5. Creating Your First Project | Civio Engage Knowledge Base [ ![Civio Knowledge Base](/civio-light.svg) ](https://nginx.deploy-lagoon-production.civio-engage-docs.dh1.amazee.io) [Articles](/articles) [Releases](/releases) [Home](/) [Knowledge base](/articles) [Getting Started with Civio Engage](/articles?category=15) 5. Creating Your First Project ============================== Updated 1 month ago Search Go 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 ------------------ ![](/storage/kf3UgFWW7XAi8HQwFNybBYOznAd6iX2BMAXzJikK.png) To create a new project: 1. Click **Projects** in the left-hand menu. 2. Click **Add project** in the sub-menu (or the **+** button in the top-right corner). 3. 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](/articles/9180564376975-Create-and-publish-a-project). Applying categories ------------------- Categories help the community discover your project through search and filtering. To apply them: ![](/storage/fAsKajWUXue1jkqC6gc12A1liohHgbbclSFaDXf9.png) 1. Scroll down to **Advanced settings** in the right-hand sidebar. 2. Click **Categories**. 3. 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)](/articles/9176480859023-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: 1. Scroll down to **Advanced settings** in the right-hand sidebar. 2. Click **Location details**. 3. Select the relevant **Regions** — these are geographic categories configured in your site settings. 4. Add a **Location name** (e.g. "Kings Park" or "Main Street Precinct"). 5. 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](/articles/9180564376975-Create-and-publish-a-project). Adding a content block ---------------------- ![](/storage/985R4VkIZhNXZLjz0uLshFd2TPgxg216zmx4a1l5.png) Content blocks let you add different types of content to your project landing page — such as participation tools, documents, events, or rich text sections. 1. On the project create or edit page, scroll below the Body editor. 2. Click **+ Add block**. 3. Choose a block type (e.g. Surveys, Polls, Rich Text, Events, Documents). 4. Follow the prompts to configure the block. 5. 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](/articles/9179124696591-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](/articles/9176861358095-User-roles) 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: 1. Click **New draft** to save your work without making it public. 2. Use the **arrow** next to the status button to see the workflow actions available to your role. 3. 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](/articles/9379424565903-Create-and-share-a-project-preview-link). Your project on the public site ------------------------------- ![](/storage/iEOyl48L8GyA503y5jy5A28FxfVukMNc4Qo31ffP.png) 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](/articles/9180502042511-Key-elements-of-a-project). Managing your project --------------------- ![](/storage/UGhLcRONLp6Enuch4KhbVDY8TU0bG0TIufVMXYba.png) 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](/articles/9180614773903-Edit-a-project). To learn about the available participation tools, see [Manage your project participation tools](/articles/9182279163663-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](/articles/getting-started-article-6) [ Back to articles ](/articles) Table of contents ----------------- © 2026 [Civio](https://civ.io) [Privacy Policy](/articles/privacy-policy) [Terms of Use](/articles/terms-of-use)