Supporters
The Community Network was designed to help you connect with small water systems
Are you responsible for providing programs, services, products or expertise to small water systems in BC? You play a very important role as a member of the small water systems community in BC, both because of the wide variety of resources that you bring to the community, but also because of your expertise.
Small water systems purveyors appreciate the opportunity to connect with everyone who can help them address their issues and find solutions. This includes both their peers and supporters. It is not always easy to find the different resources that are available to them. The Community Network is intended to be the hub that connects members to each other and to the resources that are out there.
There are a variety of features that have been built into the Community Network platform that can help you elevate your organization and yourself. These include:
- Technical discussion boards to share your expertise
- Community News area, where you can share upcoming events and opportunities to engage
- Member directory to highlight your expertise and how you can help the community
- Organization directory to highlight your organizations mandates and offerings
- Resource area where you can work with administrators to highlight your programs and services and to point members to your websites
- Articles area where you can post an article or blog to highlight a subject of interest and spark discussion
How can I contribute to the Community Network as a Supporter?
The success of the Community Network is in its energy and momentum. You can be a major contributor to this in ways that not only have a tangible effect for the Community Network, but also on highlighting your organization and your team.
Here are some ways that you can contribute:
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Share your expertise on the Technical forums. Have your employees and volunteers represent you in technical discussions or even as moderators.
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Share links to your resources through the Resources area of the site. Work with BCWWA staff to ensure that your resources are highlighted accessible to the entire community.
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Write an article/blog of interest to the community and starting discussions. Is there a topic of interest that you would like to highlight? The article/blog area is the perfect place to raise awareness and prompt conversations.
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Post opportunities for engagement and learning. Are you looking for participants in a study or focus group? Do you have an opportunity that may be interesting to the community? Are you planning a meet-up or a training event? You can post these opportunities on the Community Network.
Do you have other ideas about how we can support you on the network? Contact us at smallwaternetwork@bcwwa.org.
What are my limitations as a Supporter?
The Community Network was built from the perspective of small water purveyors and their teams. They expressed the desire to engage with supporters, but on their own terms and without feeling that they are sales targets or under regulatory scrutiny.
While the majority of the site is shared with all members on the platform, there are private discussion areas (Lounges) outside of the view of other community members. Additionally, all Community Network members can choose to limit the amount of information they wish to display both publicly and to the Authorized SWS Member group.
As part of the mandate to create a safe, inviting environment for all platform participants, the Community Code of Conduct references the concept of solicitation and advertising on the platform.
Community Network Supporters are individuals representing themselves or an organization, and who provide expertise, programs, services or products that serve the small water systems community. Supporters are an important part of the Community Network because of the resources that they provide to small water systems Owners.
In order to make the Community Network a safe and inviting place for everyone, it is important that Supporters behave in such a way that Owners do not feel harassed or vulnerable to marketing efforts from network Supporters.
To support the Community Network as a Supporter:
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Avoid direct solicitation.
There are mechanisms for letting the network know about your expertise and your organization’s programs, any direct solicitation will be sanctioned, and appropriate actions will be taken by Community Moderators or BCWWA staff. -
Keep private conversations private.
If you are both an Owner and Supporter, your involvement in the Owners Lounge (restricted area) should demonstrate respect for the internal conversations. You have an additional responsibility to keep your Supporter side in check when in the restricted areas. -
Make your resources searchable and available through the Community Network.
If you have resources to benefit the Community Network, work with the BCWWA team to ensure that people can search for it and link through to the original website. For example, it is reasonable to point people to instructional videos on your website through the Community Network's Resource tab. - Share your knowledge and expertise in appropriate ways.
The following are additional ways you can engage on the Community Network as a Supporter:- Sharing your expertise and insights on the Technical Discussion forums in the Knowledge Zone
- Writing an article of interest to the community and sharing it on the Articles tab in the Knowledge Zone, allowing for associated discussion underneath your article
- Posting opportunities for engagement and learning in the Community News within the Opportunities tab or the Upcoming Events tab.
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How do I register my organization as a supporter on the Community Network?
When you register your organization in the Community Network, you create the opportunity to build a network of connections with your employees and volunteers. Members of the Community Network have increased opportunity to view your organization's offerings as they click into the details of your members.
Each organization has a Primary Contact who approves requests for others to become connected. The Primary Contact can use their own discretion for approving requests depending on the size and structure of their organization to ensure control of who is representing that organization.
Members who are connected to a Supporter organization are called Authorized Supporter Members.
You can add your organization to the Community Network once you have logged into the Community Network platform, from the Profile menu and clicking on Connections. This area lets you search to see if your organization already exists and to submit your organization's information if it doesn't.
Once the information is submitted, it will be reviewed and approved by platform administrators.
How do I become an Authorized Supporter Member?
Authorized Supporter Members are connected to their organization. This is valuable in increasing visibility and credibility of yourself and your organizations programs, products and services.
You become an Authorized Supporter Member when you are connected to a Supporter organization using the following steps:
1) Register as a member of the Community Network
2) Ensure your small water system is registered in the Community Network as an organization and
3) Gain approval from your system’s Primary Contact.
You can request approval to connect to an organization once you have logged into the Community Network platform, from the Profile menu and clicking on Connections.