This document discusses the potential benefits of communities of practice for AADE's Special Practice Groups (SPGs) and chapters. Communities of practice are groups of people who share a common interest and learn from each other. They can increase productivity, communication, knowledge sharing, and leadership development within an organization. The document suggests that communities of practice could help AADE's SPGs and chapters by facilitating collaboration, developing best practices, reducing learning curves for members, and advancing the organization's strategic goals. However, barriers like geography, leadership, time constraints, and ensuring participation from all relevant groups would need to be addressed.

1. Communities of Practice… Benefits to AADE’s SPGs & Chapters? Leadership Development Series AADE Annual Meeting -- Los Angeles, CA August 8, 2006 Nancy D’Hondt RPh, CDE Margie Lawlor, MS, CDE

2. “ Communities of Practice” … A peer-driven approach connecting people and knowledge through meaningful conversations of what works in practice.

3. A Theoretical Model A learning theory conceptualized by Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger proposing the idea that Learning is social and comes largely from our experience of participating in daily life A process of engagement in a 'community of practice'.

4. According to Wenger… CoP defines itself along 3 dimensions: What it is about Joint enterprise as understood and continually renegotiated by its members. How it functions Mutual engagement that bind members together What capability it has produced Shared repertoire of communal resources (routines, artefacts, vocabulary, styles, etc.) developed over time ( http://www.infed.org/biblio/communities_of_practice.htm )

5. Communities of Practice (CoPs) Groups of people who share a passion for something they do, and learn how to do it better as they interact with other members of the community Develop a shared collection of resources to support work in a specific field

6. 3 Elements The domain The community The Practice Domain Community Practice

7. Domain (Defines the issues) Members have … Identity defined by a shared area of interest Commitment to domain Shared competence

8. Community (People who care about the domain) Members… Participate in joint activities & discussions Help each other Share information Build relationships so that hey learn from each other

9. Practice (Shared ideas, tools, info., goals) Members are … Practitioners Develop a shared repertoire of resources Experiences Stories Tools Ways of addressing recurring problems

10. Key Features of CoPs Communication: Managed by making connections Shared Domain of Practice, knowledge and resources Focus on value, mutual exchange and learning Crosses operational, functional and organizational boundaries Defined by people, not tasks

11. What CoPs Do Facilitate collaboration/communication Develop/Identify Subject Matter Experts Filter out incorrect information by peer groups Capture knowledge (intellectual capital) Prevent re-inventing the wheel by sharing knowledge and experiences Share successful (best) practices Decrease learning curve Increase organizational learning

12. Benefits of a CoPs Access to knowledge and experience Build relationships with those who have expertise in a particular domain Develop best practices through discussions and sharing of ideas Learn how others have solved problems, instead of reinventing the wheel Keep up-to-date at the time and pace of the individual member Develop a community spirit.

14. Growing CoPs “… you cannot force a plant to grow by pulling its leaves… what you can do is create the infrastructure in which it can prosper.” - Etienne Wenger, 1999

15. AADE & Communities of Practice What Would a CoP Offer to AADE SPGs & Chapters?

16. AADE Chapters SPGs

17. Organizational Benefits Increased Productivity & Performance Through enhanced professional relationships and trusted knowledge. Stronger Organizational Communication The creation of a sharing environment between trusted peers facilitates stronger organizational communication, increased organizational use of best practices, contributing to stronger overall excellence & professionalism.

18. Organizational Benefits Intellectual property of experts within AADE will enable our leadership to have information to efficiently make critical decisions and respond quickly Stability Communities of practice foster knowledge generation and professional development contributing to stability within the organization

19. Organizational Benefits Knowledge ecology Broaden & enrich the knowledge domain. Build the intellectual capital of AADE and decrease the learning curve of members…Advance the profession! Leadership development Community councils will prepare future leaders. Advance strategic goals All these organizational benefits will serve to advance AADE’s Strategic Plan

20. Learning Curve Leveraging New Knowledge Normal Learning Curve - - - - - L E A R N I N G - - - - - - - - - - T I M E - - - - - - - Improving the Way We Learn

22. What will the CoP provide to AADE SPGs & Chapters? Focus -- passion for quality Trusted environment Member connection through conversation Innovation and creativity Committment to the profession & organization Capability to share horizontally and/or vertically across the organization Knowledge is social… Relationships power communities and enable knowledge transfer

23. What Value Does a CoP Offer to AADE SPGs & Chapters? Connections Membership reaches across the Organization Former, future and current members “ Others” who provide value and knowledge to the community Content Resource for useful, “practice” knowledge Provided in context Rich conversation and knowledge transfer

24. What Value (con’t) Community Professional focus with a positive voice Trust and sense of community Familiar and “friendly” face

27. Barriers SPG’s may feel threatened—especially large or strong groups Individuality lost Financials Lack of buy-in from stakeholders “ Tweeners”—may be important to more than one community

28. Body of Knowledge Experiences Templates Insights Tools Best Practices Share Problems

30. SPG & Chapter Hurdles Geography Leadership Consistency Time Work groups Communication

31. Summary Communities are the people end of the knowledge spectrum Utilize the untapped potential to enrich education and learning Knowledge is social…Relationships power communities and enable knowledge transfer

33. COP : CPC & SPG Applications How would you align the Communities of Practice? Setting? Discipline? Geography? … ? Chapters: Can you visualize the Chapter Community of Practice model? CPC? AADE? Other Chapters Other? SPGs: How do you visualize the leadership model within the “SPG” communities of practice? What does the SPG look like – Council? Officers? # of members? Etc….