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Community Canvas

Component

Structure

What gives us stability in the long-term?

Who runs the community?

How is leadership organized?
Who does what?
How is leadership incentivized for their work?
Who hires and manages staff?
What functions are considered critical for survival?
What is the legal entity of the community and what requirements come with it?

How are decisions made in the community?

What are the community’s decision-making bodies?
How is decision-making power distributed or concentrated within the community?
What gives the decision-makers their authority?
How are conflicts handled within the community?

What is the community’s plan to be financially sustainable?

How is the community financed?
How does it generate revenue?
Non-profit vs. for-profit: Does the community have a profit motive?
Does the community rely on revenue from its members (internal), or other sources (external)?

Channels & Platforms

What channels does the community use to communicate and gather?

What are the core digital needs of the members and which platforms can fulfill them?
What is the existing digital behavior of the members and how can the community integrate into that?
Where does the community meet regularly - physically or digitally?
How does the community communicate internally? With the outside world?
What are the requirements of the community towards their physical spaces?

Data Management

How does the community manage the data of its members?

How does the community keep its member contacts up-to-date?
How can members search for other members within the community?
What insights are critical for the community to regularly derive from its members?
How does the community capture insights and knowledge generated in the community?