Building Collaborative Spaces with Drupal Groups

Website Development Custom Features

A person wearing a white lab coat and latex gloves holds a dropper of blue liquid above a test tube of the same fluid. There are other test tubes and a microscope on the table in front of the person.

The Challenge

The green chemistry education community needed a platform that could accommodate diverse collaboration requirements across different user types - from K-12 educators and university faculty to student leaders and industry professionals. The challenge was creating a system that could:

Support both open collaboration and private expert discussions
Manage varying levels of content sensitivity and access requirements
Provide intuitive group management for non-technical users
Maintain academic standards through proper moderation workflows
Enable seamless resource sharing while respecting ownership rights
Scale to accommodate growing community participation

Traditional learning management systems and simple forums couldn't provide the nuanced permission structures needed for this diverse academic and professional community.

A screenshot of the Toxicology for Chemists Group on the GCTLC website shows the group homepage which includes the type of group, who created the group, and the names of the group moderators.

The Solution

In 2023, Beyond Benign and the American Chemical Society Green Chemistry Institute partnered with Skvare LLC to launch the Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community (GCTLC) platform, leveraging Drupal's powerful Group module to create a comprehensive collaboration platform for GCTLC with six distinct group types, each designed for specific use cases:

Group Types and Permissions

Open/Public Groups: Fully accessible to anonymous visitors and open for anyone to join
Open/Community Groups: Visible to registered users only, but open for joining
Request/Public Groups: Visible to anonymous users, but membership requires approval
Request/Community Groups: Visible to registered users, and membership requires approval
Invitation Only/Community Groups: Visible to registered users, but require membership is by invitation only
Invitation Only/Group Only Groups: Completely private, visible only to group members

A screenshot from the GCTLC website shows how users can select options for who should be able to view the group and who should be able to join the group before creating a specific group type. This allows users to create the appropriate group type for their audience.

Advanced Features Implemented

Smart Notification System: Email alerts for new discussions, resources, and files with user-controlled preferences
Comprehensive Moderation Workflow: Multiple states, including submitted, revisions requested, pending rejection, and archived status
Flexible Resource Management: Group-based permissions with ownership tracking and automatic permission removal upon leaving
Enhanced Discussion Tools: Improved forum functionality with real-time comment counts and email notifications
Multi-User Invitations: Streamlined process for inviting multiple community members simultaneously
SEO-Friendly URLs: Group names in URLs instead of numeric IDs for better discoverability

Technical Implementation

Skvare implemented the solution utilizing Drupal's native user management system, which was integrated with the Group module's permission inheritance. The development team created custom functionality to ensure that when members leave groups, their access to private resources is automatically revoked, maintaining security and respecting intellectual property rights. Skvare also implemented enhanced user experience features, including SEO-friendly URLs and streamlined multi-user invitation processes.

Why Drupal Was Chosen

GCTLC and Skvare selected Drupal for its unmatched flexibility in handling complex permission structures and user management requirements. The Group module's sophisticated access control system, combined with Drupal's robust content management capabilities, provided the foundation for building a platform that could grow with the community's evolving needs.

The open-source nature of Drupal also aligned with the community's values of knowledge sharing and collaborative development, while ensuring long-term sustainability.

The Impact

The Groups feature of the GCTLC has already accelerated the development of connections between users who normally wouldn’t interact, including by:

Enabling Specialized Learning Communities: Educators from around the world can join subject-specific groups for targeted discussions and resource sharing
Supporting Collaboration: Private groups provide spaces for educators to collaborate on sensitive or unpublished projects
Democratizing Knowledge Access: Public groups ensure important information reaches the broadest possible audience
Streamlining Professional Development: Request-based groups allow practitioners to join relevant professional networks

The platform has successfully created a deep sense of belonging and welcoming atmosphere for users from different career stages and countries to collaborate and share information, creating a unified space where knowledge flows freely while respecting the need for controlled access to sensitive materials.

A screenshot of a group from the GCTLC website show the Repository of files which allow users to upload and share documents with other members of the group.

Key Benefits

Granular Access Control: Six group types provide precise control over who can see and participate in discussions
Automated Content Management: Smart permissions automatically handle resource access when membership changes
Enhanced User Experience: Intuitive interfaces make complex group management accessible to non-technical users
Scalable Architecture: Built on Drupal's proven scalability to handle growing community participation
Community-Driven Moderation: Flexible moderation states support community self-governance
Mobile-Responsive Design: Full functionality across desktop and mobile devices
Integration-Ready: API-first architecture allows integration with other educational tools

Results and Outcomes

Skvare implemented a sophisticated group management system using Drupal that enables educators, advocates, and green chemistry champions to form specialized learning communities. The Groups feature has transformed how the green chemistry community collaborates by providing:

Six distinct group types with granular permission controls for different collaboration needs
Private collaboration spaces for sensitive discussions and invitation-only expert groups
Public community groups that welcome broad participation and knowledge sharing
Flexible moderation system ensuring content quality while maintaining community standards
Seamless resource sharing within groups while protecting intellectual property rights
Real-time notifications keep members engaged and informed of group activities

The GCTLC Groups feature demonstrates how Drupal's flexibility and the Group module's sophisticated permission system can create powerful collaboration platforms that serve diverse community needs while maintaining security, usability, and scalability. This project exemplifies Skvare's mission of helping others help others by empowering the green chemistry community to collaborate more effectively and advance sustainable chemistry education worldwide.