Dialogues
Science of Community Dialogues[edit]
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| Watch the introduction video A short overview of the series | |
| Organized by | CDSC |
|---|---|
| Format | Virtual and in-person |
| Attendance | Registration required; some events are invitation only |
| Cost | Free |
| Rules | Code of conduct; discussions under Chatham House Rule |
| On this page: | |
| Join the announcement list Low-volume updates on upcoming dialogues | |
The Community Data Science Collective organizes a series of events called The Science of Community Dialogues that bring together online community leaders, organizers, and experts. The goal of the Dialogues is to build a network of practice and research focused on the exchange, discovery, and application of evidence-based strategies to support thriving communities.
Each Dialogue in the series combines short presentations highlighting recent research on a central theme and what that research means for communities. These are followed by moderated group discussions on shared areas of concern, interest, and practical experience connected to the presentations and theme. It is an opportunity to learn, share, and understand how communities work.
Most Dialogues are publicly announced and open to anyone who registers, though some events are by invitation only. We aim to bring together leaders from open source communities, online communities, and research organizations along with academic researchers. Even when an event itself is not open to the public, we try to publish talks and other artifacts from it afterward.
Past Dialogues (archive)[edit]
- [Virtual] 14 (November 7, 2025) — The Impacts of Organizational Interventions in Open Source Software Engineering
- [Virtual] 13 (October 17, 2025) — AI Boundaries: Refusal and Privacy
- [In Person] 12 (August 1–2, 2025) — Science of Community @ FOSSY (2025)
- [Virtual] 11 (April 4, 2025) — The Role of Community Governance
- [In Person] 10 (September 13, 2024) — Frontiers in Online Community Research Symposium
- [Virtual] 09 (September 27, 2024) — Complexities of Community Governance
- [In Person] 08 (August 1–4, 2024) — Science of Community @ FOSSY (2024)
- [In Person] 07 (December 15, 2023) — Aligning Contributor Effort with Community Need
- [In Person] 06 (July 13–16, 2023) — Science of Community @ FOSSY (2023)
- [Virtual] 05 (May 19, 2023) — Digital Inequalities
- [Virtual] 04 (January 20, 2023) — Accountable Community Governance
- [Virtual] 03 (September 30, 2022) — All Communities are Learning Communities
- [Virtual] 02 (May 20, 2022) — Anonymity and Privacy
- [Virtual] 01 (February 11, 2022) — Learning from Small and Overlapping Communities — blog post on Dialogue 1
More information[edit]
Many of our Dialogues have been published online alongside research briefs — short, accessible summaries of the research discussed at each event, written for community leaders, practitioners, and policy makers.
A code of conduct is shared with all participants before the event, and sessions are held under Chatham House Rule to encourage candid conversations. Presentations are typically recorded; discussions are not.
These events have been supported, in part, by awards from the U.S. National Science Foundation and our home institutions. They are free for attendees.
If you'd like to learn more or get future updates about the Science of Community Dialogues, please join the low-volume announcement list. We've also documented how we organize the series.
