Set up infrastructure and partnerships

This article explains how to set up the infrastructure for your community and build strategic partnerships that expand your reach and influence.

Infrastructure and tooling

Your community needs a digital home and tools for collaboration. Microsoft provides a rich set of platforms, often at little extra cost because many organizations already use Microsoft 365. Set up these tools thoughtfully to support your community's communication, knowledge sharing, and event management.

Viva Engage

Viva Engage is ideal for broad, open discussions and updates. It's designed for community-style conversations across the organization. Use it to host your Copilot Studio community forum:

• Create a community group in Viva Engage dedicated to Copilot Studio. Seed it with an introduction post stating the community's purpose and how to get involved.

• Encourage members to post questions, project updates, or interesting findings. The threaded discussions make it easy to follow conversations.

• Use features like polls to gather input on what training to offer next, announcements for major news or upcoming events, and pinned posts for FAQs or code of conduct.

• Use Viva Engage's event capabilities to create event pages for your meetups or webinars in the community group, and manage invites and RSVPs in one place.

SharePoint communication site

Set up a SharePoint site or intranet page as the community's knowledge hub. Store and organize all persistent resources in this location.

Key sections to include:

• Announcements (for example, latest community news, upcoming events).
• Training resources (link to Microsoft Learn paths, internal training recordings, the Copilot Studio resources GitHub page, and so on).
• Success stories (case studies of internal agent solutions).
• How-to guides and FAQs.
• Governance policies (like environment and data policy guidelines for building agents).
• Community guidelines (how to get involved, code of conduct, maker responsibilities).

Permissions: Ensure permissions are broad (read access for all employees, with a few core team owners who can edit). This site becomes the authoritative source for all things Copilot Studio in your organization.

Microsoft Teams

Use Teams for real-time collaboration aspects:

• Live events: Host your live trainings, office hours, and virtual meetups in Teams meetings for familiarity and easy access.

• Core team coordination: Use Teams for core team coordination in a private channel or chat. Community leaders manage plans and share files like agendas and speaker details.

• Project collaboration: For smaller interest groups or project teams that the community creates (for example, a team working on a particular agent), use Teams instead of a broad Viva Engage group. The core community might create several Teams for specialized collaboration. Keep track of them so knowledge flows back to the main community.

Microsoft Forms

Use Microsoft Forms to gather structured feedback and data:

• Event feedback: Create reusable event feedback forms (with branching for different sessions) and share them at the end of every event. Analyze responses in Excel or Power BI to identify patterns.

• Community surveys: Use Forms for quick surveys or to collect community preferences, such as voting on next event subjects.

• Assessment tools: To gauge skill levels, use Forms as lightweight assessment tools. You can even create something fun like a "Copilot Studio knowledge check" that gives participants a score and points out areas to learn more.

Other tools and channels

Use other communication channels as appropriate for your organization:

• Email newsletters: Many users pay attention to an internal newsletter. Use it to highlight community news and events (some users prefer email over checking a SharePoint or Viva Engage community).

• Digital signage and intranet banners: Promote the community and upcoming events on digital signboards and screen saver rotations. On the intranet homepage, post short articles about community achievements to reach people who haven't engaged yet.

• Surveys and analytics tools: If available, tools like Viva Glint or Viva Insights might help measure collaboration. These tools are "nice to have" or optional if you can collect feedback and usage data another way.

Tips for success

Think of your community as a product and these tools as your product infrastructure. They enable communication (Viva Engage, Teams), content management (SharePoint), feedback (Forms), and support processes. Choose tools your organization already uses. For example, if people are active in Teams but not in Viva Engage, focus on Teams channels and Viva Engage through Teams integration.

Community members need a solid foundation and the right tools to collaborate, share ideas, and provide feedback. These platforms help your community connect and keep information flowing from the start. As new members join, a well-structured set of tools shows them where to ask questions (Viva Engage or Teams), find training videos (SharePoint or Stream), and sign up for the next event (Teams, Outlook event).

Partnerships and amplification

No community thrives in a vacuum. Identify and engage partners—other groups, departments, or external entities—that can boost your Copilot Studio community's reach and resources.

Internal partnerships

Consider these key internal partners:

• IT and security teams: Include your IT and security teams early as you form the community. Explain the community's aims and the kind of support makers might need, such as help with setting up environments or connectors, and guidance on data governance. By partnering with these teams, you ensure the community's activities align with IT policies and prevent roadblocks. This partnership helps prevent people from building agents that violate security rules. The security team can also share safe development practices at community events and turn a potential blocker into a supporter.

• Data and analytics teams: If your organization has a data science or BI community, collaborate on use cases that crossover. For example, an AI agent that surfaces business intelligence insights, combining Power BI and Copilot Studio. Run joint events, such as an "AI + BI Hackathon" cohosted by the Copilot Studio community and the Data Analytics team. This approach breaks silos and shows how AI agents complement other digital initiatives.

• Business units and process improvement teams: Work with groups focused on process excellence or digital transformation in business units. They can help identify high-value use cases for AI agents and might offer sponsorship for events that target their domain. For example, the HR department could sponsor a hackathon to build HR-related agents, provide subject matter experts, and encourage staff to join.

• Microsoft 365 champions or modern work community: Connect with an existing Microsoft 365 or Teams champions community in your organization. Copilot Studio touches many parts of Microsoft 365, such as Teams and SharePoint, so these communities can share best practices and even cohost events. For instance, a joint session, "Using Copilot Studio with Teams," to attract both audiences and show how the technologies complement each other.

• Executive partnerships: Identify senior leaders who are passionate about innovation or have a problem that AI can solve. Invite them to serve as executive champions—not just as sponsors, but as active participants. For example, ask a vice president from a business unit to give a keynote at your community's annual summit about how AI agents might help the organization. Their involvement shows that leadership values the community's work.

External networks

Consider these external partnerships:

• Microsoft user groups: Find local or virtual Power Platform user groups, or search the community for Copilot Studio or AI experts. They might be willing to speak at your events or provide guidance. External speakers often bring fresh perspectives and excitement.

• Cross-company exchanges: Consider friendly collaboration or knowledge exchange with other companies' internal communities. If you know peers in other organizations through professional networks, host a joint virtual meet-up to share experiences or simply have a call to share lessons learned. This approach shows members how other companies address similar challenges and provides a source of new ideas for all.

Amplification tactics

Use these tactics to amplify your community's reach:

• Publicize success: When you have a successful event or major community milestone, publicize it. Use internal communication channels like success story emails, intranet news articles, and shout outs at town halls to highlight the community's work. If allowed, consider posting on LinkedIn or Microsoft Tech Community forums about your journey. This visibility can attract positive attention and more internal support when leaders view the organization as forward-thinking.

• Share ideas across communities: If multiple communities exist, such as an Agile community or a Data community, propose a "Community Fair." Each community can set up a booth or give a lightning talk. This event helps communities recruit new members and connect with each other. For example, it might encourage a member of the Power BI community to join the event to learn about Copilot Studio.

Branding and identity

Create a brand for your community, including a name, logo, and tagline, that's consistent with the company and the Copilot Studio brand. A cohesive brand helps you promote your community.

• Name and identity: Use a catchy name that resonates, such as "Future of Work Guild" or "AI Agents Alliance."

• Visual design: Design a logo or wordmark, perhaps using Copilot Studio's iconography combined with your company's style. Put this logo on all slides, SharePoint pages, and swag.

• Elevator pitch: Create a brief elevator pitch for the community so partners and potential members get a consistent answer when they ask, "What is the Copilot Studio community?" For example, "The Copilot Studio community is our internal program to crowdsource and support AI agent solutions. We help colleagues learn Copilot Studio and share solutions to common problems across the business."

Partnerships and a clear brand expand your community's influence. You move from a single team's initiative to an organization-wide movement, supported by a network of allies. This approach positions the community as a key part of your company's digital transformation strategy instead of a niche side project.

Next steps

When you have the right infrastructure and partnerships, your community has the foundation it needs to thrive and grow sustainably.