Communities of Practice

Purpose To increase knowledge sharing and capacity building, MERIT organized the Knowledge Sharing Forum. Communities of practice are another means of sharing knowledge, problem solving, and professional development. To increase knowledge sharing and capacity building, MERIT organized the Knowledge Sharing Forum as a means to share its highlights from the first two years of implementation. The focus of the event was to report on and discuss project achievements in the areas of human resources competency development, results based management, gender mainstreaming and knowledge portal development. Knowledge sharing systems including the event and communities of practice can serve as a risk mitigation strategy to address frequent staff turnover, to support ongoing training and retention of knowledge after elections and beyond the project lifetime.

What is a Community of Practice? They are groups of people that share a concern or passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly. Communities of practice are learning forums where members teach and learn from each other. Communities of practice are learning forums where members teach and learn from each other and, irrespective of their position within an organisation, regard each other as fellow practitioners, colleagues and sources of knowledge.

Practitioners need a community to … … help each other solve problems … hear each other’s stories across contexts … reflect on their practice and improve it … build shared understanding … keep up with change … cooperate on innovation … find a voice and gain strategic influence

Why? - Organizations Short term Problem solving Time sharing Knowledge sharing Synergy across units Good use of resources Long term Strategic capabilities Stay current Innovation Retention of talent New strategies

Social learning capability in communities Sponsorship Domain Participation Leadership Learning partnership Community Practice This slide introduces a simple, basic model for communities of practice as the cornerstone of a social discipline of learning. It contains seven basic elements. The three central elements are definitional of communities of practice as social learning context: each one is an aspect of the social discipline: what we are about, how we form a community and who should be part of it, and what is the practice that we need to get better at. Insist that these three elements are mutually defining and work as a set. Practice - Practitioners with a shared interest They develop a shared repertoire of resources; experiences, tools, stories, ways of resolving problems Domain – identity defined by a shared domain of interest Community – members engage in joint activities and discussions, help each other, and share information. They build relationships that enable them to learn from each other.   The four arrows refer to four distinct perspectives of constituencies for whom this social discipline is important.    The first horizontal pair of perspective arrows are within the circle of the community. The reason for participation, the “what’s in it for me,” the learning imperative of members is the foundation of the social energy of a community of practice. But having members who are ready to go the extra mile to nurture the community is a key success factor. Sponsorship and support need not be, and usually are not, performed by members. Note that these seven elements also indicate what to pay attention to when attempting to cultivate communities of practice. They are developmental elements. In summary, they address the following questions typical of a social discipline of learning: What is the partnership about? Who should be at the table? What should they do together? How are they going to benefit? Who will take leadership? Who are the external stakeholders? Where are resources for support? Support Version 2.0

Comparing Work Groups

Questions? Thank you!