Drive topic-based discussions in a safe and interactive space, allowing community members and decision-makers to engage with each other in threaded discussions.
For each project, multiple discussion topics can be created. A discussion topic allows participants to start community discussions on this specific topic, and have the community and project team joining the discussions.
Add a discussion topic
To add a discussion topic to your project:
While logged in, use the top-level menu to navigate to the Projects tab.
Select the relevant project; this opens your project overview page.
In the left-hand menu, under Participation, click Discussions. This shows all the discussion topics created for this project.
To create a new discussion topic, click +Add discussion.
Give the discussion topic a Title. This will be publicly visible on your project page.
Describe the question in the Question field.
Tick Required to make responding mandatory.
Provide a brief Description to help respondents engage in the discussion topic.
In the Text short box: These fields are pre-populated and do not need to be updated when creating a new discussion topic, as the default content is suitable for most cases.
The Summary field is the field where the participant can add a title to their contribution to the discussion.
The Description is the text that will be displayed below the Summary field to help users fill in this field.
Optional: Add some Placeholder text, to help participants understand how to respond to the Summary field.
In the Comment text box: These fields are pre-populated and do not need to be updated when creating a new question topic, as the default content is suitable for most cases.
The Detail field is where participants can add the detail of their contribution to the discussion.
The Description is the text that will be displayed below the Detail field to help users fill in this field.
Optional: Add some Placeholder text, to help participants understand how to respond to the Detail field.
On the right-hand side:
Tick Require account if you want participants to sign in before providing their responses.
Set an End date for your discussion topic, either by typing the date into the field, or clicking the calendar icon on the right and choosing the date from the calendar.
In Advanced settings, you can add a customised submission response message to discussion respondents.
Choose whether you want to disable comments, allow comments, or turn off comments (Comments).
Once you are finished building your discussion topic, click Save at the top of the screen. Add a revision message to describe what you have done.
You can preview your discussion in the Preview tab of your discussion topic overview page.
When you are finished, click Save.
Edit a discussion
To edit an existing poll:
While logged in, use the top-level menu to navigate to the Projects tab.
Select the relevant project; this opens your project overview page.
In the left-hand menu, under Participation, click Discussions. This shows all the discussions created for this project.
Click on the ellipsis menu, then click Edit to be taken to the edit screen.
Alternatively, click on the discussion you want to edit, then from the Overview page, click the Edit tab.
When you are finished, click Save.
Delete a discussion
You can delete a discussion from a project if it is no longer needed, or was created by mistake. This permanently removes the discussion and all its content and cannot be undone. Proceed with caution!
Note: you may not have delete permissions as part of your role. If you have any questions about your permissions, contact your District Engage administrator.
To delete a discussion:
Navigate to an existing project.
In the left-hand menu, under Content, click Discussions. This shows all the discussions that already exist for this project.
Click on the ellipsis button to show more options for a discussion. Click Delete.
Alternatively, click on the discussion you want to edit, then click the Delete tab.
You will be prompted with a warning to confirm the action. Click Yes, Delete this Discussion topic.
Your discussion is now deleted.
