diverse range of scientific communities. We’ll be recruiting for Cohort Two later this year for a start date of January 2019.

Meanwhile, we’re continuing to share reflections from the 2017 Fellows on the Trellis blog. In today’s post, Melanie Binder discusses the Plantae Fellows Program. You can catch up on all posts by the Fellows here.

Posted by Melanie Binder, Community Engagement Manager and Social Media Coordinator for the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB)

Plantae is the global community and knowledge hub for plant scientists and was developed to address the need for a community and knowledge foundation for the global plant science community. The concept for Plantae was based on input and ideas from members of our plant science community. It is a crowdsourced initiative powered by American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) in collaboration with the Global Plant Council and represents our ongoing commitment to the plant science community.

Plantae is for everyone in the plant science community regardless of location or career phase, from plant science students to educators and researchers to authors, editors and professionals.

How do you support your volunteer program? Image provided by Melanie Binder
How do you support your volunteer programs?
Image provided by Melanie Binder

Continue reading “Changing our Plantae Fellows Program from Exclusive to Inclusive”

Resource rabbit hole: Part I

Today we continue our series of regular posts for science community managers interested in diversity, equity and inclusion. This installment was authored by Josh Knackert, UW-Madison Neuroscience Training Program. Additional series … Continue reading “Resource rabbit hole: Part I”

Today we continue our series of regular posts for science community managers interested in diversity, equity and inclusion. This installment was authored by Josh Knackert, UW-Madison Neuroscience Training Program.

Additional series coordinators are Jennifer Davison, Urban@UW, University of Washington, Marsha Lucas, Society for Developmental Biology and Rosanna Volchok, The New York Academy of Sciences. You can find all of the posts in the series here.

Through our roles as community managers, and especially during our preparation for this series, we came across lots of great resources, examples, and tools. We will intermittently highlight these in a recurring segment we’re calling the Resource Rabbit Hole. While our posts are never meant to be a deep dive, we certainly like to encourage readers and collaborators to learn as much as they can about these topics. We hope these posts will help you delve further into areas that you find especially interesting. Also, feel free to share your favorite resources with us at info@www.cscce.org.

What resources have you found useful? Image Credit: https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/5307228
What resources have you found useful?
Image Credit: https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/5307228
Continue reading “Resource rabbit hole: Part I”

Co-intentional Co-mmunications: Strategies for creating true inclusive communities

Today we continue our series of regular posts on the Trellis blog for science community managers interested in diversity, equity and inclusion. This installment is an invited guest post from … Continue reading “Co-intentional Co-mmunications: Strategies for creating true inclusive communities”

Today we continue our series of regular posts on the Trellis blog for science community managers interested in diversity, equity and inclusion. This installment is an invited guest post from Yasmin Marrero, Program Assistant, Global STEM Alliance, The New York Academy of Sciences. Series coordinators are Jennifer Davison, Urban@UW, University of Washington, Marsha Lucas, Society for Developmental Biology, Josh Knackert UW-Madison Neuroscience Training Program, and Rosanna Volchok, The New York Academy of Sciences. You can find all of the posts in the series here.

As a first-generation Latina and neuroscientist by training, I have been in few spaces where I could talk freely of my emotions and my experiences without fear of exclusion or misalignment from my community—allowed to be my whole self. More often, I was in communities where I was only able to be seen and valued by things related to my work, forcing me to disconnect and inhibit other parts of myself. It was in the communities where I could be my whole self and coexist with others that my work truly transformed: my creativity thrived, my research enhanced, my connections and relationships flourished.

How are you creating inclusive communities? Image credit: Taomeister https://www.flickr.com/photos/taomeister/36417528694/in/photostream/
How are you creating inclusive communities?
Image credit: Taomeister
https://www.flickr.com/photos/taomeister/36417528694/in/photostream/
Continue reading “Co-intentional Co-mmunications: Strategies for creating true inclusive communities”

Strategies for survival (and maybe even some success) in a newly created community manager position

In December 2017, we wrapped up the first year of the Community Engagement Fellows Program (CEFP), funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The first cohort of Fellows was made up … Continue reading “Strategies for survival (and maybe even some success) in a newly created community manager position”

In December 2017, we wrapped up the first year of the Community Engagement Fellows Program (CEFP), funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The first cohort of Fellows was made up of 17 scientific community managers working with a diverse range of scientific communities. We’ll be recruiting for cohort two later this year for a start date of January 2019.

Meanwhile, we’re continuing to share reflections from the 2017 Fellows on the blog. In today’s post, Josh Knackert shares some reflections about his experience as a first time community manager. You can catch up on all posts by the Fellows here.

Scientific community manager positions often evolve from existing roles within an organization or are fostered by an intrepid individual, passionate for this type of work, who convinces stakeholders of its necessity and their fitness for the position.  (Here’s some great advice on how to be this intrepid individual.)  Another origin story is beginning to emerge as the benefits of scientific community managers are becoming increasingly recognized and valued–organizations are realizing a need for these positions and creating them independently of the these more organic methods.

While these newly built positions offer fantastic potential for a manager and their community, they can come with some unique challenges.  Back in January 2017, I found myself in just this situation, filling a newly established community engagement role with the IceCube Collaboration at the Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center (WIPAC).

What were your most successful strategies as a first time community manager? Image credit: https://pixabay.com/en/dock-feet-footwear-jetty-mat-1846008/
What were your most successful strategies as a first time community manager?
Image credit: https://pixabay.com/en/dock-feet-footwear-jetty-mat-1846008/
Continue reading “Strategies for survival (and maybe even some success) in a newly created community manager position”

Managing co-located scholarly communities: act local, think global

In December, we wrapped up the first year of the AAAS Community Engagement Fellows Program (CEFP), funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The first cohort of Fellows was made up of … Continue reading “Managing co-located scholarly communities: act local, think global”

In December, we wrapped up the first year of the AAAS Community Engagement Fellows Program (CEFP), funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The first cohort of Fellows was made up of 17 scientific community managers working with a diverse range of scientific communities. We’ll be recruiting for Cohort Two later this year for a start date of January 2019.

Meanwhile, we’re continuing to share reflections from the 2017 Fellows on the Trellis blog. In today’s post, Jen Davison shares some reflections about working with co-located collaborators. You can catch up on all posts by the Fellows here.

Posted by Jennifer Davison, Program Manager at Urban@UW

Urban@UW, the program I support at University of Washington, is an ambitious initiative that develops and supports cross-disciplinary and cross-sector collaboration to address tough challenges faced by cities around the world: climate change mitigation and adaptation, homelessness and affordable housing, transportation equity, and more. The research that the program fosters is intended to be applicable to other cities, regions and countries. Yet, the collaborations that the community engages in are by and large co-located in the Puget Sound region, if not right here on the campus of University of Washington. As community manager for this young initiative, I’ve learned to make the most of its place-based nature.

Continue reading “Managing co-located scholarly communities: act local, think global”

Building and Facilitating Strong Internal/External Staff Relationships – A Lesson in Patience

We’re continuing to share reflections from our 2017 Community Engagement Fellows on the blog. In today’s post, Melanie Binder shares some strategies for building internal staff relationships. You can catch … Continue reading “Building and Facilitating Strong Internal/External Staff Relationships – A Lesson in Patience”

We’re continuing to share reflections from our 2017 Community Engagement Fellows on the blog. In today’s post, Melanie Binder shares some strategies for building internal staff relationships. You can catch up on all posts by the Fellows here.

Posted by Melanie Binder, Community Engagement Manager and Social Media Coordinator for the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB)

One of the challenges that many organizations face is how to get your internal staff (colleagues) and external staff (board members, etc.) to be supportive of your projects and goals. And when your new projects are ground-breaking and innovative within your industry, it can be quite a struggle to get all parties to share your vision. While we at the American Society of Plant Biologists have made great strides to address this issue over the past few years, it continues to be one of our biggest challenges.

How do you build strong staff relationships? Image Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/15132846@N00/8197868606/
How do you build strong staff relationships?
Image Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/15132846@N00/8197868606/

Continue reading “Building and Facilitating Strong Internal/External Staff Relationships – A Lesson in Patience”

Including underrepresented community-members in planning for diversity, equity and inclusion

Today we continue our series of regular posts on the Trellis blog for science community managers interested in diversity, equity and inclusion. This installment was authored by Jennifer Davison, Urban@UW, University … Continue reading “Including underrepresented community-members in planning for diversity, equity and inclusion”

Today we continue our series of regular posts on the Trellis blog for science community managers interested in diversity, equity and inclusion. This installment was authored by Jennifer Davison, Urban@UW, University of Washington. Additional series coordinators are Marsha Lucas, Society for Developmental Biology, Josh Knackert UW-Madison Neuroscience Training Program, and Rosanna Volchok, The New York Academy of Sciences. You can find all of the posts in the series here.

How are you ensuring diverse participation? Image credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/oregondot/10314223086/
How are you ensuring diverse participation?
Image credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/oregondot/10314223086/

As community managers, we may have experience in and appreciation for engaging our community in order to develop more innovative and robust ideas: how to tackle a complex research question, compelling new ways to visualize results, or a particularly timely topic for a conference panel discussion. We may know that more perspectives often leads to better outcomes. We can apply this knowledge in our planning for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). How? By welcoming and prioritizing the perspectives of community-members from underrepresented groups in this planning. In this post, we explore some ideas for doing just that.

Continue reading “Including underrepresented community-members in planning for diversity, equity and inclusion”