Community of Practice
Reviewed and Updated: January 2008
This page has been kept for reference.
It will no longer be updated by ICVET.
A Community of Practice (CoP) is a group of people who have worked with each other for a period of time with a common sense of purpose and a real need to know what each other knows.
Communities of Practice are spontaneously formed and dissolved. The members often don’t recognise their membership but all benefit from it. They provide a powerful source of learning and indeed, are one of the few residences of 'organisational knowledge'.
CoPs are desirable but cannot be deliberately created; once identified they can be nurtured but not directed; they can be a rich source of learning but cannot be given specific outcomes to achieve.
Websites
Seven Principles for Cultivating Communities of Practice
Although communities of practice develop organically, a carefully crafted design can drive their evolution. In this excerpt from a new book by Etienne Wenger, Richard McDermott and William M. Snyder, the authors detail seven design principles. The payoff? Knowledge management that works.
Wikipedia - Community of Practice
Wikipedia overview of Community of Practice and links to related entries and websites.
Publications
MITCHELL, J, March 2003, Effectively structuring communities of practice in VET
An examination of 48communities of practice managed by “Reframing the Future” in 2002
LEONTIOS, M, Boud D, et al, Everyday Learning at Work: Communities of Practice in TAFE
Looks at how members of four work groups in metropolitan institutes are dealing with challenges through informal learning. Draws on findings of an Australian Research Council project.
Christine van Winkelin, May 2003, Inter-organisational communities of practice
This article, published in elearningeuropa.info, explores how to design and sustain communities of practice effectively within organisations.
LESSER, E L and STORCK, J, 2001, Communities of Practice and organisational performance, IBM Systems Journal, Knowledge Management
Interesting look at how communities of practice create organizational value. Conclusions are based on a study of seven organizations. Includes case study and examples.
Different Contexts, different learners Literature review | eZine December 2006