# 6.1 Identifying contributor profiles For effective community engagement, you first need to understand who is best suited to contribute. You can start by analyzing the capacity of contributors who have offered to help. For the [TWB Voice](#user-content-fn-1)[^1] projects in Hausa, Kanuri and Shuwa Arabic, we looked at the existing group of volunteers (linguists who had helped [Translators Without Borders](#user-content-fn-2)[^2] with translations over the years) and identified a number of key profiles. Here are some of the characteristics that we found to be very important: * Speakers of the [target languages](#user-content-fn-3)[^3] (dialect and other language features must match the goal of the project) * They should have basic digital literacy (able to use mobile or web platforms). * Community influencers — teachers, local partners, and language group leaders. These people play a key role in getting people to help collect data for [low-resource languages](#user-content-fn-4)[^4]. If you organize contributors into language groups, they work better and have a sense of belonging. It motivates them if they are part of a group effort. * Experienced linguists ([Language Leads](#user-content-fn-5)[^5]) are useful for difficult tasks like prompt creation and validation. We found that using Language Leads helped to get people in the community involved in data collection. * We motivated contributors by recognition, certificates, and sharing messages about the positive impact of their work. We used the following workflow to find the right [contributor profiles](#user-content-fn-6)[^6]: * Identify native speakers of the target language(s) (to match the goals of the project). * Share information about the data collection project. Use clear messaging on the tasks involved, the reason for the project, and how important their help would be. * If there is a [recognition program](#user-content-fn-7)[^7] in place, share details early on. Make it easy for contributors to access. * Send out invitations to join. Include direct links and instructions on how to join the project. [^1]: **TWB Voice:** A platform for collecting voice data. It was developed by CLEAR Global, who also own it. Users can make voice recordings to help with active data collection projects in TWB Voice by [signing up to the TWB Community](https://translatorswithoutborders.org/join-the-twb-community/). The main goal of TWB Voice is to help to develop voice technology for speakers of marginalized languages. For example, by creating the voice datasets that are needed to build language models for TTS and ASR. [^2]: **Translators without Borders (TWB):** A part of CLEAR Global, a non-profit organization that helps people to get information and have a voice, whatever language they speak. [^3]: **Target language:** The language(s) for which you are collecting the voice data. [^4]: **Low-resource language:** A language that has limited written or recorded materials and is rarely found in digital tools, data, or technology. This means that technologies like speech recognition or machine translation are not available for the language and are difficult to build. This may be due to a lack of written content, digital resources (like websites or videos), or support from organizations that develop language technology. [^5]: **Language Leads (LLs):** Language experts with lots of experience. They can do spot checks to ensure quality and can give feedback. [^6]: **Contributor profiles**: Types of people who are suitable for making recordings when you are collecting voice data. They may be native speakers, bilingual people or linguists. [^7]: **Recognition program**: A system of rewards (points, certificates, or money) to motivate contributors and acknowledge the importance of their efforts. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://twbvoiceplaybook.clearglobal.org/6.-community-engagement/6.1-identifying-contributor-profiles.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.