The Nova Integration Hub, an initiative of the Nova Institute for Health, is a web-based forum created to empower a transdisciplinary community to share new ideas and ways of thinking, put research findings into practice and policy, and spark creativity, collaboration, and solutions for health and well-being.
The Hub is designed to help individuals from diverse fields gather, share, and collaborate as we connect the dots among the many factors that influence the health of people, plances, and our planet.
Follow step-by-step instructions via the video below or scroll further for written instructions.
Step One: Create an Account
Click the sign up button in the upper-right corner of hub.novaintituteforhealth.org. Complete the new account form, agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy and click the “Create Account” button at the bottom of the form.
Required fields include:
- Password
- First Name
- Last Name
- Handle (Your unique identifier; must be all lowercase with no spaces).
You may also want to share additional information about yourself, including your workplace, affiliations, schools, vision for the future, and more.
You will need to activate your account by confirming your email address. If you don’t receive an activation email from Nova Institute within a few minutes, please check your spam or junk folder.
Step Two: Complete Your Profile
Click on your name in the upper-right corner of hub.novainstituteforhealth.org. Click the edit button in your profile box, make any necessary edits, and then add a profile and cover photo to help users recognize you. Click the “Save Changes” button at the bottom of the form.
For all fields other than first name, last name, and handle, you are able determine your sharing and privacy preferences for that information.
Please know that your privacy is important to us and we will never share or sell your data.
Step Three: Join Groups and Discussions
Groups
Groups are gatherings of individuals with similar interests. In Groups, you connect with others to collaborate, share resources, ask for and receive support, and more.
Click on “Groups” in the top navigation to view and explore all groups. Click on the group profile or cover photo to explore individual groups. You can also click “Join Group” to become a member of a particular group. Lastly, to create your own group, click “Create a Group” link.
Users can view or leave groups they’ve joined within their user profile.
Discussions
Discussion forums are intended to facilitate deep discussions on particular topics.
Click on “Discussions” in the top navigation to view and explore all discussion topics, which are currently organized in the following forums:
- Food and Nutrition
- Social Determinants of Health
- Nature, Biodiversity, Planetary Health
- Health, Healing, Flourishing
- Art and Creativity
- Communications and Narratives
- Community Initiatives and Grassroots Action
- Other
Note: many of these topic areas overlap, and we may add additional topic areas as the Hub grows.
Click the title of each discussion to view the discussion details and replies. Click on “Reply” to contribute to the discussion and remember to add relevant hashtags and/or upload photos, videos and document attachments.
To create a new discussion topic, click on the “Create a New Discussion” button in the top right of the page and then add a title, discussion content, hashtags. You will also need to select the appropriate Forum from the dropdown.
Connect, Follow, and Subscribe
The Nova Integration Hub is designed to help individuals from diverse fields gather, share, and collaborate.
- A connection is a two-way relationship that requires one user to send an invitation and another to accept. If you’re connected to another user, you will both be able to see each other’s posts. You can also send direct message to your connections. To connect with another user, simply click on “Connect” on a user’s profile.
- Following on the Hub allows one user to see and interact with another user’s posts and activity without being connected. To follow another user, simply click on “Follow” on a user’s profile.
- Subscribing to a discussion is a way for users to follow a conversation without engaging with it directly. To subscribe to a discussion forum, simply click on “Subscribe” in the right hand sidebar of a specific discussion.
Share, Explore, and Participate
- Share what’s on your mind by creating a post within the “From Across the Hub” section on the homepage of hub.novainstituteforhealth.org where we ask users to “Share On Your Mind.” When creating a post, you will be able to select specific privacy settings to determine who can see your post.
- Browse all Nova Integration Hub users by clicking on “Members” in the top navigation. Search by name, handle, institution or location. You can also view a map to see the locations of all users.
- Comment on other users’ posts. You can reply directly to a comment or a comment thread.
- Tag a friend in your post or comments by using the “@” symbol and their handle to “link” them to your post. Accounts are notified when they are tagged, so this action is used to easily respond and communicate with others.
- Use a hashtag in your posts and/or comments by using “#” and a topic to “label” posts and/or comments with a specific topic. Doing so will also group your post and/or comments with other posts and comments that use the same hashtag. This makes it easier to find posts or information with a theme or specific topic. Hub users are able to see popular hashtags (aka “trending topics”) on the homepage. (Note: at this time, hashtags are not able to be used in Discussions).
- Register to attend events or view activities.
- Use the magnifying glass in the main navigation to search for users, topics and hashtags.
- Send direct messages to other users by clicking the Messages icon in the top navigation.
- You can always click on the logo in the upper-left corner to go to your main landing page on the Hub. This page centralizes all of the latest activity in one place. This page provides:
- One click access to “News From the Hub”
- A list of your connections
- A list of recently active members
- Recent activity from “Across the Hub” and trending topics
- A list of groups (newest, active, and popular)
