| What are communities of practice? |
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Communities of practice are essentially networks of individuals with common problems or interests who "get together" - physically and/or virtually - to discuss current challenges, explore new ways of working, share good practice, tools and ideas. They are self-defined and self-managed and focussed on particular key issues or within a specific context.
Some example definitions of community of practice can be found at the following websites: http://www.ewenger.com/theory/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_of_practice. In addition, the Improvement Service has written and sourced some useful documentation on communities of practice including
We have entered into a partnership with the IDeA to provide an on-line collaboration space for communities of practice - see www.communities.idea.gov.uk Apply for a CoP on the IS/IDeA communities platform (online application). Online help for creating a CoP on our platform is available .
(Please note that the IS is not responsible for the content of other websites and provides pointers to material about CoPs for information only.) |