Site Help: Community Collaboration - Groups

COMMUNITY COLLABORATION

Groups

Groups allow members to have focused information sharing and collaboration. Create groups for committees, projects and initiatives where there is a need for ongoing collaboration and communication among members. Resources and knowledge sharing in groups are specific to the group and are accessible only to group members.

To access Groups:

    Login » My Activities : Groups : View

    OR Login » Participate : Groups

Active Groups are listed by:

    1. Open to all: membership in these type of groups is open to any active Community Member.
    2. Restricted: membership in these groups have to be approved by the group owner. Membership is by request and pending approval by the group owner. Information about Restricted groups is only available to its members.
    3. My groups: this shows a list of the groups that you are a member of
4. Click on "View Group" to go to the Group Home Page and Join or participate in the group.

5. Start a Group: Fill in the information required on the form and your request will be sent to the Community Management Team. You will be notified by email when your request to start a group is accepted.

The Group home page displays the:

    1. Latest updates of the particular group - Member activity, conversations, events, resources.

    2. Navigation to:
    • Group info/contact
    • Conversations
    • Members
    • Resources - documents and links to shared videos, if available. For the purposes of governance, only group owners have the capability to upload/share resources.
    • Events - meetings and other events specific to the group
    Information about restricted groups is available to group members only.

    3. Links to "Join/Leave this group", and "Notify me on updates" are also available on this page.

Group Conversations
Members of a group can engage in discussions about topics of interest of the group, e.g. group projects, policies, etc.

Participation in these Conversations is exclusive to the members of the group.

Group Resources
Members of a group can upload information resources to the group.

  • Go to your group's page » Resources » Upload resource
  • Begin by uploading the file
  • Enter the information about your file - title, author (your name), document type
  • Submit
To view the Group Resources:
  • Go to your group's page » Resources » View resource
  • Click on the download icon next to the Resource that you want to view
  • The Resource will open automatically on your desktop. For security purposes, the system will assign an "unrecognizable name" to your file. Give the file a name that you will recognize when you save this in your computer.
Information resources are available exclusively to the members of the group.

Join/Leave Group
Group membership is voluntary:

  • To Join a group, click on the "Join this group" link provided for on the Group home page
    For groups that are:
      Open to all - joining the group is automatic and member has access to all the group services immediately.
      Restricted - a request to join the group will need approval from the group contact. As soon as this is approved, the member will be notified and will then have access to the group services.
  • To Leave a group, click on the "Leave this group" link provided on the Group home page.

Notify me on updates
When you join a group, make sure to click on "Notify me on updates" in order to receive notification when there is a new update on your group - new member, resource uploaded, or conversation posted. Notifications are in the form of an email with a link to your group.