The Global Shapers Community is a community of action. Every year, each hub is required to execute a new or recurring project. More information on projects can be found in our Projects and Impact guide. By uploading and updating your projects on TopLink, you are showcasing your work to a global community of changemakers, ensuring that Shapers share best practices and opportunities to collaborate for greater impact. Help us tell your global impact story!
In this guide, you will find:
- Before you Start
- Submit your Project to TopLink
- Update your Project on TopLink
- Frequently Asked Questions
1. Before you Start
While all Global Shapers have the rights to upload projects to TopLink, we encourage that only Impact Officers and Project Managers upload hub projects to ensure quality and consistency of the information provided.
Note: TopLink is not the right place to submit personal projects.
All projects should be submitted regardless of if they are just starting, are in the middle of execution, or even if they concluded months ago. If the project does not appear on your hub's TopLink page, the Impact Officer is encourage to submit it using this step-by-step guide.
Before you get started, please:
- Check that the project you want to submit does not already exit on TopLink
- Make sure that your project meets the criteria and stages described in the Hub Projects and Impact guide. As a reminder, one-time or short-term events such as awareness campaigns and Meet the Leader sessions are not considered hub projects. You can also reach out to your Community Manager or Community Champion for any questions you may have.
2. Submit your Project to TopLink
How to Submit your Project
From the Global Shapers Community TopLink Homepage, click on Submit a Project in the "Useful Resources" section.
Be sure to submit your projects in English. If you would like to display the information in an additional language, add a section below the English project description. There, you can repeat the project description in your desired language.
How to Write your Project Summary
Your project summary should be written according to your project phase. For example, if your project is just starting, write in future tense (the hub will...). If your project is ongoing, write in present tense (the hub is...). If your project has ended, write in past tense (the hub has...).
Your project summary should include the following information.
Problem Statement: A one or two sentence description of the issue your hub is working to resolve. The format can be: [Beneficiary] in [area, place] needs to [do this] in order to [get this].
Target Group: If done well, the target group (or beneficiary) will likely be described in the problem statement. If the group of people intended to benefit from your project is not clearly stated in the problem statement, please specify who you are working to support.
Proposed Solution: This section is where you can write a slightly longer description of the approach your hub is taking in response to the problem.
Hub Activities: Clearly list the specific actions your hub is taking to address the problem. This may be a more detailed analysis of the proposed solution.
Short & Long-Term Goals/Results: If you're uploading the project before completing the work, outline the desired outcomes you and your hub hope to see from the work you're doing. If you have already completed the project, describe the impact your project has had on your target group as well as any next steps you may be taking to scale the project. This is also a great place to include quotes from people who have participated or benefited from the project.
Note: Once your hub's project is complete, be sure to come back to the project page on TopLink and edit the description with the actual results and metrics.
Available Metrics: Describe the desired or achieved output of the work you've done in tangible terms. Do your best to include a time component for your metrics as well. For example, "So far, the hub has held four 2-hour training sessions with the same 35 students to deepen their knowledge. The hub aims to expand training to the rest of the 300 students in the school by the end of the year."
Collaborators: Include the names of any organizations you are working with to complete your project.
Specific for cross-hub initiatives: If you are submitting a project as part of a cross-hub initiative, be sure to:
- Use the same project title as the main project of the initiative followed by the name of your city (e.g. Shaping Fashion Amsterdam)
- In the description, indicate what cross-hub initiative the project is part of and include a link to the main TopLink project page (if it already exists - if it is a new cross-hub initiative, there may not yet be a main page for the project)
- Make sure the description is unique to your hub, not the over-arching initiative goal. Share the specific activities and contributions of your hub.
Project Validation Process
Once you submit your project, your Community Manager will validate your project submission and publish it to TopLink.
Remember, all projects will be published to TopLink but you would have to individually request your Community Manager for it to be published on your hub's page on the Global Shapers Community public website. Once your project page is finalized with a detailed project summary and picture that represents your work, contact your Community Manager to ask that your project be made visible on the public website.
Note: While you are welcome to submit projects at any point throughout the year, the Global Shapers Team is exceptionally busy during the months of leading up to the Global Shapers Annual Summit and the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos. As such, projects submitted in June and January may take longer to be reviewed and approved.
3. Update your Project on TopLink
What you can Update on your Project Page
Once your project is published on TopLink, the Project Contact will be responsible for keeping the project information up-to-date. Project Contacts have access to:
- Edit the project summary as new progress is made
- Update or change the cover photo
- Add project members
All projects should have a unique cover photo representing the project. The project contact will have access to change the photo once your project is approved. Keep in mind that TopLink images must be less than 3MB in order to be uploaded.
When to contact your Community Manager
There are some updates to projects that must be made by Headquarters. If you would like to make any of the following updates to your hub's project, please reach out to your Community Manager through TopLink or by email. Be sure to include the URL link to the project's TopLink page in your message.
- Adding or editing the project start and end dates, visible under Project Lifeline
- Granting someone else access to edit the project or setting someone else as a Project Contact
- Changing the name of the project
- Removing a project from TopLink
- Updating the status of the project. This can be either: "Initiation", "Execution" or "Closure"
Please note, all historic hub projects will remain live on TopLink so that hub members can see what has been done in the past. For a project that has now concluded, you should update your project description to say "This project has been completed".
FAQ
How can I discover other projects?
Explore projects by Impact Area, organization, location and Forum community. For example, you can filter projects by a specific Impact Area, ie. Climate Change:
How can I interact with a project?
- Post news and updates to the Activity Feed and/or @mention the project on other relevant pages
- Contact the project contacts via private messaging
- Follow the project to receive updates directly on your homepage
I submitted my project. Why can't I see it?
Once you submit a project, your Community Manager has to review and approve it. The average time for a project to be published can vary depending on HQ's workload. For urgent request, please email your Community Manager. Please do not submit the project more than once.
Does each project member need to make a submission?
No, please ask your hub members not to nake TopLink submissions unless it is an official project that has been through the hub's approval process. Ideally, only Impact Officers should make projects submissions to ensure consistency.
I made a submission, but I want to change something. How can I do that?
Once you make a submission, only a few fields will remain available to edit (i.e. description, members, cover picture). For all other fields, you will need to make a request to your Community Manager. Please include the TopLink project URL when you make your request. You can see the Updating a Project section of this guide for a more complete list of what can and can't be edited by Project Contacts.
I want to delete a project but I can't figure out how.
Unfortunately, you ca not delete a project from TopLink. Please email your Community Manager to make this request and include the TopLink URL for the project.
How can I make my project visible on the Global Shapers Community website?
In order for your hub project to be visible on the Global Shapers Community public website, you need to ensure that your TopLink project page has a detailed and up-to-date project summary and a picture that represents your work. Once your project page is finalized, contact your Community Manager to ask that your project be made visible on the public website.
If you have any questions, feedback or would like to report an issue regarding TopLink, please email TopLinkSupport@weforum.org.