Community Champions & Community Experts Last updated: July 2025

Community Experts

Community Experts Initiative Overview

The Community Experts Network is a new, agile governance layer designed to strengthen Hubs through peer-led expertise, capacity building, and collaborative leadership. As the Global Shapers Community prepares to celebrate 15 years of impact in 2026, with over 21,000 active members and alumni worldwide, this initiative marks a natural evolution of how we support one another.

Community Experts are trusted leaders with deep knowledge of Hub operations, governance, and community dynamics. Their role is to complement the support provided by Community Champions, offering hands-on guidance, sharing best practices, and fostering peer learning across regions and themes.

Together with the Foundation Board (Strategy), HQ (Execution), and Community Champions (Direct Hub Support), Community Experts focus on Knowledge Sharing and Capacity Building to ensure every Hub feels seen, supported, and empowered.

This program builds on the legacy of the Advisory Council and reflects our commitment to decentralized leadership, timely support, and collective excellence. Up to 50 outstanding Shapers and Alumni will serve as Community Experts, providing strategic advice, mentoring local leaders, and ensuring our governance grows with our community.

Community Experts Preliminary Thematic Areas

To shape the inaugural cohort of Community Experts, we analyzed past Curator surveys to identify key support needs, and consulted Community Champions to understand the topics Hubs most often seek guidance on.

The result is a curated list of priority expertise areas, grouped into nine categories. Each includes examples of key issues that the specific knowledge is intended to help solve. A tenth category, “Other,” allows applicants to offer additional skills or insights not captured in the core list.

Before applying, we encourage you to review the full list of topics to prepare your shortlist. When applying, be ready to share examples that demonstrate your depth of experience in the areas you choose.

Recruitment & Onboarding

Key Issues: recruitment challenges, new member integration, members turnover

• Strategic recruitment approach
• Inclusive recruitment & outreach
• Recruitment A to Z process
• Tailored Hub recruitment, selection & onboarding design
• New members onboarding & integration
• Hub value proposition

Engagement, Retention & Leadership Development

Key Issues: Low shapers engagement, lack of project leaders, time constraints

• Members leadership building
• Hub relaunch process
• Empowering Hub members
• Members retention & tailored engagement strategy
• Motivational leadership & culture building
• Collaborative leadership & delegation
• Time management & volunteer coordination
• Alumni engagement
• Smart volunteering
• Team coaching & roles design
• Engaging meetings/retreats/SHAPE design & delivery

Governance, Ethics & Internal Dynamics

Key Issues: governance issues, roles ambiguity

• Roles & responsibilities distribution
• Ethical leadership and transparent governance
• Hub governance & Hub charter
• Leadership transition & knowledge transfer
• Team dynamics & humble leadership
• Power dynamics & legacy management
• Navigating uncomfortable conversations with respect
• Conflict resolution & mediation
• Conflict resolution and restorative justice approaches
• Hub as a safe and Inclusive space
• Hub restoration & reintegration after conflicts
• Hub leadership successful election process

Strategy, Scaling & Ecosystem Engagement

Key Issues: Fragmented vision, scaling challenges

• Hub mission, vision & brand identity
• Performance & engagement management strategy
• Strategic planning & operational scaling
• Hub ecosystem mapping & stakeholders engagement
• Execution excellence & accountability
• Inclusive Hub facilitation & communication channels
• Designing & hosting efficient meet the leaders

Project Management & Impact Delivery

Key Issues: project execution issues, lack of execution support

• Hub impact strategy & project management
• Defining project KPIs
• Designing hub project from scratch
• Scaling up hub project into cross-Hub collaboration
• Navigating project management & collaboration tools
• Monitoring, evaluation, and storytelling for impact
• Project impact measurement

Funding & Resource Mobilization

Key Issues: funding issues, lack of resource sustainability

• Fundraising, grant writing & partnerships
• Hub projects funding management

Crisis, Resilience & Mental Wellbeing

Key Issues: burnout, limited support, global uncertainty

• Crisis response & community resilience (ShaperAid)
• Resilience & adaptability
• Wellbeing & mental health advocacy

Thought Leadership & External Representation

Key Issues: Limited influence in external platforms

• Mastering thought leadership through successful Forum Agenda pitch
• Applying for Forum event/initiative
• Public speaking
• Crafting strong narratives and mastering storytelling

Innovation, AI & Global Foresight

• AI tools to improve Hub productivity
• AI & Tech Governance
• Climate Action & Sustainability
• Combating misinformation
• Geopolitical & diplomatic acumen
• Health & Healthcare innovation
• Future of Energy & Materials
• Urban transformation
• Upskilling & reskilling for future-proof economy and society

Community Experts Mandate & Responsibilities

Working closely with Champions, Community Experts will be guided by a clear mandate to:

• Offer guidance on core thematic areas such as governance, engagement or conflict resolution.
• Bring deep community knowledge and subject-matter expertise to Hubs & members.
• Build leadership capacity through peer learning and collaborative support.
• Ensure support is contextually relevant across regions and cultures.

Community Experts who are active Global Shapers are still expected to fulfill hub membership commitments and activities.

For the inaugural cohort of Community Experts, we have envisioned the following areas of responsibilities:

Guidance Upon Hubs/Members Request:

• All Community Experts will be featured in this Spark Guide, organized by thematic expertise areas, specific sub-topics they cover, and the geographic region they support e.g. John Smith, New members onboarding & integration Expert, Africa.
• Each Expert’s name will be hyperlinked to their My Forum profile, where members can learn more about their background, expertise, and examples of interventions in the past.
• Each profile will clearly indicate how the Expert prefers to be contacted—whether through scheduled office hours, direct messages, or email, with typical response time noted (e.g., within 72 hours).
• Champions, Curators, and members are encouraged to leverage the network by reaching out through the outlined referral process. Experts are expected to offer targeted advice, guidance, or share best practices based on their specialization.
• To ensure transparency and community-wide learning, if a support request does not come via a Champion, the relevant Champion should be looped into the response.

Knowledge Sharing & Capacity Building:

At the start of their term, each Community Expert will collaborate with their Regional Champion and Community Manager to identify the specific needs of Hubs or members related to their area of expertise. Based on these needs, Experts are expected to develop a practical toolkit that includes best practices, methodologies, or processes applicable within their region—and potentially beyond.

Together with the Champion and Community Manager, the Expert will identify the most effective opportunities to share their content with the wider community—such as Spark Guides, regional retreats, SHAPE gatherings, the Annual Summit, or online learning modules

All broad content dissemination efforts must be approved by the Community Manager, including any related budget requests to support participation in relevant events.

Collaborative Learning for Sustainable Change:

All Community Experts are expected to regularly check in with their local Community Champion and collaborate with fellow Experts, especially those focused on the same sub-topic. This promotes alignment, prevents duplication, and fosters a culture of teamwork. By sharing ideas and insights, Experts can co-create high-quality, sustainable tools and exchange best practices that support mutual growth and continuous improvement.

Experts are also required to document their interactions with Hubs and report progress and key insights to the Experts Group Co-Chairs, as well as during Advisory Group check-ins held every six weeks by HQ.

Community Experts KPIs

To ensure the responsibilities above are not overlooked, Community Experts' performance will be assessed based on clear KPIs:

• Minimum Frequency of Interactions: Every Expert is expected to advise at least three members or Hubs within each six-month period of their mandate. This advice must be requested, either by the respective Champion or by the Hubs or members themselves, and cannot be imposed. This indicator will help HQ assess the ongoing relevance and demand for specific areas of expertise when planning future terms.
• Contribution to Learning Materials: Every Expert is required to develop a comprehensive guide outlining best practices and clear steps that a Hub should take when facing a specific challenge. By May each year, content suitable for inclusion in the GSC Guides must be submitted to HQ, following the process outlined during monthly check-in calls. If a relevant section already exists, each Expert is expected to contribute to its iteration and improvement by incorporating newly collected best practices.
• Development & Delivery of Educational Content (Online and Offline): Every Expert is expected to develop a 90-minute learning module designed to help community members deepen their knowledge in a specific area of expertise. Each Expert should deliver at least one module per year online, in coordination with their Community Champion. If similar areas of expertise are covered by Experts in other regions, they are required to coordinate a community-wide learning module together. This shared module may then be delivered at regional events by the Experts closest to the event location, or, based on feedback and at HQ’s request, at SHAPEs or the Global Shapers Annual Summit (GSAS).

Community Experts Accountability Mechanism & Performance Assessment

Our operational model is fully decentralized, and every member of the Advisory Group, whether a Champion or an Expert, is expected to take ownership of their deliverables and proactively seek out opportunities to support Hubs and members.

Because this is not a top-down structure, ideal candidates are self-starters who can identify where help is needed, tailor their support to the specific context, and implement solutions independently, without intervention from HQ.

While Champions have their Community Managers as their main interlocutors throughout the year, to ensure smooth coordination of activities by Community Experts, HQ will appoint two Co-Chairs from among the Community Experts cohort. These Co-Chairs will serve a 1.5-year term and ensure that the Experts are well-equipped and well-paced to execute their mandates effectively. It will be an important role of the Co-Chairs to ensure that the work of the Experts complements each other and avoids duplication of efforts.

Co-Chairs will be responsible for maintaining the interaction tracker and conducting mid-term reviews (between February and April), during which they will present to HQ:

• The number of interactions each Expert has with Hubs, Members, and Champions to assess their performance
• The status of content readiness for each Expert topic in the GSC Guide
• The number of workshops delivered by Experts (both online and offline) and recommendations for workshops at Community-Wide events
• Any observations or recommendations regarding the relevance of expertise offered to the community

Community Expert Body Co-Leads will represent the work of Community Experts at the Global Shapers Annual Summit, where they will also collect feedback from Community Champions and Curators regarding their interactions with Experts, and assess how to enhance the performance of the current Experts body.

Community Experts Term, Selection Process & Eligibility Criteria

The application process for the inaugural cohort of the Community Experts body will be launched by the end of June 2025. Only applications submitted by July 27 will be considered. Successful candidates will be invited to panel interviews taking place throughout August and September. Final selections will be announced by the end of September, and selected candidates will be invited to an onboarding session in October. By the end of October, this guide will be updated with the list of Experts, their areas of expertise, and hyperlinks to their up-to-date profiles.

To be considered for the Community Expert role, applicants must meet the following requirements:

• Be an active Shaper or alumnus who has been part of the community for at least 2 full years (based on Toplink account creation date).
• Uphold and embody the Global Shapers Community Charter, values, and processes, and confidently navigate the official Global Shapers guidelines.
• Have developed and implemented a successful best practice, methodology, or process that has improved the Hub’s governance, wellbeing, efficiency, visibility, or sustainability, or have cultivated specific expertise in their professional capacity.
• Have actively participated in at least one regional or global gathering outside of their Hub—such as an official regional retreat, SHAPE, Global Shapers Annual Summit, Annual Meeting, or Annual Meeting of the New Champions, and expanded their understanding of the community and network.
• Have excellent relationships with their peers within and beyond their Hub and are seen as a role model.
• Can be endorsed by Hub members for a particular expertise and have already been sharing this expertise actively with Community members.
• Has at least 3–5 hours per week to dedicate to supporting Hubs/members in need with a particular expertise.
• Recognizes the role of the Regional Community Champion and commits to working hand in hand with them, respecting their ways of working and the processes established in their region.
• Demonstrate a strong sense of moral and professional integrity, with the ability to prioritize collective goals over personal recognition.

Community Experts are eligible for a one-year term, which may be extended for up to two additional years.

Community Experts Value Proposition

To recognize the efforts and time required for this role and set up every Community Expert for success, Global Shapers HQ foresees following support & benefits:

• Regular touchpoints with Global Shapers HQ to learn more about the community's latest initiatives, policies, practices and tools.
• Possibility to be offered a travel grant to deliver a workshop or training at a regional retreat, SHAPE or GSAS upon decision of HQ.
• Recommendation letters or references from the Community Manager are available upon request.
• Public announcement and recognition on our social platforms and Website.
• Priority access to available trainings and capacity building modules.
• Upon appointment as a Co-Chair, invitation to GSAS.

Beyond available recognition & support, this roles gives you a possibility to grow professionally and refine your facilitation, advisory, and collaboration skills through real-world problem-solving and peer learning. Additionally, you will be able to:

• Amplify Best Practices: Contribute to Spark Guides, global summits, regional events, and online curricula that shape how the community works.
• Build a Global Network: Join a high-trust circle of experts, working across borders and sectors to strengthen the community.
• Leave a Legacy: Help build a more resilient, decentralized, and future-ready community infrastructure for years to come.

Community Experts Cancellation

If Community Experts are unable to fulfill the responsibilities listed above, they may step down by notifying their Community Manager in writing. Alternatively, following the mid-term review, Community Managers may issue a written notice outlining the key performance indicators that must be met by the end of the term. If these indicators are not met, the Head of the Global Shapers Community may choose to revoke the Expert’s mandate. This may also apply in cases where this member has compromised trust within the community.

FAQ

What is the Community Experts Network?

The Community Experts Network is a new support structure within the Global Shapers Community designed to offer targeted, thematic, and peer-driven expertise to Hubs and members. Experts are selected based on proven leadership and deep experience in specific domains like governance, recruitment, wellbeing, fundraising, or project design.

How do Community Experts differ from Community Champions?

Community Champions provide regional support, acting as the first point of contact for Curators and offering year-round guidance aligned with local contexts. Community Experts, on the other hand, offer subject-matter expertise across regions, supporting Champions and Hubs with specialized knowledge and capacity building.

Will Community Experts replace Community Champions?

No. The two roles are complementary. Champions focus on direct, regional coordination, while Experts enhance that support by sharing methodologies, tools, and tailored advice that benefit multiple regions.

How will Community Champions and Community Experts work together?

While Champions are expected to continue carrying out their usual mandates, the arrival of Experts provides them with an opportunity to tap into specialized knowledge—whether by seeking advice or requesting intervention with Hubs or Members where support is needed. When Experts are contacted directly by Hubs or Members, they have a duty to inform the relevant Champion in order to coordinate efforts and better understand the broader context of the issue. Experts will collaborate with Champions by:

• Responding to requests for support from Champions and Hubs/members
• Joining regional onboarding or training sessions when needed
• Helping troubleshoot challenges tied to their area of expertise when Champion sees a need of their intervention

Can someone be both a Community Champion and a Community Expert?

Each role requires time and focus, so it is not possible to fulfill both simultaneously. However, we anticipate that some successful Champions may apply to join the Experts Network after completing their terms, in order to contribute their specific knowledge. At the same time, some Experts who provide strong support to Champions in their region may gain valuable experience that positions them to be considered for the Champion role in the future.

Why was this new role created now?

With over 21,000 members, the needs of the community have expanded. The Community Experts initiative builds on the legacy of the Advisory Council and aims to decentralize leadership, making support more agile and accessible across the network. At the same time, as more members express a desire to continue serving the community after their Curatorship and as Community Champions manage increasingly demanding portfolios, this initiative offers alternative leadership pathways. It serves both as a form of recognition and reward for highly knowledgeable members, and as a way to strengthen the support system that enables Champions to succeed in their mandates.

Can I reach out to an expert in another region?

Absolutely. If the expertise you’re looking for is not available from any selected Community Expert in your region, you are welcome to reach out to Experts in other regions for support.

How to ensure accountability of the new body?

Please refer to the “Community Experts Accountability Mechanism & Performance Assessment” section above. Additionally, we welcome feedback on our new Advisory Group during the Annual Review and year-round via globalshapers@weforum.org.

How the performance assessment will be made?

Please refer to the “Community Experts Accountability Mechanism & Performance Assessment” section above.

Am I eligible to apply for this role if I have been a member for less than two years?

We will only consider applications from candidates who fully meet the eligibility criteria. We encourage you to apply once you have reached the two-year membership threshold.

How will I know who are community Experts and what they do?

All Community Experts will be featured in this Spark Guide, organized by thematic expertise areas, specific sub-topics they cover, and the geographic region they support e.g. John Smith, New members onboarding & integration Expert, Africa. Each Expert’s name will be hyperlinked to their My Forum profile, where members can learn more about their background, expertise, and examples of interventions in the past and how to reach out to them.