05 September 2007 ALT-C, Nottingham

Criteria Conditions Philosophy Identity

Emerge is an innovative, 28 month, user-centred, investigation-led, consortium-based project, funded by the JISC and guided by the principles of appreciative inquiry. There are about 28 institutions, 45 project teams and 210 individual participants. The aim is to support the formation of an "effective and sustainable community of practice” around the Users and Innovation Development Model, using Web2.0 technologies.

Emerge is the support project for the JISC Capital Programme, Next Generation Technologies and Practices (Users and Innovation) strand

Communities cannot be magicked into being We do not know how to make a CoP It has to be enquiry-led It has to be fun Opening stance

Scott Wilson typology of communities Practice Interest Action Purpose Circumstance Position http://www.slideshare.net/scottw/social-software-17042/

Scott Wilson

typology of communities

Practice

Interest

Action

Purpose

Circumstance

Position

Communities Share learning, interests, goals, tasks, values, adversity, place, identity …

A model of software development

Investigating the processes that support the emergence of our community

Facilitation of community development features Examples of activities collective inquiry A meta-community of purpose community defines own activities Promoting the ‘affinity’ that brings members together mutual engagement, using shared repertoires collective negotiation member profiles blended, flexible, distributed tagging to establish links between members visual mapping of existing communities & interests creation of member run interest sub-groups & meeting places exit strategy skilled human facilitation member created content & scheduled web-workshops purposeful engagement

Collective inquiry Iterative and ongoing Inform the community tasks and operation Be a tool for positive change Support multiple, differing viewpoints Involve multiple data collection methods and times.

Iterative and ongoing

Inform the community tasks and operation

Be a tool for positive change

Support multiple, differing viewpoints

Involve multiple data collection methods and times.

Appreciative Inquiry (Cooperrider & Ludema). What you want more of already exists somewhere in the community Communities move in the direction they study

What you want more of already exists somewhere in the community

Communities move in the direction they study

In pairs, take 10 minutes to Describe a time when you were the member of a community when you felt really energized , creative and innovative .

Describe a time when you were the member of a community when you felt really energized , creative and innovative .

How did it go? Share an adjective or phrase to describe your experience of the interview.

Share an adjective or phrase to describe your experience of the interview.

Appreciative Inquiry: The 4-D model Positive topic choice DISCOVERY Appreciating ‘the best of what is’ DREAM Envisioning ‘ what could be’ DESIGN Co-constructing ‘ what should be’ DELIVER Sustaining ‘ what will be’

Topic choice 3 to 5 ‘juicy and compelling’ topics which: affirmative (stated positively) desirable (we want more of them) genuinely curious about will take us where we want to go

3 to 5 ‘juicy and compelling’ topics which:

affirmative (stated positively)

desirable (we want more of them)

genuinely curious about

will take us where we want to go

Appreciative Questions What processes support the development of the online community? What gives life to the community? What should be the role of the JISC in creating and supporting such communities? What processes support the emergence of technology supported communities?

What processes support the development of the online community?

What gives life to the community?

What should be the role of the JISC in creating and supporting such communities?

What processes support the emergence of technology supported communities?

DISCOVERY What helped? interviews Sharing Stories Send us a postcard

What are your hopes for the Emerge community? DREAM

Continuation e.g. “ to continue as a space to share practice, interests, thoughts, ideas related to eL”. A ‘ space to share ’ e.g to disseminate information, as a ‘repository for the exchange of ideas’, finding potential research partners, to feedback on experiences. A series of smaller communities where the users have a higher profile and the community architects fade into the background . DREAM

Continuation e.g. “ to continue as a space to share practice, interests, thoughts, ideas related to eL”.

A ‘ space to share ’ e.g to disseminate information, as a ‘repository for the exchange of ideas’, finding potential research partners, to feedback on experiences.

A series of smaller communities where the users have a higher profile and the community architects fade into the background .

Criteria Conditions Philosophy Identity

Appreciative inquiry The act of research has a transforming effect on the subject of research. The aim of research is to bring about change. Appreciative Inquiry attempts to get beyond the essentialism, ethical foundationalism and hierarchies of identity politics to embrace a more radical constructionism in relational theory. (Gergen, 1999) Appreciative inquiry is criticised for unknowable interiorisation and being "... Pollyanna-ish or excessively focused on warm, fuzzy group hugs" (Grant and Humphries, 2006 p. 404) e.g.: it …is different to critical knowing; it has its basis a metaphysical concern positing that human life is a miracle that never can be comprehended fully (Cowling, 2001, p. 34) By applying a rigorous, anti-essentialist, critical theory-led approach, appreciative inquiry can provide a firm foundation as a research approach and evaluation methodology.

Appreciative inquiry

The act of research has a transforming effect on the subject of research. The aim of research is to bring about change.

Appreciative Inquiry attempts to get beyond the essentialism, ethical foundationalism and hierarchies of identity politics to embrace a more radical constructionism in relational theory. (Gergen, 1999)

Appreciative inquiry is criticised for unknowable interiorisation and being "... Pollyanna-ish or excessively focused on warm, fuzzy group hugs" (Grant and Humphries, 2006 p. 404)

e.g.: it …is different to critical knowing; it has its basis a metaphysical concern positing that human life is a miracle that never can be comprehended fully (Cowling, 2001, p. 34)

By applying a rigorous, anti-essentialist, critical theory-led approach, appreciative inquiry can provide a firm foundation as a research approach and evaluation methodology.

Conditions Bounded openness Heterogeneous similarity Mutable stability Sustainable development Adaptable model Structured freedom Multimodal identity Serious fun

Bounded openness

Heterogeneous similarity

Mutable stability

Sustainable development

Adaptable model

Structured freedom

Multimodal identity

Serious fun

Criteria Multiple Contextualised Relative Real users involved in development teams Projects have real impact in institutions Ongoing, reflexively self-aware, purposeful community of collaborators Affectionate recollection Wider adoption - and adaptation - of the model Positive return on investment indicators

Multiple

Contextualised

Relative

Real users involved in development teams

Projects have real impact in institutions

Ongoing, reflexively self-aware, purposeful community of collaborators

Affectionate recollection

Wider adoption - and adaptation - of the model

Positive return on investment indicators

Discussion

Discussion