1. 1 The Learning Expedition of Communities of Practice: Where Are We At? presented at the launch basecamp of the Co-Creation Network, by George Pór Leeds, 19 March 2015

2. 2 The Big Picture of the CoP Journey

3. 3 The Origins It all started with the Jönköping Microsystem Festival. Returning delegates were keen to sustain and spread the energy and creativity experienced there but found no proper vehicle to do that. In response to that need, our team of Future Considerations consultant was brought in and helped the formation of communities of practice (CoP) that became the origin of the Co-Creation Network. Last October we had two workshops and created an online platform to raise awareness and start developing capabilities for cultivating CoP. Some of participants stepped forward to become community facilitators.

4. 4 What Has Been Accomplished So Far The current list of 11 early-phase communities is on page 23 to 27 of your CCN brochure, along with how you can contact them. There’s also a CoP Support Team that serves both as the core group of the Co-Creation Network, and coaches to the CoP facilitators Angela Green produced two lovely videos about the Co-Creation Network and its first basecamp in January https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kw29zyaFMNU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nL8ycfQcdig&feature=youtu.be And we’ve just seen that awesome animation by John Walsh. The network has attracted wonderful people “connected by a deep commitment to NHS values and a belief that as people working collaboratively together we can evolve our health and care systems.” Jane Pightling, NHS Y&H Leadership Academy.

5. 5 What’s Ahead on Our Journey Self-managing communities don’t work like formal organisational hierarchies. Community-enabled improvement and other results emerge from the passion of their members to co-create something valuable to themselves as practitioners, to NHS and its service user. That something is largely unpredictable and uncontrollable. What’s ahead on the journey will emerge from your conversations today and this evening, from the desire of what you want to create together. Nevertheless, based on the story of many communities of practice around the world, we can identity some elements of typical CoP trajectories.

6. 6 What’s Ahead for the Potential CoPs Attract a core group of members who want to support the self-organization of the community. “You must build on existing interests and relationships. For any important topic in an organization, there is usually an informal group of people already interested in it.” (Etienne Wenger) Develop an initial plan for how the core group would fun-ction and what its work will entail. For example, core group members can work with you on co-creating the CoP’s core statement, organizing the community’s meetings and preparing suggestions for initial community decisions.

7. 7 What’s Ahead for the Coalescing CoPs Develop jointly with community members an initial list of hot issues to enquiry into (the shared learning agenda). Create a community design, including: definition of the CoP’s domain of practice, value proposition to members, frequency of interactions, and some initial roles and accountabilities, e.g. knowledge gardener and boundary spanner (connector with other CoPs). Populate the community’s online platform with content of high value to members, and open conversations on topics of highest interest to them.

8. 8 What’s Ahead for the CoP Support Team Make visible the communities’ work to each other Organise quarterly Basecamps Establish and guide the initial work of a CoP of community facilitators Maintain the Network’s website, including its knowledge garden (online library) Secure funding to support the work of the Network Liaise with the Jönköping Microsystem Festival Develop a CoP results’ evaluation framework

9. 9 What’s Ahead for the Co-Creation Network Create channels and events for communicating improvement methodologies, project examples, successes and failures, across the communities of the Network. Establish an Advisory Council comprised of CoP researchers and senior leaders in health and social care to provide guidance, challenges, and protection to the communities. Develop mutually supportive relationships with interested health and social care agencies in Yorkshire & Humber, the UK and abroad.