1. Peer Learning through online Communities of Practice (CoP)
OUTLINE - OCASI presentation - DRAFT April 28, 2010
“Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for
something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly”, says
Etienne Wenger.
Agenda
Introduce myself and review agenda- 5 minutes
Your Experience exercise - talk to your neighbour 5 minutes
Debrief and Patterns - 10 minutes
Tamarack’s experience - presentation 15
Reflection Exercise and Debrief- 10 minutes
Q and A
Tools, Tips and Where to Learn More 5 minutes
Sign up for OCASI CoPs
Outline of Presentation
• Options for remote CoPs - telephone, synchronous online, asynchronous online
• Purposes
• What to do and what to avoid
• Principles to follow
• Examples of inspiring success stories
• Key reference materials to consider
1. Your Experience -, choose one example of a CoP to which you belong, or have belonged. Ask for
some examples from personal or work lives.
2. Take a minute to think and write down, then take two or three minutes to share with your neighbour
- the concern or passion in a nutshell (domain)
- how you interacted - method, how often
- one thing you learned to do better from this group
- one challenge you encountered
3. Debrief - examples of CoPs you belong to, share answers, look for patterns
4. Presentation: Tamarack’s CoP’s
5. Reflection Exercise -
6. Handout

2. PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Where term “CoP” came from
Tamarack’s Context:, e.g. Domains
Multisectoral Collaboration
Collaborative leadership
Complex environments
Community development and public engagement
Poverty Reduction
Formats:
• Open tele-learning calls: “learning community”,
o Up to one hundred people per call - radio style interview with a presenter, and Q and
A. Post-call webpage and audio file/podcast.
o Not quite as CoP, as not very interactive, not based primarily on participants’
experience, and same group does not interact regulary and domain changes for
every call
• Vibrant Communities CoPs - VC started in 2001: multisectoral initiatives in 12 communities
across Canada, focused on poverty reduction.
• Convenors - 12 VC communities, but others in leadership groups often participate
• Evaluation - about 50 names, usually about 10 to 20 on a call,
• Living Wage - about 15 people
• Engaging Business - about 15 people
• Mostly telephone supported by webpages/podcasts
o Experiments with wikis, forums, blogs
Issues and Patterns
• Remote CoP’s - opportunities and challenges of telephone, online communities
o Combination of face-to- events, coaching, regional connections
• Tension - structured vs evolving, formal vs informal
o Vary kinds of calls e.g. Peer Input Sessions, Case studies, check-ins/updates, going
deep on an issue
• Tension Newbies/Experienced - orientation and overview vs depth
o Moderator helpful, mentors, buddies or ‘sponsor/host’ might help
Wenger’s principles for convening a community of practice:

3. 1. Design for evolution.
2. Open a dialogue.
3. Invite different levels of participation.
4. Develop public and private spaces.
5. Focus on value.
6. Combine familiarity and excitement.
7. Create a rhythm for the community.
Purposes for a CoP - different kinds, when appropriate,
Roles of participants
• Leaders 1%
• Contributors 9%
• “Lurkers” or Wenger’s term: Legitimate Peripheral Participants 99%
CoPs compared to
• Training
• Research
• One to one mentoring or job shadowing
• Other kinds of peer learning
Reflection Exercise