The Five Musts are five essential community building principles:
Know your members
Define value
Plan and define a strategy
Decide roles and responsibilities
Set up a process to test, measure, and iterate
Why are the Five Musts important?
Building community is a complex, adaptive process. There is no general blueprint or simple checklist to follow because what works in one context frequently does not work in a different context. Furthermore, there is no set order of steps, nor a clearly defined timeline: different communities move at different paces.
Therefore, instead of trying to apply a rigid blueprint, a more effective approach consists in applying these proven principles. Follow and apply the 5 Musts, and you will be more likely to succeed in your community building efforts.
How do you apply the Five Musts?
Know your members - To be successful, a community should address its members’ needs. A community is successful when members participate and engage. In order for them to engage, they need to find value in it. So you have to really understand your community's Members Needs and build the community with that in mind. Read the Members Needs article for further guidance on this topic.
Define value - When you build a community, you typically have a purpose in mind and a vision for what success would look like. This vision may be vague and amorphous at first, but you will clarify it over time, especially as you deepen your understanding of your members’ needs and the value they are seeking, that is, what they want to get out of participating in your community. You also need to define the value that your organization is seeking from the community, that is, the reason that they should give you the resources to fund your community. So, you need to look for the intersection, or the sweet spot, between what your members want from being part of that community and what your organization wants from your community. In other words, you need to define the Shared Value of your community for all constituents involved. Read the Shared Value article for further guidance on this topic.
Plan and define a strategy - Once you have defined the value you seek, the next step is to develop a basic strategy for how to create that value. You need to come up with a basic plan outlining how to engage members, what topics to focus on, how to learn and iterate from the various activities you will try. That plan or strategy, however, has to be simple and nimble. You want to have your eyes on the big picture (the overall vision), but at the same time you have to be practical and decide on immediate next steps that will help you test your hypothesis and help you build community. A practical way to plan and define a strategy for your community is to develop a Community Charter.
Decide roles and responsibilities - For a community to be successful, it has to be a team effort with shared workload and responsibilities. Having one person doing everything is not sustainable as community building is a communal effort. The most important lesson learned from building Communities of Practice at the World Bank Group is that communities are more likely to succeed if there is a Core Team (and frequently a Core Group) behind them.
Set up a process to test, measure and iterate - Community building involves a lot of trial and error. Try to figure out members’ needs and organize community activities that meet those needs while also fostering a sense of community. Make a note of what works and what doesn’t and adjust accordingly. A practical tool to help you implement an iterative approach for building your community is the CoP Sprint.
Blog » The Five Musts of Community Building
The Five Musts of Community Building
Summary
Resources
Community Building Checklist
What are the Five Musts?
The Five Musts are five essential community building principles:
Why are the Five Musts important?
Building community is a complex, adaptive process. There is no general blueprint or simple checklist to follow because what works in one context frequently does not work in a different context. Furthermore, there is no set order of steps, nor a clearly defined timeline: different communities move at different paces.
Therefore, instead of trying to apply a rigid blueprint, a more effective approach consists in applying these proven principles. Follow and apply the 5 Musts, and you will be more likely to succeed in your community building efforts.
How do you apply the Five Musts?
Know your members - To be successful, a community should address its members’ needs. A community is successful when members participate and engage. In order for them to engage, they need to find value in it. So you have to really understand your community's Members Needs and build the community with that in mind. Read the Members Needs article for further guidance on this topic.
Define value - When you build a community, you typically have a purpose in mind and a vision for what success would look like. This vision may be vague and amorphous at first, but you will clarify it over time, especially as you deepen your understanding of your members’ needs and the value they are seeking, that is, what they want to get out of participating in your community. You also need to define the value that your organization is seeking from the community, that is, the reason that they should give you the resources to fund your community. So, you need to look for the intersection, or the sweet spot, between what your members want from being part of that community and what your organization wants from your community. In other words, you need to define the Shared Value of your community for all constituents involved. Read the Shared Value article for further guidance on this topic.
Plan and define a strategy - Once you have defined the value you seek, the next step is to develop a basic strategy for how to create that value. You need to come up with a basic plan outlining how to engage members, what topics to focus on, how to learn and iterate from the various activities you will try. That plan or strategy, however, has to be simple and nimble. You want to have your eyes on the big picture (the overall vision), but at the same time you have to be practical and decide on immediate next steps that will help you test your hypothesis and help you build community. A practical way to plan and define a strategy for your community is to develop a Community Charter.
Decide roles and responsibilities - For a community to be successful, it has to be a team effort with shared workload and responsibilities. Having one person doing everything is not sustainable as community building is a communal effort. The most important lesson learned from building Communities of Practice at the World Bank Group is that communities are more likely to succeed if there is a Core Team (and frequently a Core Group) behind them.
Set up a process to test, measure and iterate - Community building involves a lot of trial and error. Try to figure out members’ needs and organize community activities that meet those needs while also fostering a sense of community. Make a note of what works and what doesn’t and adjust accordingly. A practical tool to help you implement an iterative approach for building your community is the CoP Sprint.
This article is part of the WBG Communities of Practice Toolkit licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The toolkit features practical resources to help you develop impactful Communities of Practice. 📖 Learn more about the Toolkit. ▶ Access the Toolkit.