A project is the core unit of community engagement in Civio Engage — it's where you bring together content, participation tools, events, and updates for a consultation. This article walks you through creating your first one.
Where projects live
Click Projects in the left-hand menu to see all existing projects. From here you can open any project or create a new one.
Creating a project
To create a new project:
- Click Projects in the left-hand menu.
- Click Add project in the sub-menu (or the + button in the top-right corner).
- Click the title placeholder at the top and type your project name.
Essential fields
| Field | What it does |
| Title | The name of your project — displayed on the public site and in project listings. |
| Summary (Required) | A short description shown in the project header and on project cards in listings. |
| Body | The main content of your project landing page. Uses the rich content editor for formatting. |
| Primary image | Appears in the project header and on project cards. Upload from the right-hand sidebar. |
| Consultation status (Required) | Tells the community what stage the project is at (e.g. "Open for feedback"). Shown on the public site. |
| End date | Tells users how long they have to submit feedback. |
For the full list of project fields including contact details and location settings, see Create and publish a project.
Applying categories
Categories help the community discover your project through search and filtering. To apply them:
- Scroll down to Advanced settings in the right-hand sidebar.
- Click Categories.
- Select the relevant Tags and Regions for your project.
Tags and Regions are set up in your site settings. For more on managing these, see Manage site categories (regions and tags).
Setting a project location
Adding location details to your project lets community members find it using the map search on the public site. To set a location:
- Scroll down to Advanced settings in the right-hand sidebar.
- Click Location details.
- Select the relevant Regions — these are geographic categories configured in your site settings.
- Add a Location name (e.g. "Kings Park" or "Main Street Precinct").
- Add the Location coordinates — enter the latitude and longitude for your project (e.g.
-37.8112, 144.9713).
When you add Location coordinates, the project will appear as a pin on the public site's map search — making it easy for community members to browse projects by location. For the full list of project fields and location settings, see Create and publish a project.
Adding a content block
Content blocks let you add different types of content to your project landing page — such as participation tools, documents, events, or rich text sections.
- On the project create or edit page, scroll below the Body editor.
- Click + Add block.
- Choose a block type (e.g. Surveys, Polls, Rich Text, Events, Documents).
- Follow the prompts to configure the block.
- Click Add [block type] to save it.
You can drag and drop blocks to rearrange their display order on the public page.
For a full guide on all available block types and how to use content groups (tabs, accordions, columns), see How to use content blocks and groups.
Saving and publishing
The workflow buttons you see at the top of the page depend on your user role and permissions:
| Your role | What you can do |
| Engagement Officer | Save as New draft, then Send for approval so a Reviewer can check it. |
| Reviewer | Everything above, plus Approve or Reject content. |
| Publisher | Everything above, plus Publish approved content to the public site. |
| Project Manager / Administrator | Can New draft and Publish directly — skipping the approval steps if needed. |
To save your project for the first time:
- Click New draft to save your work without making it public.
- Use the arrow next to the status button to see the workflow actions available to your role.
- Choose the appropriate action — for example, Send for approval if you're an Engagement Officer, or Publish if you're an Administrator.
The content workflow is covered in detail in a later article. For now, just save your project as a draft — you can always come back to publish it later.
You can also preview your project before publishing by clicking the Preview tab after saving as a draft.
To share a preview with colleagues before publishing, see Create and share a project preview link.
Your project on the public site
Once published, your project appears on the public site with a header showing the title, summary, primary image, and consultation status. Below the header, a tab menu gives visitors quick access to different sections of the project.
The tabs shown depend on the content you've added. Common tabs include:
| Tab | Shows |
| Summary | The project landing page with body content, participation stats, and content blocks. |
| Participate | Surveys, polls, idea boards, and other participation tools. |
| Events | Any events added to the project. |
| Updates | Project news and progress updates. |
For a detailed breakdown of everything that makes up a project — including pages, timelines, documents, and maps — see Key elements of a project.
Managing your project
After creating your project, you'll manage it from the project admin view. The key areas are:
- Project tabs (top) — switch between Report, Preview, Edit, Followers, and more.
- Content sub-menu (left) — manage Pages, Updates, Events, Timeline, Documents, Maps, and Hotspots.
- Participation sub-menu (left) — manage Surveys, Polls, Idea boards, Map feedback, Q&A boards, and Budgets.
For details on editing an existing project, see Edit a project. To learn about the available participation tools, see Manage your project participation tools.
What's next?
Your first project is live. Continue to the next article to learn how content moves through the review and publishing workflow.
Next: 6. The Content Workflow