Communities of Practice

The idea of a "Community of Practice" has been around for a very long time, but in the last few years it has been popularised by the interpretation given to it by Etiene Wenger. From an organisational learning perspective "Communities of Practice" are means of expressing and implementing within a wider organisational context a process of learning that will advance the organisation's achievements.
Wegner proposes three fundamental elements in a community of practice; a knowledge domain; practices based on the knowledge; and a community of learning practitioners. So a C. of P. is a system for developing best practice through sharing experiential learning. All the principles of a Learning Organisation can be found in successful Communities of Practice.

Unlike an organisation a C. of P. does not have an institutional framework. It exists because of the interest and energy of its members who may terminate its existence at any time. The C. of P. exists to develop members capabilities and to give them a focus for their passion for the topic.

SoLA has a strong interest in C. of P.s since they are a vehicle for exposing other staff in an organisation to the value of enhancing both their own and their shared learning capability.

Community Of Practice - COMPLEXITY

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Community Of Practice - GENERAL DISCUSSION

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Community Of Practice - SOFT SYSTEMS

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