In a minimum 250-word paragraph, Answer the following questons: what do you see as the biggest difference between communites of practice and discoures communities. Between the two frameworks, which do you find to be the most useful for thinking about your professional and academic life and why? Explain and give examples. 

Communities

of
 practice
 
  1
 
A
 brief
 introduction
 –
 V
 April
 15,
 2015
 

Communities
 of
 practice
 
a
 brief
 introduction
 

 
Etienne
 and
 Beverly
 Wenger-­‐Trayner
 

 
A
 group
 of
 internal
 auditors
 in
 the
 public
 sector
 from
 different
 countries
 in
 Eastern
 
Europe
 and
 Central
 Asia
 were
 having
 their
 34th
 official
 meeting.
 For
 seven
 years
 now
 
they
 had
 been
 coming
 together
 to
 hear
 how
 others
 in
 the
 region
 were
 engaged
 in
 
internal
 audit
 and
 to
 create
 manuals
 and
 other
 publications
 that
 they
 felt
 were
 missing
 
from
 their
 profession.
 
 Only
 a
 few
 of
 the
 original
 members
 were
 still
 part
 of
 the
 group,
 
but
 the
 shared
 work,
 stories,
 and
 artifacts
 created
 over
 time
 gave
 their
 meetings
 a
 sense
 
of
 continuity
 and
 purpose.
 If
 you
 were
 a
 fly-­‐on-­‐the
 wall
 at
 one
 of
 their
 events
 you
 would
 
notice
 how
 new
 members
 were
 warmly
 welcomed
 into
 “the
 family”,
 how
 many
 people
 
stepped
 up
 to
 take
 initiative
 or
 share
 their
 war
 stories,
 and
 how
 ambitious
 core
 members
 
were
 to
 advance
 the
 practice
 of
 internal
 audit
 in
 the
 public
 sector
 in
 the
 region.
 Evening
 
events,
 organized
 by
 the
 host
 country,
 were
 always
 lively
 -­‐
 with
 singing,
 dancing
 and
 the
 
singing
 of
 a
 hymn
 composed
 and
 sung
 by
 members.
 

-­‐ The
 PEMPAL
 Internal
 Auditors
 Community
 of
 Practice
 
-­‐
 

The
 term
 “community
 of
 practice”
 is
 of
 relatively
 recent
 coinage,
 even
 though
 the
 
phenomenon
 it
 refers
 to
 is
 age-­‐old.
 The
 concept
 has
 turned
 out
 to
 provide
 a
 useful
 
perspective
 on
 knowing
 and
 learning.
 A
 growing
 number
 of
 people
 and
 organizations
 in
 
various
 sectors
 are
 now
 focusing
 on
 communities
 of
 practice
 as
 a
 key
 to
 improving
 their
 
performance.
 
 

This
 brief
 and
 general
 introduction
 examines
 what
 communities
 of
 practice
 are
 and
 why
 
researchers
 and
 practitioners
 in
 so
 many
 different
 contexts
 find
 them
 useful
 as
 an
 
approach
 to
 knowing
 and
 learning.
 

What
 are
 communities
 of
 practice?
 
Communities
 of
 practice
 are
 formed
 by
 people
 who
 engage
 in
 a
 process
 of
 collective
 
learning
 in
 a
 shared
 domain
 of
 human
 endeavor:
 a
 tribe
 learning
 to
 survive,
 a
 band
 of
 
artists
 seeking
 new
 forms
 of
 expression,
 a
 group
 of
 engineers
 working
 on
 similar
 
problems,
 a
 clique
 of
 pupils
 defining
 their
 identity
 in
 the
 school,
 a
 network
 of
 surgeons
 
exploring
 novel
 techniques,
 a
 gathering
 of
 first-­‐time
 managers
 helping
 each
 other
 cope.
 
In
 a
 nutshell:
 

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.
 

Communities
 of
 practice
 
  2
 
A
 brief
 introduction
 –
 V
 April
 15,
 2015
 

Note
 that
 this
 definition
 allows
 for,
 but
 does
 not
 assume,
 intentionality:
 learning
 can
 be
 
the
 reason
 the
 community
 comes
 together
 or
 an
 incidental
 outcome
 of
 member’s
 
interactions.
 Not
 everything
 called
 a
 community
 is
 a
 community
 of
 practice.
 A
 
neighborhood
 for
 instance,
 is
 often
 called
 a
 community,
 but
 is
 usually
 not
 a
 community
 
of
 practice.
 Three
 characteristics
 are
 crucial:
 

 
1. The
 domain:
 A
 community
 of
 practice
 is
 not
 merely
 a
 club
 of
 friends
 or
 a
 network
 of
 

connections
 between
 people.
 It
 has
 an
 identity
 defined
 by
 a
 shared
 domain
 of
 
interest.
 Membership
 therefore
 implies
 a
 commitment
 to
 the
 domain,
 and
 
therefore
 a
 shared
 competence
 that
 distinguishes
 members
 from
 other
 people.
 
(You
 could
 belong
 to
 the
 same
 network
 as
 someone
 and
 never
 know
 it.)
 The
 
domain
 is
 not
 necessarily
 something
 recognized
 as
 “expertise”
 outside
 the
 
community.
 A
 youth
 gang
 may
 have
 developed
 all
 sorts
 of
 ways
 of
 dealing
 with
 
their
 domain:
 surviving
 on
 the
 street
 and
 maintaining
 some
 kind
 of
 identity
 they
 can
 
live
 with.
 They
 value
 their
 collective
 competence
 and
 learn
 from
 each
 other,
 even
 
though
 few
 people
 outside
 the
 group
 may
 value
 or
 even
 recognize
 their
 expertise.
 

 
2. The
 community:
 In
 pursuing
 their
 interest
 in
 their
 domain,
 members
 engage
 in
 joint
 

activities
 and
 discussions,
 help
 each
 other,
 and
 share
 information.
 They
 build
 
relationships
 that
 enable
 them
 to
 learn
 from
 each
 other;
 they
 care
 about
 their
 
standing
 
 with
 each
 other.
 
 A
 website
 in
 itself
 is
 not
 a
 community
 of
 practice.
 Having
 
the
 same
 job
 or
 the
 same
 title
 does
 not
 make
 for
 a
 community
 of
 practice
 unless
 
members
 interact
 and
 learn
 together.
 The
 claims
 processors
 in
 a
 large
 insurance
 
company
 or
 students
 in
 American
 high
 schools
 may
 have
 much
 in
 common,
 yet
 
unless
 they
 interact
 and
 learn
 together,
 they
 do
 not
 form
 a
 community
 of
 practice.
 
But
 members
 of
 a
 community
 of
 practice
 do
 not
 necessarily
 work
 together
 on
 a
 
daily
 basis.
 The
 Impressionists,
 for
 instance,
 used
 to
 meet
 in
 cafes
 and
 studios
 to
 
discuss
 the
 style
 of
 painting
 they
 were
 inventing
 together.
 These
 interactions
 were
 
essential
 to
 making
 them
 a
 community
 of
 practice
 even
 though
 they
 often
 painted
 
alone.
 

 
3. The
 practice:
 A
 community
 of
 practice
 is
 not
 merely
 a
 community
 of
 interest-­‐-­‐

people
 who
 like
 certain
 kinds
 of
 movies,
 for
 instance.
 Members
 of
 a
 community
 of
 
practice
 are
 practitioners.
 They
 develop
 a
 shared
 repertoire
 of
 resources:
 
experiences,
 stories,
 tools,
 ways
 of
 addressing
 recurring
 problems—in
 short
 a
 
shared
 practice.
 This
 takes
 time
 and
 sustained
 interaction.
 A
 good
 conversation
 
with
 a
 stranger
 on
 an
 airplane
 may
 give
 you
 all
 sorts
 of
 interesting
 insights,
 but
 it
 
does
 not
 in
 itself
 make
 for
 a
 community
 of
 practice.
 The
 development
 of
 a
 shared
 
practice
 may
 be
 more
 or
 less
 self-­‐conscious.
 The
 “windshield
 wipers”
 engineers
 at
 
an
 auto
 manufacturer
 make
 a
 concerted
 effort
 to
 collect
 and
 document
 the
 tricks
 
and
 lessons
 they
 have
 learned
 into
 a
 knowledge
 base.
 By
 contrast,
 nurses
 who
 meet
 
regularly
 for
 lunch
 in
 a
 hospital
 cafeteria
 may
 not
 realize
 that
 their
 lunch
 discussions
 
are
 one
 of
 their
 main
 sources
 of
 knowledge
 about
 how
 to
 care
 for
 patients.
 Still,
 in
 
the
 course
 of
 all
 these
 conversations,
 they
 have
 developed
 a
 set
 of
 stories
 and
 cases
 
that
 have
 become
 a
 shared
 repertoire
 for
 their
 practice.
 

 
It
 is
 the
 combination
 of
 these
 three
 elements
 that
 constitutes
 a
 community
 of
 practice.
 
And
 it
 is
 by
 developing
 these
 three
 elements
 in
 parallel
 that
 one
 cultivates
 such
 a
 
community.
 

Communities
 of
 practice
 
  3
 
A
 brief
 introduction
 –
 V
 April
 15,
 2015
 

What
 do
 communities
 of
 practice
 look
 like?
 
Communities
 develop
 their
 practice
 through
 a
 variety
 of
 activities.
 The
 following
 
table
 provides
 a
 few
 typical
 examples:
 

Problem
 solving
  “Can
 we
 work
 on
 this
 design
 and
 brainstorm
 some
 ideas;
 
I’m
 stuck.”
 

Requests
 for
 information
  “Where
 can
 I
 find
 the
 code
 to
 connect
 to
 the
 server?”
 
Seeking
 experience
  “Has
 anyone
 dealt
 with
 a
 customer
 in
 this
 situation?”
 
Reusing
 assets
  “I
 have
 a
 proposal
 for
 a
 local
 area
 network
 I
 wrote
 for
 a
 

client
 last
 year.
 I
 can
 send
 it
 to
 you
 and
 you
 can
 easily
 
tweak
 it
 for
 this
 new
 client.”
 

Coordination
 and
 
synergy
 

“Can
 we
 combine
 our
 purchases
 of
 solvent
 to
 achieve
 bulk
 
discounts?”
 

Building
 an
 argument
  “How
 do
 people
 in
 other
 countries
 do
 this?
 Armed
 with
 this
 
information
 it
 will
 be
 easier
 to
 convince
 my
 Ministry
 to
 
make
 some
 changes.”
 

Growing
 confidence
  “Before
 I
 do
 it,
 I’ll
 run
 it
 through
 my
 community
 first
 to
 see
 
what
 they
 think.”
 

Discussing
 developments
  “What
 do
 you
 think
 of
 the
 new
 CAD
 system?
 Does
 it
 really
 
help?”
 

Documenting
 projects
  “We
 have
 faced
 this
 problem
 five
 times
 now.
 Let
 us
 write
 it
 
down
 once
 and
 for
 all.”
 

Visits
  “Can
 we
 come
 and
 see
 your
 after-­‐school
 program?
 We
 
need
 to
 establish
 one
 in
 our
 city.”
 

Mapping
 knowledge
 and
 
identifying
 gaps
 

“Who
 knows
 what,
 and
 what
 are
 we
 missing?
 What
 other
 
groups
 should
 we
 connect
 with?”
 

 
Communities
 of
 practice
 are
 not
 called
 that
 in
 all
 organizations.
 They
 are
 known
 under
 
various
 names,
 such
 as
 learning
 networks,
 thematic
 groups,
 or
 tech
 clubs.
 
 

 
While
 they
 all
 have
 the
 three
 elements
 of
 a
 domain,
 a
 community,
 and
 a
 practice,
 they
 
come
 in
 a
 variety
 of
 forms.
 Some
 are
 quite
 small;
 some
 are
 very
 large,
 often
 with
 a
 core
 
group
 and
 many
 peripheral
 members.
 Some
 are
 local
 and
 some
 cover
 the
 globe.
 Some
 
meet
 mainly
 face-­‐to-­‐face,
 some
 mostly
 online.
 Some
 are
 within
 an
 organization
 and
 
some
 include
 members
 from
 various
 organizations.
 Some
 are
 formally
 recognized,
 often
 
supported
 with
 a
 budget;
 and
 some
 are
 completely
 informal
 and
 even
 invisible.
 

 
Communities
 of
 practice
 have
 been
 around
 for
 as
 long
 as
 human
 beings
 have
 learned
 
together.
 At
 home,
 at
 work,
 at
 school,
 in
 our
 hobbies,
 we
 all
 belong
 to
 communities
 of
 
practice,
 a
 number
 of
 them
 usually.
 In
 some
 we
 are
 core
 members.
 In
 many
 we
 are
 
merely
 peripheral.
 And
 we
 travel
 through
 numerous
 communities
 over
 the
 course
 of
 our
 
lives.
 
 

 
In
 fact,
 communities
 of
 practice
 are
 everywhere.
 They
 are
 a
 familiar
 experience,
 so
 
familiar
 perhaps
 that
 it
 often
 escapes
 our
 attention.
 Yet
 when
 it
 is
 given
 a
 name
 and
 
brought
 into
 focus,
 it
 becomes
 a
 perspective
 that
 can
 help
 us
 understand
 our
 world
 
better.
 In
 particular,
 it
 allows
 us
 to
 see
 past
 more
 obvious
 formal
 structures
 such
 as
 
organizations,
 classrooms,
 or
 nations,
 and
 perceive
 the
 structures
 defined
 by
 
engagement
 in
 practice
 and
 the
 informal
 learning
 that
 comes
 with
 it.
 

Communities
 of
 practice
 
  4
 
A
 brief
 introduction
 –
 V
 April
 15,
 2015
 

Where
 does
 the
 concept
 come
 from?
 
Social
 scientists
 have
 used
 versions
 of
 the
 concept
 of
 community
 of
 practice
 for
 a
 variety
 
of
 analytical
 purposes,
 but
 the
 origin
 and
 primary
 use
 of
 the
 concept
 has
 been
 in
 
learning
 theory.
 Anthropologist
 Jean
 Lave
 and
 Etienne
 Wenger
 coined
 the
 term
 while
 
studying
 apprenticeship
 as
 a
 learning
 model.
 People
 usually
 think
 of
 apprenticeship
 as
 a
 
relationship
 between
 a
 student
 and
 a
 master,
 but
 studies
 of
 apprenticeship
 reveal
 a
 
more
 complex
 set
 of
 social
 relationships
 through
 which
 learning
 takes
 place
 mostly
 with
 
journeymen
 and
 more
 advanced
 apprentices.
 The
 term
 community
 of
 practice
 was
 
coined
 to
 refer
 to
 the
 community
 that
 acts
 as
 a
 living
 curriculum
 for
 the
 apprentice.
 
Once
 the
 concept
 was
 articulated,
 we
 started
 to
 see
 these
 communities
 everywhere,
 
even
 when
 no
 formal
 apprenticeship
 system
 existed.
 And
 of
 course,
 learning
 in
 a
 
community
 of
 practice
 is
 not
 limited
 to
 novices.
 The
 practice
 of
 a
 community
 is
 dynamic
 
and
 involves
 learning
 on
 the
 part
 of
 everyone.
 

Where
 is
 the
 concept
 being
 applied?
 
The
 concept
 of
 community
 of
 practice
 has
 found
 a
 number
 of
 practical
 applications
 in
 
business,
 organizational
 design,
 government,
 education,
 professional
 associations,
 
development
 projects,
 and
 civic
 life.
 
 

 
Organizations.
 The
 concept
 has
 been
 adopted
 most
 readily
 by
 people
 in
 business
 
because
 of
 the
 recognition
 that
 knowledge
 is
 a
 critical
 asset
 that
 needs
 to
 be
 managed
 
strategically.
 Initial
 efforts
 at
 managing
 knowledge
 had
 focused
 on
 information
 systems
 
with
 disappointing
 results.
 Communities
 of
 practice
 provided
 a
 new
 approach,
 which
 
focused
 on
 people
 and
 on
 the
 social
 structures
 that
 enable
 them
 to
 learn
 with
 and
 from
 
each
 other.
 Today,
 there
 is
 hardly
 any
 organization
 of
 a
 reasonable
 size
 that
 does
 not
 
have
 some
 form
 communities-­‐of-­‐practice
 initiative.
 A
 number
 of
 characteristics
 explain
 
this
 rush
 of
 interest
 in
 communities
 of
 practice
 as
 a
 vehicle
 for
 developing
 strategic
 
capabilities
 in
 organizations:
 
§ Communities
 of
 practice
 enable
 practitioners
 to
 take
 collective
 responsibility
 for
 

managing
 the
 knowledge
 they
 need,
 recognizing
 that,
 given
 the
 proper
 structure,
 
they
 are
 in
 the
 best
 position
 to
 do
 this.
 

§ Communities
 among
 practitioners
 create
 a
 direct
 link
 between
 learning
 and
 
performance,
 because
 the
 same
 people
 participate
 in
 communities
 of
 practice
 and
 
in
 teams
 and
 business
 units.
 

§ Practitioners
 can
 address
 the
 tacit
 and
 dynamic
 aspects
 of
 knowledge
 creation
 and
 
sharing,
 as
 well
 as
 the
 more
 explicit
 aspects.
 

§ Communities
 are
 not
 limited
 by
 formal
 structures:
 they
 create
 connections
 among
 
people
 across
 organizational
 and
 geographic
 boundaries.
 

From
 this
 perspective,
 the
 knowledge
 of
 an
 organization
 lives
 in
 a
 constellation
 of
 
communities
 of
 practice
 each
 taking
 care
 of
 a
 specific
 aspect
 of
 the
 competence
 that
 the
 
organization
 needs.
 However,
 the
 very
 characteristics
 that
 make
 communities
 of
 
practice
 a
 good
 fit
 for
 stewarding
 knowledge—autonomy,
 practitioner-­‐orientation,
 
informality,
 crossing
 boundaries—are
 also
 characteristics
 that
 make
 them
 a
 challenge
 
for
 traditional
 hierarchical
 organizations.
 How
 this
 challenge
 is
 going
 to
 affect
 these
 
organizations
 remains
 to
 be
 seen.
 

 
Government.
 Like
 businesses,
 government
 organizations
 face
 knowledge
 challenges
 of
 
increasing
 complexity
 and
 scale.
 They
 have
 adopted
 communities
 of
 practice
 for
 much
 
the
 same
 reasons,
 though
 the
 formality
 of
 the
 bureaucracy
 can
 come
 in
 the
 way
 of
 open
 
knowledge
 sharing.
 Beyond
 internal
 communities,
 there
 are
 typical
 government
 

Communities
 of
 practice
 
  5
 
A
 brief
 introduction
 –
 V
 April
 15,
 2015
 

problems
 such
 as
 education,
 health,
 and
 security
 that
 require
 coordination
 and
 
knowledge
 sharing
 across
 levels
 of
 government.
 There
 also,
 communities
 of
 practice
 
hold
 the
 promise
 of
 enabling
 connections
 among
 people
 across
 formal
 structures.
 And
 
there
 also,
 there
 are
 substantial
 organizational
 issues
 to
 overcome.
 

 
Education.
 Schools
 and
 districts
 are
 organizations
 in
 their
 own
 right,
 and
 they
 too
 face
 
increasing
 knowledge
 challenges.
 The
 first
 applications
 of
 communities
 of
 practice
 have
 
been
 in
 teacher
 training
 and
 in
 providing
 isolated
 administrators
 with
 access
 to
 
colleagues.
 There
 is
 a
 wave
 of
 interest
 in
 these
 peer-­‐to-­‐peer
 professional-­‐development
 
activities.
 But
 in
 the
 education
 sector,
 learning
 is
 not
 only
 a
 means
 to
 an
 end:
 it
 the
 end
 
product.
 The
 perspective
 of
 communities
 of
 practice
 is
 therefore
 also
 relevant
 at
 this
 
level.
 In
 business,
 focusing
 on
 communities
 of
 practice
 adds
 a
 layer
 of
 complexity
 to
 the
 
organization,
 but
 it
 does
 not
 fundamentally
 change
 what
 the
 business
 is
 about.
 In
 
schools,
 changing
 the
 learning
 theory
 is
 a
 much
 deeper
 transformation.
 This
 will
 
inevitably
 take
 longer.
 The
 perspective
 of
 communities
 of
 practice
 affects
 educational
 
practices
 along
 three
 dimensions:
 
§ Internally:
 How
 to
 organize
 educational
 experiences
 that
 ground
 school
 learning
 in
 

practice
 through
 participation
 in
 communities
 around
 subject
 matters?
 
§ Externally:
 How
 to
 connect
 the
 experience
 of
 students
 to
 actual
 practice
 through
 

peripheral
 forms
 of
 participation
 in
 broader
 communities
 beyond
 the
 walls
 of
 the
 
school?
 
 

§ Over
 the
 lifetime
 of
 students:
 How
 to
 serve
 the
 lifelong
 learning
 needs
 of
 students
 
by
 organizing
 communities
 of
 practice
 focused
 on
 topics
 of
 continuing
 interest
 to
 
students
 beyond
 the
 initial
 schooling
 period?
 

From
 this
 perspective,
 the
 school
 is
 not
 the
 privileged
 locus
 of
 learning.
 It
 is
 not
 a
 self-­‐
contained,
 closed
 world
 in
 which
 students
 acquire
 knowledge
 to
 be
 applied
 outside,
 but
 
a
 part
 of
 a
 broader
 learning
 system.
 The
 class
 is
 not
 the
 primary
 learning
 event.
 It
 is
 life
 
itself
 that
 is
 the
 main
 learning
 event.
 Schools,
 classrooms,
 and
 training
 sessions
 still
 have
 
a
 role
 to
 play
 in
 this
 vision,
 but
 they
 have
 to
 be
 in
 the
 service
 of
 the
 learning
 that
 
happens
 in
 the
 world.
 

 
Associations.
 A
 growing
 number
 of
 associations,
 professional
 and
 otherwise,
 are
 seeking
 
ways
 to
 focus
 on
 learning
 through
 reflection
 on
 practice.
 Their
 members
 are
 restless
 and
 
their
 allegiance
 is
 fragile.
 They
 need
 to
 offer
 high-­‐value
 learning
 activities.
 The
 peer-­‐to-­‐
peer
 learning
 activities
 typical
 of
 communities
 of
 practice
 offer
 a
 complementary
 
alternative
 to
 more
 traditional
 course
 offerings
 and
 publications.
 

 
Social
 sector.
 In
 the
 civic
 domain,
 there
 is
 an
 emergent
 interest
 in
 building
 communities
 
among
 practitioners.
 In
 the
 non-­‐profit
 world,
 for
 instance,
 foundations
 are
 recognizing
 
that
 philanthropy
 needs
 focus
 on
 learning
 systems
 in
 order
 to
 fully
 leverage
 funded
 
projects.
 But
 practitioners
 are
 seeking
 peer-­‐to-­‐peer
 connections
 and
 learning
 
opportunities
 with
 or
 without
 the
 support
 of
 institutions.
 This
 includes
 regional
 
economic
 development,
 with
 intra-­‐regional
 communities
 on
 various
 domains,
 as
 well
 as
 
inter-­‐regional
 learning
 with
 communities
 gathering
 practitioners
 from
 various
 regions.
 

 
International
 development.
 There
 is
 increasing
 recognition
 that
 the
 challenge
 of
 
developing
 nations
 is
 as
 much
 a
 knowledge
 as
 a
 financial
 challenge.
 A
 number
 of
 people
 
believe
 that
 a
 communities-­‐of-­‐practice
 approach
 can
 provide
 a
 new
 paradigm
 for
 
development
 work.
 It
 emphasizes
 knowledge
 building
 among
 practitioners.
 Some
 
development
 agencies
 now
 see
 their
 role
 as
 conveners
 of
 such
 communities,
 rather
 
than
 as
 providers
 of
 knowledge.
 

Communities
 of
 practice
 
  6
 
A
 brief
 introduction
 –
 V
 April
 15,
 2015
 

 
The
 web.
 New
 technologies
 such
 as
 the
 Internet
 have
 extended
 the
 reach
 of
 our
 
interactions
 beyond
 the
 geographical
 limitations
 of
 traditional
 communities,
 but
 the
 
increase
 in
 flow
 of
 information
 does
 not
 obviate
 the
 need
 for
 community.
 In
 fact,
 it
 
expands
 the
 possibilities
 for
 community
 and
 calls
 for
 new
 kinds
 of
 communities
 based
 
on
 shared
 practice.
 

 
The
 concept
 of
 community
 of
 practice
 is
 influencing
 theory
 and
 practice
 in
 many
 
domains.
 From
 humble
 beginnings
 in
 apprenticeship
 studies,
 the
 concept
 was
 grabbed
 
by
 businesses
 interested
 in
 knowledge
 management
 and
 has
 progressively
 found
 its
 way
 
into
 other
 sectors.
 It
 has
 now
 become
 the
 foundation
 of
 a
 perspective
 on
 knowing
 and
 
learning
 that
 informs
 efforts
 to
 create
 learning
 systems
 in
 various
 sectors
 and
 at
 various
 
levels
 of
 scale,
 from
 local
 communities,
 to
 single
 organizations,
 partnerships,
 cities,
 
regions,
 and
 the
 entire
 world.
 

 
Myths
 about
 communities
 of
 practice
 
The
 diversity
 of
 types
 of
 communities
 across
 different
 sectors
 has
 shown
 that
 there
 is
 no
 
one-­‐recipe-­‐fits-­‐all,
 despite
 some
 of
 the
 claims
 that
 are
 made
 about
 them.
 Here
 are
 some
 
of
 the
 assertions
 or
 “myths”
 that
 have
 won
 some
 acclaim,
 in
 part
 due
 to
 the
 
interpretation
 of
 early
 theoretical
 writing
 about
 them.
 
 

 
Communities
 of
 practice
 are
 always
 self-­‐organizing
 
False.
 Some
 communities
 do
 self-­‐organize
 and
 are
 very
 effective.
 But
 most
 communities
 
need
 some
 cultivation
 to
 be
 sure
 that
 members
 get
 high
 value
 for
 their
 time.
 
 

 
There
 are
 no
 leaders
 in
 a
 true
 community
 of
 practice
 
Mostly
 false.
 In
 many
 communities
 of
 practice
 decisions
 need
 to
 be
 taken,
 conditions
 
need
 to
 be
 put
 in
 place,
 strategic
 conversations
 need
 to
 be
 had.
 Not
 all
 members
 see
 
value
 in
 being
 involved
 in
 these
 processes.
 Whether
 you
 call
 them
 leaders,
 co-­‐
ordinators,
 or
 stewards,
 someone
 needs
 to
 do
 it
 -­‐
 and
 it
 is
 as
 well
 to
 recognize
 them
 for
 
the
 role
 they
 play.
 

 
True
 communities
 of
 practice
 are
 informal
 
 
False.
 There
 are
 many
 informal
 communities
 of
 practice.
 And
 there
 are
 many
 formal
 
ones
 too.
 The
 more
 intentionally
 they
 are
 used
 for
 developing
 the
 strategic
 capability
 of
 
an
 organization
 or
 a
 cause,
 the
 more
 likely
 they
 are
 to
 have
 to
 go
 through
 some
 formal
 
process
 to
 be
 recognized
 as
 such.
 

 
The
 role
 of
 a
 community
 of
 practice
 is
 to
 share
 existing
 knowledge
 
Partially
 true.
 
 The
 experience
 people
 have
 to
 share
 is
 clearly
 important.
 But
 
communities
 of
 practice
 also
 innovate
 and
 solve
 problems.
 They
 invent
 new
 practices,
 
create
 new
 knowledge,
 define
 new
 territory,
 and
 develop
 a
 collective
 and
 strategic
 
voice.
 
 

 
It
 is
 too
 difficult
 to
 measure
 the
 impact
 of
 communities
 of
 practice
 
Mostly
 false.
 It
 may
 be
 difficult
 to
 attribute
 with
 100%
 certainty
 the
 activities
 of
 a
 
community
 of
 practice
 to
 a
 particular
 outcome.
 You
 can,
 howowever,
 build
 a
 good
 case
 
using
 quantitative
 and
 qualitative
 data
 to
 measure
 different
 types
 of
 value
 created
 by
 
the
 community
 and
 trace
 how
 members
 are
 changing
 their
 practice
 and
 improving
 
performance
 as
 a
 result.
 

Communities
 of
 practice
 
  7
 
A
 brief
 introduction
 –
 V
 April
 15,
 2015
 

Good
 facilitation
 is
 all
 it
 takes
 to
 get
 members
 to
 participate
 
False.
 Artful
 faciliation
 is
 very
 important.
 But
 there
 are
 many
 other
 reasons
 why
 people
 
may
 not
 participate.
 The
 domain
 must
 be
 relevant
 and
 a
 priority
 to
 members.
 The
 value
 
of
 participation
 usually
 needs
 to
 be
 recognized
 by
 the
 organization
 otherwise
 members
 
will
 not
 bother.
 Members
 need
 to
 see
 results
 of
 their
 participation
 and
 have
 a
 sense
 
that
 they
 are
 getting
 something
 out
 of
 it.
 Good
 facilitation
 can
 help
 to
 make
 this
 visible,
 
but
 is
 not
 the
 main
 reason
 why
 people
 participate.
 
 

 
Communities
 of
 practice
 are
 harmonious
 places
 
Maybe.
 But
 if
 they
 are
 totally
 conflict
 free,
 you
 should
 be
 concerned
 that
 groupthink
 
may
 be
 settling
 in
 or
 voices
 being
 silenced.
 
 More
 important,
 and
 usually
 quite
 difficult
 
to
 achieve,
 is
 that
 differences
 are
 discussable
 and
 that
 they
 contribute
 to
 the
 learning.
 

 
There
 is
 a
 technology
 that
 is
 best
 for
 communities
 of
 practice
 
False.
 There
 may
 be,
 but
 we
 haven’t
 found
 it
 yet.
 The
 online
 universe
 is
 clutttered
 with
 
spaces
 that
 nobody
 uses.
 It’s
 also
 full
 of
 sites
 that
 are
 called
 a
 community
 of
 practice
 
even
 if
 noone
 is
 there!
 
 A
 tool
 or
 technology
 is
 as
 good
 as
 it
 is
 useful
 to
 the
 people
 who
 
use
 it.
 And
 a
 forum
 is
 simply
 a
 forum
 until
 it
 becomes
 occupied
 by
 a
 community
 of
 
practice.
 
 
 

 
Communities
 of
 practice
 are
 the
 solution
 to
 everything!
 
False.
 Communities
 of
 practice
 don’t
 substitute
 teams
 or
 networks
 or
 other
 joint
 
enteprsies.
 Each
 has
 its
 own
 place
 in
 the
 overall
 ecology
 of
 the
 learning
 system.
 
 In
 
recent
 developments
 of
 the
 theory
 we
 talk
 about
 landscapes
 of
 practice,
 and
 of
 creating
 
different
 types
 of
 social
 learning
 spaces
 that
 open
 up
 new
 opportunities
 for
 developing
 
learning
 capability.
 
 
 

Further
 reading
 
For
 the
 application
 of
 a
 community-­‐based
 approach
 to
 knowledge
 in
 organizations:
 
§ Cultivating
 communities
 of
 practice:
 a
 guide
 to
 managing
 knowledge.
 By
 Etienne
 

Wenger,
 Richard
 McDermott,
 and
 William
 Snyder,
 Harvard
 Business
 School
 Press,
 
2002.
 

§ Communities
 of
 practice:
 the
 organizational
 frontier.
 By
 Etienne
 Wenger
 and
 William
 Snyder.
 
Harvard
 Business
 Review.
 January-­‐February
 2000,
 pp.
 139-­‐145.
 

§ Knowledge
 management
 is
 a
 donut:
 shaping
 your
 knowledge
 strategy
 with
 communities
 of
 
practice.
 By
 Etienne
 Wenger.
 Ivey
 Business
 Journal,
 January
 2004.
 

 
For
 in-­‐depth
 coverage
 of
 the
 learning
 theory:
 
§ Communities
 of
 practice:
 learning,
 meaning,
 and
 identity.
 By
 Etienne
 Wenger,
 

Cambridge
 University
 Press,
 1998.
 

 
§ Learning
 in
 landscapes
 of
 practice.
 By
 Etienne
 Wenger-­‐Trayner,
 Mark
 Fenton
 

O’Creevy,
 Steven
 Hutchinson,
 Chris
 Kubiak,
 Beverly
 Wenger-­‐Trayner,
 Routledge,
 
2014
 

 
For
 monitoring
 the
 value
 creation
 in
 communities
 of
 practice
 and
 networks
 

• Promoting
 and
 assessing
 value
 creation
 in
 communities
 and
 networks:
 a
 
conceptual
 framework.
 By
 Etienne
 Wenger,
 Beverly
 Trayner,
 Maarten
 de
 Laat,
 
Rapport
 18,
 Ruud
 de
 Moor
 Centrum,
 Open
 University
 of
 the
 Netherlands,
 2011
 

Communities
 of
 practice
 
  8
 
A
 brief
 introduction
 –
 V
 April
 15,
 2015
 

• Srategic
 evaluation
 of
 network
 activities.
 Highlights
 of
 the
 development
 of
 the
 
framework
 and
 its
 application
 to
 a
 project
 in
 a
 blogpost.
 By
 Beverly
 Wenger-­‐
Trayner,
 2015
 http://wenger-­‐trayner.com/resources/publications/strategic-­‐
evaluation-­‐of-­‐network-­‐activities/
 

 
• Planning
 and
 evaluating
 social
 learning.
 A
 video
 and
 its
 transcript
 about
 the
 

developments
 of
 the
 framework.
 By
 Etienne
 and
 Beverly
 Wenger-­‐Trayner,
 2015
 
http://wenger-­‐trayner.com/resources/planning-­‐and-­‐evaluating-­‐social-­‐learning/
 

 
Other
 useful
 resources
 

• Frequently
 asked
 questions
 about
 communities
 of
 practice,
 networks,
 and
 social
 
learning.
 By
 Etienne
 and
 Beverly
 Wenger-­‐Trayner
 http://wenger-­‐
trayner.com/faqs/
 

 
• Leadership
 groups:
 a
 practice
 for
 fostering
 leadership
 in
 social
 learning
 

contexts.
 
 By
 Etienne
 and
 Beverly
 Wenger-­‐Trayner
 http://wenger-­‐
trayner.com/resources/leadership-­‐groups-­‐for-­‐social-­‐learning/