Have you had a desire to request a Carpentries workshop but weren’t sure where to go? Wanted to notify us of a Self-Organised workshop without having to complete an extensive form? Taught a Self-Organised workshop that was shorter or longer than the standard, or mixed and matched curriculum? Have you had questions regarding the logistics of a workshop and weren’t sure where to go?

If you said YES to any of these questions, then continue reading! In the upcoming weeks we will be updating several processes as it relates to The Carpentries workshops. We want to be sure you are aware of the changes before they happen :)

Workshop Request Form Update

The Carpentries understand that completing forms requires a lot of time. We want to ensure you are providing us with only the information needed. With this in mind, we will be updating our Workshop Request Form and separating into 3 different forms:

• Workshop Request Form - Use when you are ready to request a Centrally-Organised workshop and you have all of the information needed (date, location, curriculum, etc.) to begin the process.
• Workshop Inquiry Form - Use when you want to host a Centrally-Organised workshop but do not have all of the information or would like to speak to someone to discuss options.
• Self-Organised Notification Form - For intructors to use when you have created the workshop website page using our template, would like to get survey links and have the workshop listed on The Carpentries website.

Does that mean you will have to keep track of 3 separate links? No, there will be a landing page that will direct you to the proper form. We have heard the comments and concerns about having to complete a long form when the required questions are not applicable to you. So these should reduce the amount of time spent completing a form, allowing more time to plan!

Tracking non-standard Workshops

The Carpentries is excited to let our community members know that we will be piloting tracking non-standard workshops. Non-standard workshops can only be Self-Organised and includes any of the following:

• taught only one day or over a longer period of time than two days
• teaches individual modules
• Mix & Match Curriculums - Combining modules from any lesson programs (DC, LC, SWC) to teach one workshop

As with the standard workshops, there will still be requirements in order for this to use the Carpentries name:

• Have at least 1 certified instructor
• Must use The Carpentries surveys to get evaluations
• Abide by our [Code of Conduct]({{ site.code_of_conduct_url }})
• Use Carpentries curriculum

Once we begin tracking non-standard workshops, we will accept instructors registering any upcoming workshops. Unfortunately, we do not have the capacity to track previous workshops. This is a pilot, so we’ll be able to better track and evaluate these workshop formats.

Workshop webpage update

We will be updating the workshop section of The Carpentries webpage to include more descriptions of workshop types and streamline information. Updated information will include the following:

• Figures with live updates of workshop statistics
• Detailed descriptions of our lessons
• Description of what a Core Workshop must contain
• The cost of a Carpentries Workshop
• How to organise a workshop

When will all of these changes take place? That’s a great question and glad you asked! Please expect these changes to occur at the beginning of September. If you have any questions or concerns please contact Sher!.

Over the next few weeks we’ll be testing these updates with Regional Coordinators, the Lesson Programs and some hosts and instructors who have volunteered to test them. You will be notified when these updates are live, and we’ll welcome more feedback then too!