COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE COP “People are best engaged when they are actively involved in an activity.” Etienne Wenger

Come together to fulfill both individual and group goals. DEFINITION Communities of Practice (CoP) as “groups of people who share a common concern or passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.” A group of people who share a common concern, a set of problems, or interest in a topic and who Come together to fulfill both individual and group goals.

A community of practice defines itself along three dimensions: WHAT IS COP? A community of practice defines itself along three dimensions: What it is about – its joint enterprise as understood and continually renegotiated by its members How it functions- mutual engagement that bind members together into a social entity What capability it has produced – the shared repertoire of communal resources that members have developed over time.

Communities of practice develop around things that matter to people. MEMBERS’OWNERSHIP Communities of practice develop around things that matter to people. Their practices reflect the members' own understanding of what is important, as a result. Outside constraints or directives can influence this understanding, but even then, members develop practices that are their own response to these external influences. Even when a community's actions conform to an external mandate, it is the community–not the mandate–that produces the practice. In this sense, communities of practice are fundamentally self-organizing systems.

Domain/Identity. Membership implies a commitment to the domain. Components of CoP Domain/Identity. Membership implies a commitment to the domain. Community. They build relationships that enable them to learn from each other. There needs to be people who interact and learn together in order for a CoP to be formed. Practice: Interest and practitioners.

Stages of development

What do Communities of Practice look like? Problem solving "Can we work on the implementation process of Human Resource policies; I’m stuck." Requests for information "Where can I find the code to connect to the server?" Seeking experience "Has anyone dealt with a beneficiary in this situation?" Coordination and synergy "Can we combine on developing a proposal responding to this APS?" Discussing developments "What do you think of the new CAD system? Does it really help?" Documentation projects "We have faced this problem five times now. Let us write it down once and for all." Visits "Can we come and visit your program in the Sector? We need to establish one in our District" Mapping knowledge and identifying gaps "Who knows what, and what are we missing? What other groups should we connect with?"

Benefits of CoP Promote sustainability Provide self-directed learning environment Address perceived “real” needs of participants Connect people Enable Dialog Introduce a Collaborative Process Help people organize to meet common goals Promote self responsibility Promote technical leadership Stimulate Learning Capture existing knowledge Generate new knowledge

Advantages & Disadvantages of a CoP Participatory Cannot address individual issues but rather group issue Problem identification Find solutions together to different issues identified Existing knowledge to solve problems Building capacity and knowledge of group members Social cohesion Team spirit Ownership Sustainability Easy access to provide support

What will it take to implement CoP within RPOs? Discover a common interest Contact potentially interested people Design group processes Develop trust, respect, reciprocity, commitment Determine goals or what group wants to achieve Organize events around learning Capture existing learning Generate/discover new knowledge Translate learning to practice Establish terms for close

THANKS FOR LISTENNING! Lydia Irambona