‘ Creating an information literate Scotland’ Community of Practice Lesley Thomson Knowledge Management Officer, Scottish Centre for Regeneration

What is a Community of Practice (CoP)? What it is about – joint enterprise as understood and continually renegotiated by its members How it functions – mutual engagement that bind members together into a social entity What capability it has produced – shared repertoire of communal resources that members have developed over time Wenger, E. (1998) 'Communities of Practice. Learning as a social system', Systems Thinker , http://www.co-i-l.com/coil/knowledge-garden/cop/lss.shtml . Accessed September 10 2007.

What it is about – joint enterprise as understood and continually renegotiated by its members

How it functions – mutual engagement that bind members together into a social entity

What capability it has produced – shared repertoire of communal resources that members have developed over time

Wenger, E. (1998) 'Communities of Practice. Learning as a social system', Systems Thinker , http://www.co-i-l.com/coil/knowledge-garden/cop/lss.shtml . Accessed September 10 2007.

Types of CoP Helping Communities - forum for members to help each other with everyday work needs Best Practice Communities - develop and disseminate good practice, guidelines, and procedures Knowledge Stewarding Communities - organise, manage, and steward a body of knowledge Innovation Communities - create breakthrough ideas, new knowledge, and new practices

Helping Communities - forum for members to help each other with everyday work needs

Best Practice Communities - develop and disseminate good practice, guidelines, and procedures

Knowledge Stewarding Communities - organise, manage, and steward a body of knowledge

Innovation Communities - create breakthrough ideas, new knowledge, and new practices

Community Roles Champion/Sponsor - able to envision the services of a CoP over time Facilitator/Coordinator - consulting, connecting, facilitating, helping, guiding Leader - energises the sharing process and provides continuous nourishment for the community Librarian - organises information/data Technical Steward - understands business needs and ensures the appropriate tools are available to meet them Experts - subject matter specialist Members - without these there is no community; the essence of a community is its members

Champion/Sponsor - able to envision the services of a CoP over time

Facilitator/Coordinator - consulting, connecting, facilitating, helping, guiding

Leader - energises the sharing process and provides continuous nourishment for the community

Librarian - organises information/data

Technical Steward - understands business needs and ensures the appropriate tools are available to meet them

Experts - subject matter specialist

Members - without these there is no community; the essence of a community is its members

your the www. .idea.gov.uk communities BIG

CoP Platform IDeA and IS support local government improvement by helping councils connect, collaborate and share knowledge CoPs key tool for continuous and sustainable improvement IDeA commissioned platform to deliver the largest professional networking environment in the public sector IS agreement with IDeA to enable use of the platform by groups in Scotland increasing use demonstrating how social media tools can facilitate more effective networking and collaboration

IDeA and IS support local government improvement by helping councils connect, collaborate and share knowledge

CoPs key tool for continuous and sustainable improvement

IDeA commissioned platform to deliver the largest professional networking environment in the public sector

IS agreement with IDeA to enable use of the platform by groups in Scotland

increasing use demonstrating how social media tools can facilitate more effective networking and collaboration