This document is a guide to inclusivity for leaders, community managers, and other stakeholders involved in the OpenSUTD project. It describes conscious efforts and behavior patterns that contribute to an inclusive environment where OpenSUTD members feel encouraged to learn and collaborate.
The OpenSUTD community primarily comprimised of members of the SUTD university community (including faculty and alumni) but anyone is welcome to join and contribute. As such, leaders are expected to take purposeful steps to ensure sustainability of the collaborative space. This is essential for project health and future growth. We expect all community members, and especially leaders, to practice and grow in the areas covered in this document.
Carve out well-defined spaces for contribution. Encourage members of the community to engage in these spaces. Reach out to specific individuals to let them know you think they would be a good fit. Use the "Help Wanted" tag liberally to indicate such areas.
Get out of the way when someone steps up. Give them ownership and set expectations for delivery and accountability. Follow up on those expectations. If you have concerns or need more information, increase the frequency of communication rather than taking over or overstepping. Allow projects and contributions to happen organically
Seek out situations that provide opportunities for members of the community. Examples of this include connecting event organizers with potential speakers, introducing leaders to individual contributors, and inviting others to collaborate. Consciously drive the creation of opportunities in areas that community members want to grow in.
Find out which areas community members want to grow in. This could be in the form of 1:1 conversations, small groups, or weekly meetings. Ask how you can help.
Rather than making assumptions and assigning tasks, ask people where they want to contribute and help them figure out how to make the most impact. Stretch them just enough that they can see progress and sustained growth.
Encourage members of the community to make requests. That could be for improvements to a repository, community, or their own personal growth. Respond to these requests with kindness and fairness.
Ask for volunteers and make time for the community to bring up topics they care about.
Name specific challenges that affect members of the community and state your position on how to resolve them.
Make statements such as, "I understand how difficult it must be to X," and "I wish you didn't have to face such blatant challenges doing Y." Simply acknowledging the struggle is an act of empathy that makes it easier to face these challenges. Offer advice on how to deal with them or just be there to commiserate.
Be proactive about providing feedback, but ask first and be kind. Include concrete steps that can be taken to improve the outcome and steer clear of criticism involving something that cannot be reasonably changed. Give actionable feedback and suggestions.
Set an example and uphold that standard. Do not tolerate double standards or casual deprecation, even in jest. Ensure that community members understand the group, content and ideas are open to everyone.
When you observe a code of conduct violation or become aware of one, follow through on enforcing community standards. Do this with care, showing respect and kindness for everyone involved. These instances have a broader impact than just the involved parties, since they set downstream expectations for the entire community.
This is a responsibility that the OpenSUTD project does not take lightly, since it directly impacts the ability of members to feel safe in the community.
It can be difficult to assess whether these efforts are effective. In many ways, success can be invisible since it involves the prevention of conflict. A few indicators are:
- Diverse membership across various dimensions (geographic, corporate, level of experience, etc.)
- Presence of members from frequently marginalized groups
- Continued engagement by long-term members
- Sentiment within the community that ideas are heard and contributions valued
- Accountability of leaders by members
We have adapted this from the original document over at Kubeflow/community.
The origins of this document are an enumeration of efforts by Kubeflow project cofounder David Aronchick. This was not a solo effort and included support from Jeremy Lewi, Michelle Casbon, Edd Wilder-James, and other members of the team.