In 2023, the Center for Scientific Collaboration and Community Engagement (CSCCE) launched the Community Manager Certification Program to meet the growing need for structured training and professional development for individuals who support collaborations and communities of practice in STEM (a group we collectively refer to as community managers). This program aims to equip participants with frameworks, strategies, and practical skills to foster inclusive, effective, and healthy collaborations.

This program builds on the success of CSCCE’s highly regarded 8-week online course, Community Engagement Fundamentals, which has trained hundreds of scientific community managers since 2020. Structured to be completed in two years or less, the certification program comprises two required multi-week courses, one elective course, six mini-workshops, and ongoing participation in a peer-learning community. This flexible design allows participants to tailor their journey to align with their specific interests and schedules.

The program was designed based on extensive interviews and focus groups with community managers to understand their evolving needs. We also applied methods from social learning theory and design thinking to create an instructional approach that is learner-centered, iterative, and rooted in real-world application.

During this presentation, we will share insights from the program’s development and implementation stages. We will also share preliminary data from post-training surveys and interviews and use concepts from social learning theory to describe the program’s impact. Specifically, we will show examples of how participation in a structured learning community has fostered a sense of belonging, enabled knowledge sharing, and supported identity development and confidence-building. We will show how embedding peer-learning opportunities and real-world application throughout the program curriculum empowers participants to not only develop their own skills, but also bring new practices back to their organizations.