Community of Practice: creating, managing, sustaining Peter Norman Levesque Institute for Knowledge...

©Peter Levesque 2007-2014 1

Community of Practice:creating, managing, sustaining

Peter Norman LevesqueInstitute for Knowledge Mobilization

Slides available at:www.knowledgemobilization.net/cop

Password: practice

2014

http://www.knowledgemobilization.net/cop


LogisticsWhat are we doing today?

When can I get more coffee?Where are the bathrooms?

2014

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Workshop Agenda

Morning:• Logistics• Introductions• What is a community of

practice?• Why use them?• What the major

components of a CoP?• What are the major

elements of a strategy to implement a CoP?

Afternoon:• Case studies – what are

others doing?• Policies and governance

to manage a CoP?• How to sustain a CoP?• How to identify and

overcome barriers to CoPs?

• How to monitor and evaluate progress?

2014 ©Peter Levesque 2007-2014

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Workshop Objectives

You will learn:• Enhance your

understanding of communities of practice.

• Develop an understanding of strategy as it relates to communities of practice.

• Self-assessment of current state of policies and governance practices regarding communities of practice.

• Understand the management process for a community of practice.

• Gain access to tools and templates.

• Gain access to a diversity of community of practice policies.

• Engage with a broader community of people working to implement communities of practice.


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Workshop Format

• Some lecture• Lots of group

discussions• A few self

assessments• A few videos• Some resource

materials

©Peter Levesque 2007-20142014

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Workshop Appendices – Available Online

1. Cultivating Communities of Practice2. A national clinician-educator program3. SHRTN Collaborative CoP Orientation

Guide4. Case Study: Community of Practice

Based on a Wiki5. EDC CoP Terms of Use Policy6. EDUCAUSE CoP Design Guide7. Mobile Gov. Wiki Notices



Discussion

HelloLet’s find out a little about each other.

What do hope to gain today?

2014


Discussion

What do you think a community of

practice is?2014

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Quote

People are five times more likely to ask a colleague for information than to consult any online resource.

—2005 MIT Technology Review


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What is a community of practice• A group of people who share a craft and/or a profession. The

group can evolve naturally because of the members' common interest in a particular domain or area, or it can be created specifically with the goal of gaining knowledge related to their field. It is through the process of sharing information and experiences with the group that the members learn from each other, and have an opportunity to develop themselves personally and professionally.

• Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger coined the phrase in their 1991 book, 'Situated learning’ and Wenger then significantly expanded on the concept in his 1998 book, 'Communities of Practice’.

• Online and Face-to-Face


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_of_practice

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_of_practice

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An example of explaining:Communities of Practice


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=be_k4BH2EvU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=be_k4BH2EvU


Why use communities of

practice?2014

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Quote

Telling the “stories behind the story” should be encouraged to enhance the practice of KT beyond the science.

– G.P. Browman , MD MSc, Current Oncology , VOLUME 19 , NUMBER 1 , 2012



Discussion

Do we have data overload or filter

failure?Or both?

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CIHRCanadian Institutes of Health Research

“Knowledge translation (KT) is defined as a dynamic and iterative process that includes synthesis, dissemination,

exchange and ethically-sound application of knowledge to improve the health of Canadians, provide more effective health services and products and strengthen the health

care system.”

Outcomes Canadian Institutes of Health Research


http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/29418.html

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“This process takes place within a complex system of interactions between researchers and knowledge users

which may vary in intensity, complexity and level of engagement depending on the nature of the research and

the findings as well as the needs of the particular knowledge user.”

Canadian Institutes of Health Research


CIHRCanadian Institutes of Health Research

http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/29418.html

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CHSRFCanadian Health Services and Research Foundation

“Knowledge transfer and exchange is collaborative problem-solving between researchers and decision-

makers.”

Canadian Health Services Research Foundation


http://www.chsrf.ca/knowledge_transfer/index_e.php


Some Modern History

Passive push (until 1970s+)

Push harder (1990s+)

Partner & pull(2000+)

• Dissemination via traditional journals, conferences

• Focus on implementation, e.g. performance feedback

• Linkage & exchange, e.g. joint production

2014 18


Date Event1958 Advanced Research Projects Agency creates the first computer network 1959 Peter Drucker coins the term “knowledge worker“1962 Everett Rogers publishes “Diffusion of Innovation”1972 Archie Cochrane publishes “Effectiveness and Efficiency: Random Reflections on

Health Services”

1980 Bayh-Dole Technology Transfer Act passed in USA1991 Tim Berners-Lee invents the “World Wide Web”1990s “Evidence-based medicine” emerges from McMaster University1997 Canadian Health Services Research Foundation is launched to increase

relationships between health researchers and decision-makers

1997 Cancer Care Ontario’s Program in Evidence-Based Care formalized to produce clinical practice guidelines for cancer management for Ontario.

2001 Canadian Institutes of Health Research formed to create new knowledge and translate this into benefits for Canadians

Now What significant events would you add?

2014

Some Modern History

20©Peter Levesque 2007-2014

Why?: To provide access

Access– Physical ✔✔✔✔• Increasing access to findings published in Journals, on-

line, open access, systematic reviews

– Conceptual ✔• What does this mean for my practice, location, context,

culture

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AccessNew Yorker: John Caldwell 2000

2014


Why?: To create meaning

Taking in traumatic information and transmuting it into life-affirming action may turn out to be the most advanced and meaningful spiritual practice of our time.

Richard Heinberghttp://globalpublicmedia.com/how_do_you_like_the_collapse_so_far

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Plain languageNew Yorker: Dana Fradon 1975

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Why?: To create value from research

‘All breakthrough, no follow through’Woolf (2006) Washington Post op ed

• Much of the US $100 billion/year worldwide investment in biomedical and health research is wasted because of dissemination and implementation failures



ImpactNew Yorker: Sam Gross 1991

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Why?: To search for answers

Re/Search

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Research optimizes Search

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Why?: To make decisions

Philip Davies, Is Evidence-Based Government Possible?Jerry Lee Lecture 2004, Washington, DC

Evidence

ExperienceJudgement

Resources

Values

Habits

TraditionsLobbyists

Pressure Groups

Pragmatics

Contingency

Emotions

Other Factors

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Why?: To create value

Now What: Decisions,

Directions, Actions

So What: Meaning,

Analysis, Interpretation

What: Data, Information, Description, Stories

MULTIPLE INPUTS FROM RESEARCH, PRACTICE, EXPERIENCE, CULTURE

Innovation

SupportingInfrastructure

Initiatives

Incentives to Share betweenLevels

Value Creation

ProgramsPoliciesPrioritiesProcessesPractice

ProductsPerspectivesProceduresPossibilitiesPeople Skills

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Value is created in exchangeRéjean Landry, of l’Université Laval, has shown that the greatest value from knowledge mobilization happens when we LINKage and EXCHANGE. Yet most KMb activities are still based on PUSH and PULL.

PUSH PULL

LINK EXCHANGE

How do I do this?

2014

Here try this!


Data and information is for machines.

2014


It becomes knowledge when it has a social life.

2014


How do we socialize our

findings so that we can learn?

2014


Conversations are central

332014


What are the major components of a

community of practice?

2014

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Quote

We all belong to communities of practice.

– Etienne Wenger, Communities of Practice: learning, meaning, and identity. 1998


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Social Theory of Learning



Element 1: Domain

• There needs to be a domain.

• An identity defined by a shared domain of interest:– radiologists, – Star Trek fans, – College history teachers,– Cycling lane advocates.

• Not just a network of people or club of friends.

• Membership implies a commitment to the domain.

2014


Element 2: Community• Members of a specific domain interact

and engage in shared activities.• Help each other and share information.• Build relationships that enable them to

learn from each other. • Must be people who interact and learn

together in order for a CoP to be formed.– Static website is not a CoP– Sharing the same job is not a CoP

• Members do not necessarily work together on a daily basis.– Impressionist painters who sometimes

met in cafes to discuss their painting styles.

2014


Element 3: Practice• Not just people who have an

interest in something.• Members are practitioners. • Develop a shared repertoire of

resources:– Stories, – Helpful tools, – Experiences,– Ways of handling typical problems.

• Interaction needs to be developed over time.– A conversation with a random

stranger who happens to be an expert on a subject matter that interests you does not in itself make a CoP.

2014


Discussion

What are some of the communities of

practice that you belong to?

2014


What are the major elements of a strategy

to implement a community of practice?

2014

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Quote

Good community design requires an insider's perspective to lead the discovery of what the community is about.

– Etienne Wenger, Cultivating Communities of Practice: A Guide to Managing Knowledge. 2002


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Where does Strategy fit?


Vision Mission Goals Strategy Tactics Outputs Outcomes Impacts

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Etienne Wenger:Strategy for Communities of Practice


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waWdPbCXCjQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waWdPbCXCjQ


Element 1: Design for evolution

• CoPs are organic• New members bring new

interests• More like life-long learning

than traditional organization design

• Build relationships• Coordinator or problem-

solving meetings, can precipitate the evolution of a community

2014


Element 2:Open a dialogue between

inside and outside perspectives

• Good design requires an insider's perspective

• Deep understanding of community issues

• Often takes an outside perspective to help see the possibilities

2014


Element 3:Invite different levels

of participation

• People have different levels of interest

• Small core group of people who actively participate (10-15%)

• Active occasional group (15-20%)

• Large portion of members are peripheral and rarely participate

• Outside but interested

2014


Element 4: Develop both public

and private community spaces

• Public places such as: meetings, Web site

• Private space: one-on-one networking

• Multiple conversations• Use the strength of

individual relationships to enrich events and use events to strengthen individual relationships

2014


Element 5:Focus on value

• Help potential value emerge & enable to discover new ways to harvest it

• Not always clear at first• Changes over time• Be explicit about the

value of the community throughout its lifetime

2014


Element 6:Combine familiarity and excitement

• Familiar comforts of a hometown

• Interesting & varied events to keep new ideas and new people

• Neutral places separate from the everyday work pressures

• Stability & common adventure

2014


Element 7: Create a rhythm for the community

• Web of enduring relationships among members

• Sense of movement and liveliness – not breathless or sluggish

• Foster both casual connections and directed community action

2014


What some people and organizations

doing?

2014

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Quote

Communities of Practice come in a variety of shapes and sizes for different purposes and functions.

– Overseas Development Institute, Communities of practice: linking knowledge, policy and practice. December 2009



Case 1:Royal College of Physicians &

Surgeons of Canada

Issue: Complexity of medical training requires educational expertise in curriculum design, instructional methods, program evaluation, faculty development, educational scholarship

Benefits of CoP: • improved problem solving, • Recognition of educational needs• Development of new initiatives• Enhanced educational expertise• Enhanced engagement and talent

retention

2014

• Positive influence on organization• Influence outside organizationChallenges:• Takes time• Balancing size and composition• Equality of skills and uniformity of

tasks is not the goal• Facilitating communication is

essential• Program evaluation is necessary• CoP may run its course


Case 2: Seniors health knowledge network

Issue:SHTRN is a network of networks. Seeking to engage researchers, policymakers and caregivers to allow flow of knowledge and quality improvement.

Goals:• Ensure feasible expectations for

participation and collaboration• Reduce time for implementation• Reduce duplication among

partners

2014

Content:• Overview of CoPs • Lifecycle of a CoP• Quick Tips• Recommended Resources

appropriate to the community

• Evaluation Tools– Individual– CoP Attributes

• Work Plan Template


Case 3: Agence d'évaluation des technologies et des modes d'intervention en santé

Issue: Researchers on contract and at a distance

Goals:• Create, nurture and

sustain an intellectual community without coming physically together

2014

Process:• Used open source web-based

application TikiWiki• Platform used for other

applications within the Agency (precedent)

• Paired experienced and newer people together

• Grew access to all external researchers

• Discuss content• Adapt to changing knowledge base• No imposition of overhead


Discussion

What are some relevant examples

from your experience?

2014


Policies and governance for a

community of practice?

2014

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Quote

More companies are discovering that an über-connected workplace is not just about implementing a new set of tools — it is also about embracing a cultural shift to create an open environment where employees are encouraged to share, innovate and collaborate virtually.

– Karie Willyerd & Jeanne C. Meister, HarvardBusiness.org


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Examples

• EDC Communities of Practice Terms of Use• Policy National Learning Infrastructure • Initiative at EDUCAUSE Mobile Gov. Wiki

• Other examples?


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Training

• Policies are only as good as your employee's awareness, understanding, and willingness to comply with them.

• Do not expect untrained employees to be aware of and understand risks.

• Formal, ongoing employee education is critical to your community of practice success.


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Best Practices

• No training means little or no compliance to the community of practice policy

• Educate everyone involved: FT, PT, Executives, Board Members, Contractors, Consultants, Freelancers

• Policy applies at all times: at work and at home• Easiest way to control risk is to control content

– discuss lawful vs. illegal content


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Liability

There is no 100% effective way to avoid liability however, these practices help:• Establish – update annually – clear and comprehensive

policies governing social media, blogs, web 2.0, mobile devices, email, Internet, etc. – and link communities of practice, whether face-to-face or online to these policies

• Conduct formal ongoing training programs for everybody.• Ensure that “acceptable use” policies exist 24/7/365• Within limits of privacy, monitor use.• Have legal counsel available.• If red flag is raised deal with it in a timely way.


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Enforce Policy

• Let employees know that compliance with the policy is mandatory and that violations may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination

• More than half of employers have dismissed employees (Fortune 500) for policy violations.



How to sustain a community of

practice?2014

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Quote

Communities do not “run themselves,” regardless of how well the fundamental dynamics of a community may have been set in motion.

– Bronwyn Stuckey, Sustaining communities of practice. 2004


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Core issues with high utility

Problem solving: "Can we work on this design and brainstorm some ideas; I’m stuck."

Requests for information: "Where can I find the code to connect to the server?"

Seeking experience: "Has anyone dealt with a customer in this situation?"

Reusing assets: "I have a proposal for a local area network I wrote for a client last year. I can send it to you and you can easily tweak it for this new client."

Coordination and synergy: "Can we combine our purchases of solvent to achieve bulk discounts?"

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 see your after-school program? We need to establish one in our city."

Mapping knowledge and identifying gaps: "Who knows what, and what are we missing? What other groups should we connect with?”


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Success Story:Collaborative Forums for Problem Solving


http://youtu.be/YgGAJeXbIFM

http://youtu.be/YgGAJeXbIFM


How to identify and overcome barriers to communities of

practice?2014

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Quote

I’m not sure that we have permission to innovate in our organisation

– Participant at the IDeA Community of Practice Facilitator’s Workshop


http://steve-dale.net/2008/04/12/community-of-practice-facilitators-workshop/


Discussion

What are some of the issues that you are experiencing?

2014


Face-to-Face IssuesIssues:• Scientific knowledge is difficult to aggregate

(Standard tools for KT may presume an ability to codify and disseminate knowledge that is not realistic in cutting-edge scientific enterprises.)

• Scientists work independently (Must work harder than other organizations to maintain open communication channels, adopt common toolsets, and keep groups focused on common goals.)

• Difficulty of cross-institutional work (Issues of intellectual property, funding, legal issues)

Bos, Zimmerman, Olson, Yew, Yerkie, Dahl, E., et al. From shared databases to communities of practice: A taxonomy of collaboratories. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12(2), article 16. 2007

2014

How to address:

• Different tools for different contexts– Distributed Research Centers,

– Shared Instruments,

– Community Data Systems,

– Open Community Contribution Systems,

– Virtual Communities of Practice,

– Virtual Learning Communities,

– Community Infrastructure Projects.

• Communities of practice are good for sharing Knowledge (new findings) but other tools are better for other functions

• Use an ecological framework – complex relationships


Online Issues

Issues:• Emotion, • Technology, • Connectivity, • Understanding norms and

learning tensions

Guldberg and Macknesst. Foundations of communities of practice: enablers and barriers to participation. Journal Of Computer Assisted Learning. 2009

2014

How to address:• Assess the technical expertise of

participants, particularly when a number of different technological tools are used;

• Find ways to identify and evaluate emotional responses so learners can be supported in managing these;

• Ensure that participants understand the norms of a community; and

• Develop clear induction materials and processes.


How to monitor and evaluate the progress

of communities of practice?

2014

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Evaluation Framework

Promoting and assessing value creation in communities and networks: a conceptual framework

http://wenger-trayner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/11-04-Wenger_Trayner_DeLaat_Value_creation.pdf




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5 cycles/levels of value creation

Immediate value: the activities and interactions between members have value in and of themselves

Potential value: the activities and interactions of cycle 1 may not be realized immediately, but rather be saved up as knowledge capital whose value is in its potential to be realized later.

Applied value: knowledge capital may or may not be put into use. Leveraging capital requires adapting and applying it to a specific situation.

Realized value: even applied new practices or tools are not enough. A change in practice does not necessarily lead to improved performance, so it is important to find out what effects the application of knowledge capital is having on the achievement of what matters to stakeholders …

Reframing value: this happens when learning causes a reconsideration of how success is defined. It includes reframing strategies, goals and values…


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Key questions about Immediate Value

What happened and what was my experience of it?

What were significant events? What happened?

• How much participation was there?

• What was the quality of the mutual engagement?

• Was it fun, inspiring, convivial?

• How relevant to me was the activity/interaction?

• With whom did I interact or make connections?

• Which connections are most influential on my own development?


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Key questions about Potential Value

What has all this activity produced?

How has my participation changed me?

• Have I acquired new skills or knowledge?

• Has my understanding of the domain or my perspective changed?

• Do I feel more inspired by the work I do?

• Have I gained confidence in my ability to engage in practice?

How has my participation changed my social relationships?

• What access to new people have I gained?

• Do I know them well enough to know what they can contribute to my learning?

• Do I trust them enough to turn to them for help?

• Do I feel less isolated?

• Am I gaining a reputation from my participation? …


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Key questions about Applied Value

What difference has it made to my practice/life/context?

• Where have I used the products of the community/network?

• Where did I apply a skill I acquired?

• When did I leverage a community/network connection in the accomplishment of a task?

• Was I able to enlist others in pursuing a cause I care about?

• When and how did I use a document or tool that the community produced or made accessible?

• How was an idea or suggestion implemented? At what level -- individual, team/unit, organization?


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Key questions about Realized Value

What difference has it made to my ability to achieve what

matters to me or other stakeholders?

• What aspects of my performance has my participation in community/network affected?

• Did I save time or achieve something new?

• Am I more successful generally? How?

• What effect did the implementation of an idea have?

• Did any of this affect some metrics that are used to evaluate performance?

• What has my organization been able to achieve because of my participation in community/network?


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Key questions about Reframing Value

Has it changed my or other stakeholders’ understanding and

definition of what matters?

• Has the process of social learning led to a reflection on what matters?

• Has this changed someone’s understanding of what matters?

• Does this suggest new criteria and new metrics to include in evaluation?

• How has this new understanding affected those who have the power to define criteria of success?

• Has this new understanding translated into institutional changes?

• Has a new framework or system evolved or been created as a result of this new understanding?



Thank you – MerciFinal Questions and Discussion

(613) 552-2725

[email protected]

www.knowledgemobilization.net

@peterlevesque

Knowledge Mobilization WorksFairmont Chateau Laurier1 Rideau Street, Suite 700Ottawa, ON, K1N 8S7

2014 82

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.knowledgemobilization.net/

Community of Practice: creating, managing, sustaining Peter Norman Levesque Institute for Knowledge...

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