Recruiting subcommunity leadership

[acrall]

A question was raised at the 28 March quarterly meeting to identify approaches used to recruit leadership within a subcommunity. There have been challenges in finding individuals to serve in these leadership roles. Tips shared included:

• Develop governance documentation outlining roles and responsibilities so interested community members know what they are committing to; include time estimates if known (e.g., 1-2 hours/week); (Resources shared: https://www.cscce.org/2021/11/19/novembers-community-call-recap-exploring-community-governance-models/, https://communityrule.info/assets/book/gov-booklet-MASTER.pdf)
• Provide clear onboarding and offboarding procedures, including term limits, so folks know the length of their service
• Divide tasks up into manageable chunks so all the work to support activities of the subcommunity do not fall on only one to two individuals (e.g., co-leads, communications support)
• Determine if there are opportunities for individuals to support the subcommunity as part of their job responsibilities. For an organisation whose goals or mission aligns with The Carpentries, this is work they may be willing to have staff dedicate time to

[acrall]

A similar question was raised at the 27 June quarterly meeting, asking for insights into getting community members engaged and keeping them engaged. What strategies are others using? Responses included:

• Identify a team or an individual dedicated to helping with the logistics of a workshop. Then, Instructors only need to create the website and go over content. Make it where Instructors have little to do other than teach. The group acknowledged this level of logistical support may not be available to everyone.
• Schedule planning meetings the month before, the week before, and have a debrief the week after the workshop to facilitate the sharing of responsibilities and to provide support.
• Use a task management tool (e.g., Office planner) to check off if everything has been done
• Provide other opportunities for engagement other than teaching (e.g., lesson development)