NorthStar is an Esri employee community group working to increase representation, belonging, and inclusion of people of African descent in GIS.
Mission & Goals
Community Engagement Objectives
- Establish Additional Internal Communication Channels
- Increase Internal Community Engagement Content
- Establish External Community Channels
- Develop External Audience
- Cultivate Community & Networking
- Heighten Awareness of GIS, Black Professionals in GIS, Esri Culture & Employment Opportunities with Content, PR, and other tactics
Social Impact Measurement: Belonging
- Self-reported feedback from attendees on successful employment experiences
- Self-reported feedback from attendees on satisfaction from the events
- Self-reported feedback from staff on changed behavior
- Self-reported feedback from staff on changed attitudes
- Self-reported feedback from staff on changed perceptions
- Positive exposure and engagement
- Shift in incremental response narratives from surveys
Process
Create content and activities that bring awareness to GIS, black professionals in GIS, and the community that is forming around developing a sense of belonging in the industry.
When the target audience is aware, convert the audience to connect with NorthStar through internal and external channels, social media, and e-mail subscriptions.
- Announce to audience at events to connect with social media pages a minimum of 3 times.
- Onboard new community members with welcome messaging and acknowledgement of milestones.
Convert followers (both new and retained) into event attendees.
Retain engaged community members with content that is of value to their needs, career stage, and professional development in addition to in-person experiences.
Identify reported outcomes to measure the social impact of belonging in the industry, on members' professional development, and to the employee resource group of NorthStar.
The value of NorthStar to Esri, Esri staff, and GIS industry professionals of African descent is the ability to create a safe space for dialogue about the real issues that keep professionals from finding their sense of belonging, the opportunity to connect authentically with other professionals (including allies) in a community, and the opportunity for professional development through thought leadership, education and training, speaking opportunities, and network building.
With strategic engagement, NorthStar can foster a community of GIS professionals that can be authentic about their experiences and work with others to collectively address issues in the industry, while creating opportunities for themselves to thrive.
NorthStar's community engagement efforts offers value to it's members by providing the following:
Safe Spaces - A place where authentic dialogue about sensitive issues can be held and where cultural nuances are welcomed and celebrated
Community - Networking and Peer to Peer Support
Professional Development - Network Building, Thought Leadership, Education & Training, Speaking Opportunities
When is the best time to reach audiences?
Data from Google shows these months (listed in descending order) are ideal for capturing search traffic:
- July
- February
- September
- October
- May
- June
Partnerships & Opportunities for Collective Community Building
Channel Development
Content & Editorial Calendar
Editorial Calendar (Draft)
- July - UC Conference
- August - Black Business Month
- September - Educators & Students
- October - Entrepreneurs & Executives
- November - Afrotech
- December - Education & Training
- January - Jobs & Career Development
- February - Black History/Future, Federal GIS
- March - Women in Black History
- April - UC Events
- May - UC Events
- June - Student Internships*, UC Events
Representation
Content & Microcontent
- Profiles & Thought Leadership
- Storytelling
- Maps & Media Content
- Product Guides, Examples, Tips
- GIS Intersections
- Solutions
- Representation & Identity
- Professional Development
Representation
Events & Experiences
- Homecoming Week - UC
- Diversity & Belonging - FedGIS
- Why Location Matters - Esri HQ
Measuring the Program
Key Performance Indicators (KPI)
Measuring the performance data around activities to understand how community engagement activities resonates and how content consumption is performing.
- Followers
- Open Rates
- Click Rates
- Comments
- Tags
- Shares
- Subscribers
- Views
- Impressions
- Brand Mentions
- Traffic Referrals
Belonging Survey
Conduct a survey to assess social impact of community engagement on the sense of belonging in the industry. (TBD)
"We, like others, need to define ourselves, to place our lives in a long-term linear intergenerational context. We, like others, need to celebrate ourselves by seeing ourselves celebrated. We, like others, need to stare at objects that can help us discover reflections of ourselves in an idealized past."
- Randall Robinson, The Debt
Roles
Community Engagement Director - Lead coordinator and strategist for NorthStar communications and public relations initiatives
Community Manager(s) - Manage community engagement and foster community rapport according to a set of guidelines and principles. Supports recruitment, member onboarding, and community maintenance. (End of 2020)
- 3 hrs / week
- Writing, Administration, Understanding of Basic Community Management Principles
Social Media Contributor - Supports content creation, scheduling, amplifying, and strategy to reach target audiences. Assists with engagement and communication.
- 1 hr / day
- Writing, Graphic Design, Understanding of Basic Branding Principles
- Canva (or comparable tools), Video Editing, & Photography
Videographer/Photographer - Supports content creation, storytelling, and documentation efforts for events and activities.
- As needed, namely for special events
- Sense of Creative Design & Style, Experience with Editing and Production
Content Contributors - Open to all interested.
Map Makers - Supports black media needs and storytelling for maps. Provides education and guidance as needed.
Industry Advocates of African Descent - Professionals who are willing to be the face of people of African descent in GIS and share their stories, be sources for stories, author content. Multilingual and multicultural professionals encouraged.
Credits:
Photography: Various artists - Pexels, Pixabay, Freepik, Graphics: Leslie N. Fountain