Content creation is a core part of community management work. From invitations and social media updates through to curated web pages, and scaffolding materials, the content you create can welcome new members, foster a sense of belonging and shared purpose, and help lower barriers to participation.
When an item of content is created skilfully – by making deliberate choices about which content elements and design features are included – and then combined with other items of content into a campaign, you increase the likelihood of members engaging with it, as well as offering multiple different modes in which they can engage. This is what CSCCE means by community-engaged content: content that is designed and delivered in such a way as to support engagement.
This approach to designing and delivering engaging content is such a critical part of community management work that in 2023 we developed and launched a six-week online training course for STEM community managers, Content Design (CODE). This course currently runs approximately twice per year, and can be included as part of the CSCCE Community Manager Certification Program. If you have any questions about taking the CODE course, please contact training@cscce.org.
Many of the resources on this page were developed for the CODE course, and we hope you find them useful as standalone guides to designing community-engaged content. The course provides more in-depth activities to explore deploying the concepts in your own context.
Creating community-engaged content – a three-part guidebook
A guide to creating community-engaged content (part 1): The social and informational roles of community-engaged content
by Lou Woodley and Katie Pratt
This section of the guidebook focuses on the ways individual pieces of community-engaged content can be designed to share information, engage members, and support community activities.
A guide to creating community-engaged content and communications – part two: Community-engaged communications campaign archetypes
by Lou Woodley and Katie Pratt
In this section, we explore how multiple pieces of community-engaged content can come together in a campaign centered around a content pillar.
Creating community-engaged content (part 3): Tips for creating, formatting, and presenting content
by Katie Pratt and Lou Woodley
This section of the guidebook curates the building blocks of community-engaged content, as will as considerations around presentation and accessibiltiy.
Content-creation glossary
The terms in the glossary specific to content design (linked below) can also be found in CSCCE’s over-arching online glossary, which also includes terms from our other frameworks such as the CSCCE Community Participation Model.
Designing community-engaged content
by Lou Woodley and Katie Pratt
This section of the CSCCE glossary defines terms used in our online multi-week course, Content Design (CODE).
Related blog posts
Leveraging anniversary programming & content to nurture community – In this blog post, CEFP 2019 alumna Camille Santistevan (now CSCCE’s Director of Learning) highlights a community-engaged content and programming campaign
Curating diverse content that represents your community – In this blog post, CEFP 2017 alumna Marsha Lucas suggests some different types of community content
Kickstarting your creativity in the time of COVID-19 – If you’re having trouble getting creative with your content, this blog post by CEFP 2017 alumna Stephanie Vasko might help!