Every piece of content in Civio Engage — whether it's a project, a page, or a participation tool — follows a structured workflow before it reaches the public. This keeps your team aligned and ensures nothing goes live without the right sign-off.
The four workflow stages
Content moves through four stages before it's visible on your public site:
| Stage | What it means | Who can see it? |
| Draft | Content is being created or edited. It can be changed freely. | Internal users only |
| Sent for Approval | Content is locked and waiting for a Reviewer to check it. | Internal users only |
| Approved | A Reviewer has signed off. Content is ready to go live. | Internal users only |
| Published | Content is live on the public site for your community to see. | Everyone |
Content can also be Rejected (sent back to draft with feedback) or Unpublished (removed from public view but kept in the system). For full definitions of each status, see Workflow status.
Who does what
Each workflow stage is handled by a different role:
| Action | Role required |
| Create or edit content in draft | Engagement Officer (or above) |
| Send content for approval | Engagement Officer (or above) |
| Approve or reject content | Reviewer (or above) |
| Publish or unpublish content | Publisher (or above) |
| Create a project | Project Manager (or above) |
Roles are hierarchical — each role inherits the permissions of the roles below it. A Project Manager can do everything a Publisher, Reviewer, and Engagement Officer can do.
For a full breakdown of every role and what it can access, see User roles.
Walking through the workflow
Here's what a typical workflow looks like for a project, from creation to publication:
Step 1 — Engagement Officer creates a draft
- Open the project or content item and make your edits.
- Click New draft to save your changes.
- Add a revision message describing what you changed (e.g. "Updated consultation dates and added new FAQ section").
- Click Confirm.
Step 2 — Engagement Officer sends for approval
- On the project or content edit page, click the arrow next to the status button to see workflow options.
- Select Send for approval.
- Add a revision message explaining what needs reviewing.
- Click Confirm.
The content is now locked for editing. Reviewers on your team will receive a notification that content is waiting for their review.
Step 3 — Reviewer approves (or rejects)
- The Reviewer opens their notifications (the Messages icon in the right-hand sidebar) and sees the approval request.
- Click the notification to open the content.
- Review the changes, then click the arrow next to the status button.
- Select Approve to move the content forward, or Reject to send it back to the Engagement Officer with feedback.
- Add a revision message (e.g. "Approved — ready to publish" or "Please fix the dates in paragraph 2").
- Click Confirm.
If content is rejected, it returns to Draft status. The Engagement Officer can view the Reviewer's revision message, make corrections, and send it for approval again.
Step 4 — Publisher publishes
- The Publisher receives a notification that content has been approved.
- Open the content and click Publish.
- Add a revision message.
- Click Confirm.
The content is now live on your public site.
For full step-by-step instructions on changing workflow status for site pages, project content, and participation tools, see Update workflow status.
Revision messages
Every time you change a workflow status, a dialog asks you to add a revision message. This is a short note explaining what changed or why the status is moving forward.
Revision messages matter because they:
- Give Reviewers context on what to check.
- Help Publishers understand what's been approved.
- Create an audit trail your team can refer back to.
You can view the full revision history for any project or content tool. For details on viewing, comparing, and restoring revisions, see Managing Revisions.
Previewing before publishing
Before publishing, you can check exactly how content will look on the public site:
- On the project or content edit page, click Preview in frontend in the top-right area.
- Select Version in progress to preview the latest draft version.
This shows draft changes across the entire site — not just the individual item — so you can see how everything fits together.
Need to share a preview with someone outside the system? See Create and share a project preview link.
Troubleshooting: content not appearing
If content is not showing on the public site, check the following:
| Issue | What to check |
| Content isn't published | Open the content and check the status badge at the top — it should say Published. |
| Parent project isn't published | Child content (pages, tools, updates) can't appear publicly unless the parent project is also published. |
| Wrong role for the action | Only Publishers (or above) can publish content. Check your user role. |
| Content is still in approval | Check if the status shows Sent for Approval or Approved — it still needs to be published. |
| Project restriction settings | The project may have restriction settings limiting who can see it. See Manage project restriction settings. |
For a complete guide to the content workflow including the full workflow diagram, see Understanding Content Workflow in Civio Engage.
What's next?
Now that you understand how content moves through the workflow, continue to the next article to learn about the different participation tools available for your projects.