Earlier this year, we had the pleasure of delivering a private cohort of our foundational training for STEM community managers, Scientific Community Engagement Fundamentals (CEF), in collaboration with the Australian Biocommons.
This was the second private CEF cohort we’ve offered, having run one for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative’s Essential Open Source Software program last Summer (and a second CZI cohort will start in early July). CEF cohorts are always unique, and custom cohorts are particularly engaging, allowing colleagues and collaborators to explore concepts in community management, and their own shared goals and challenges, together.
The CEF23Aus cohort involved participants from the Australian BioCommons team, the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC), Bioplatforms Australia, Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre, Sydney Informatics Hub, Australian Genomics, University of Melbourne Centre for Cancer Research (UMCCR), and the Australian Access Federation (AAF). In a recent blog post on the Australian Biocommons website, participants shared more about their experiences:
“I now appreciate the enormous and highly diverse skill sets required to undertake a community manager role. I’m embracing that it will take time to develop a true community for my project and enjoying the ride!”
Sarah Thomas, AAF
“Understanding the community life cycle and the community participation model were an eye opener for me. My community is still in the ideation stage and the course was a great help to form my opinions/strategies about what needs to be done.”
Farah Zaib Khan, Australian BioCommons
“It was liberating to have so much time to think about my community and their needs and to talk this through with others. This helped generate a new focus for my community that will cater for the needs of all of the members”
Andy White, ARDC
Furthermore, the course has catalyzed a new monthly meeting for the participants so they can continue to connect with each other, share ideas, and support each other as they become more confident in their community management roles.
Creating a private CEF cohort
If you’re interested in working with us to host a private CEF cohort for your organization, we’d love to hear from you! As you consider the idea, here are a few things you should know:
- We limit participation in CEF to 25 learners per cohort. The course encourages learners to connect during activities and share their own experiences, and we have found that 25 is the optimal number to nurture those connections.
- The minimum cohort size is 20 participants. This ensures learners from a range of backgrounds are able to contribute and connect throughout the course – and that it’s cost effective for CSCCE to run.
- CEF course materials have been developed specifically for community managers in STEM and so are broadly applicable. Some light customization to address your specific context (e.g., open-source software communities) may be possible.
- The course is designed to run over 8 weeks, so we would work with you to find dates that don’t conflict with major holidays or events. We cannot shorten the course, however we do also offer a three-week workshop series on the CSCCE Community Participation Model.
- We typically require a three-month lead time to set up and fill a private CEF cohort, so the sooner you reach out to discuss your needs, the sooner we can started!
To set up a meeting to discuss a custom CEF cohort, please email training@www.cscce.org.