Leveraging virtual communities for capacity building in complex HCI environments

Meriem Tebourbi; Ananya Alagh; Taghreed Alshehri; Delvin Varghese

doi:10.1145/3726986.3727009

Leveraging virtual communities for capacity building in complex HCI environments

Meriem Tebourbi
, Ananya Alagh
, Taghreed Alshehri
, Delvin Varghese

Monash University
Monash University Malaysia
Action Lab

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

Abstract

This paper investigates the implementation and impact of a virtual Community of Practice (vCoP) designed to aid community-based organisations (CBOs) in Victoria, Australia, in developing multicultural digital messaging during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our goal was to evaluate the vCoP's effectiveness in enhancing capacity and sustaining meaningful connections for participants beyond the study's immediate scope.Utilising Action Research (AR) and ethnography, we offer insights into the operational dynamics and effectiveness of vCoPs within complex environments. We identify crucial factors for optimising vCoP capacity building, focusing on (i) the participants and their roles, and (ii) the modes of engagement employed within the vCoP. This study provides a foundation for future research that incorporates these considerations, aiming to guide vCoPs in similar contexts, to build participant capacity within and outside the contexts of ongoing research. It also underscores the necessity for longitudinal studies to assess the long-term impacts and effectiveness of these strategies. Overall, this work contributes to the broader discourse on leveraging social learning within Human-Centred Computing (HCI) to address intricate challenges and support community empowerment in dynamic settings.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	OzCHI '24
Subtitle of host publication	36th Australasian Conference on Human-Computer Interaction
Editors	Stephen Viller, Jeni Paay, Joel Fredericks, Jane Turner, Nicole Vickery, Greg Wadley, Diego Muñoz, Tara Capel, Arzoo Atiq, Hilary Davis, Marie Bodén, Joel Hardman, Bernd Ploderer
Publisher	Association for Computing Machinery, Inc
Pages	786-793
Number of pages	8
ISBN (Electronic)	9798400715099
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1145/3726986.3727009
Publication status	Published - 29 Sept 2025
Externally published	Yes
Event	36th Australasian Conference on Human-Computer Interaction - University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia Duration: 30 Nov 2024 → 4 Dec 2024 https://www.ozchi.org/2024/

Conference

Conference	36th Australasian Conference on Human-Computer Interaction
Abbreviated title	OzCHI 2024
Country/Territory	Australia
City	Brisbane
Period	30/11/24 → 4/12/24
Internet address	https://www.ozchi.org/2024/

Keywords

Community-based organisations
CoPs
peer support

Access to Document

10.1145/3726986.3727009Licence: CC BY

Cite this

Tebourbi, M., Alagh, A., Alshehri, T., & Varghese, D. (2025). Leveraging virtual communities for capacity building in complex HCI environments. In S. Viller, J. Paay, J. Fredericks, J. Turner, N. Vickery, G. Wadley, D. Muñoz, T. Capel, A. Atiq, H. Davis, M. Bodén, J. Hardman, & B. Ploderer (Eds.), OzCHI '24: 36th Australasian Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (pp. 786-793). Association for Computing Machinery, Inc. https://doi.org/10.1145/3726986.3727009

Tebourbi, Meriem ; Alagh, Ananya ; Alshehri, Taghreed et al. / Leveraging virtual communities for capacity building in complex HCI environments. OzCHI '24: 36th Australasian Conference on Human-Computer Interaction. editor / Stephen Viller ; Jeni Paay ; Joel Fredericks ; Jane Turner ; Nicole Vickery ; Greg Wadley ; Diego Muñoz ; Tara Capel ; Arzoo Atiq ; Hilary Davis ; Marie Bodén ; Joel Hardman ; Bernd Ploderer. Association for Computing Machinery, Inc, 2025. pp. 786-793

@inproceedings{f00adee2ca614ff98db33a592be3f7e3,

title = "Leveraging virtual communities for capacity building in complex HCI environments",

abstract = "This paper investigates the implementation and impact of a virtual Community of Practice (vCoP) designed to aid community-based organisations (CBOs) in Victoria, Australia, in developing multicultural digital messaging during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our goal was to evaluate the vCoP's effectiveness in enhancing capacity and sustaining meaningful connections for participants beyond the study's immediate scope.Utilising Action Research (AR) and ethnography, we offer insights into the operational dynamics and effectiveness of vCoPs within complex environments. We identify crucial factors for optimising vCoP capacity building, focusing on (i) the participants and their roles, and (ii) the modes of engagement employed within the vCoP. This study provides a foundation for future research that incorporates these considerations, aiming to guide vCoPs in similar contexts, to build participant capacity within and outside the contexts of ongoing research. It also underscores the necessity for longitudinal studies to assess the long-term impacts and effectiveness of these strategies. Overall, this work contributes to the broader discourse on leveraging social learning within Human-Centred Computing (HCI) to address intricate challenges and support community empowerment in dynamic settings.",

keywords = "Community-based organisations, CoPs, peer support",

author = "Meriem Tebourbi and Ananya Alagh and Taghreed Alshehri and Delvin Varghese",

year = "2025",

month = sep,

day = "29",

doi = "10.1145/3726986.3727009",

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editor = "Stephen Viller and Jeni Paay and Joel Fredericks and Jane Turner and Nicole Vickery and Greg Wadley and Diego Mu{\~n}oz and Tara Capel and Arzoo Atiq and Hilary Davis and Marie Bod{\'e}n and Joel Hardman and Bernd Ploderer",

booktitle = "OzCHI '24",

publisher = "Association for Computing Machinery, Inc",

note = "36th Australasian Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, OzCHI 2024 ; Conference date: 30-11-2024 Through 04-12-2024",

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Tebourbi, M, Alagh, A, Alshehri, T & Varghese, D 2025, Leveraging virtual communities for capacity building in complex HCI environments. in S Viller, J Paay, J Fredericks, J Turner, N Vickery, G Wadley, D Muñoz, T Capel, A Atiq, H Davis, M Bodén, J Hardman & B Ploderer (eds), OzCHI '24: 36th Australasian Conference on Human-Computer Interaction. Association for Computing Machinery, Inc, pp. 786-793, 36th Australasian Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, Brisbane, Australia, 30/11/24. https://doi.org/10.1145/3726986.3727009

Leveraging virtual communities for capacity building in complex HCI environments. / Tebourbi, Meriem; Alagh, Ananya; Alshehri, Taghreed et al.
OzCHI '24: 36th Australasian Conference on Human-Computer Interaction. ed. / Stephen Viller; Jeni Paay; Joel Fredericks; Jane Turner; Nicole Vickery; Greg Wadley; Diego Muñoz; Tara Capel; Arzoo Atiq; Hilary Davis; Marie Bodén; Joel Hardman; Bernd Ploderer. Association for Computing Machinery, Inc, 2025. p. 786-793.

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

TY - GEN

T1 - Leveraging virtual communities for capacity building in complex HCI environments

AU - Tebourbi, Meriem

AU - Alagh, Ananya

AU - Alshehri, Taghreed

AU - Varghese, Delvin

PY - 2025/9/29

Y1 - 2025/9/29

N2 - This paper investigates the implementation and impact of a virtual Community of Practice (vCoP) designed to aid community-based organisations (CBOs) in Victoria, Australia, in developing multicultural digital messaging during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our goal was to evaluate the vCoP's effectiveness in enhancing capacity and sustaining meaningful connections for participants beyond the study's immediate scope.Utilising Action Research (AR) and ethnography, we offer insights into the operational dynamics and effectiveness of vCoPs within complex environments. We identify crucial factors for optimising vCoP capacity building, focusing on (i) the participants and their roles, and (ii) the modes of engagement employed within the vCoP. This study provides a foundation for future research that incorporates these considerations, aiming to guide vCoPs in similar contexts, to build participant capacity within and outside the contexts of ongoing research. It also underscores the necessity for longitudinal studies to assess the long-term impacts and effectiveness of these strategies. Overall, this work contributes to the broader discourse on leveraging social learning within Human-Centred Computing (HCI) to address intricate challenges and support community empowerment in dynamic settings.

AB - This paper investigates the implementation and impact of a virtual Community of Practice (vCoP) designed to aid community-based organisations (CBOs) in Victoria, Australia, in developing multicultural digital messaging during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our goal was to evaluate the vCoP's effectiveness in enhancing capacity and sustaining meaningful connections for participants beyond the study's immediate scope.Utilising Action Research (AR) and ethnography, we offer insights into the operational dynamics and effectiveness of vCoPs within complex environments. We identify crucial factors for optimising vCoP capacity building, focusing on (i) the participants and their roles, and (ii) the modes of engagement employed within the vCoP. This study provides a foundation for future research that incorporates these considerations, aiming to guide vCoPs in similar contexts, to build participant capacity within and outside the contexts of ongoing research. It also underscores the necessity for longitudinal studies to assess the long-term impacts and effectiveness of these strategies. Overall, this work contributes to the broader discourse on leveraging social learning within Human-Centred Computing (HCI) to address intricate challenges and support community empowerment in dynamic settings.

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KW - CoPs

KW - peer support

U2 - 10.1145/3726986.3727009

DO - 10.1145/3726986.3727009

M3 - Conference contribution

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EP - 793

BT - OzCHI '24

A2 - Viller, Stephen

A2 - Paay, Jeni

A2 - Fredericks, Joel

A2 - Turner, Jane

A2 - Vickery, Nicole

A2 - Wadley, Greg

A2 - Muñoz, Diego

A2 - Capel, Tara

A2 - Atiq, Arzoo

A2 - Davis, Hilary

A2 - Bodén, Marie

A2 - Hardman, Joel

A2 - Ploderer, Bernd

PB - Association for Computing Machinery, Inc

T2 - 36th Australasian Conference on Human-Computer Interaction

Y2 - 30 November 2024 through 4 December 2024

ER -

Tebourbi M, Alagh A, Alshehri T, Varghese D. Leveraging virtual communities for capacity building in complex HCI environments. In Viller S, Paay J, Fredericks J, Turner J, Vickery N, Wadley G, Muñoz D, Capel T, Atiq A, Davis H, Bodén M, Hardman J, Ploderer B, editors, OzCHI '24: 36th Australasian Conference on Human-Computer Interaction. Association for Computing Machinery, Inc. 2025. p. 786-793 doi: 10.1145/3726986.3727009

Leveraging virtual communities for capacity building in complex HCI environments

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