Are you a community supporter?

Title: What Type of Community Supporter Are You? Identifying and Affirming Invisible Labor in Research Communities

In the research ecosystem, vital community-building tasks—such as onboarding new members, maintaining technical documentation, and advocating for inclusive practices—often fall under the category of "invisible labor." These contributions are essential for the sustainability and reproducibility of research but are frequently performed without formal recognition or a shared professional identity.

The project presented in these slides, developed during the CW26 Hack Day 2026, addresses this lack of visibility by providing a framework for individuals to recognize and name their contributions. We present an interactive, "Buzzfeed-style" persona quiz that maps daily community-based behaviors to established professional standards, specifically the RCM Skills Wheel.

Using a playful "Cooking and Hosting" metaphor, the tool assigns users one of six distinct personas—ranging from the Influencer Cook (Communication) and Head Chef (Strategy) to the Molecular Gastronomist (Infrastructure)—and generates a skill-based spider chart visualization. This approach bridges the gap between informal tasks and formal Research Community Management (RCM) roles, offering participants both affirmation of their value and a common language to advocate for their career paths.

The materials are available at https://github.com/rcmcooperative/community-supporter-types