Communities of Practice:

Social Structures for

the Development of Knowledge
France Henri, Ph. D.
LICEF Research Center
Tl-universit
Universit du Qubec Montral
PALETTES Kick off Meeting
Lausanne, March 13-15 2006

Presentation Outline
Concept of Virtual Community
4 Types of Communities
Importance of CoPs within Organizations
CoP Model (Wenger, Mc Dermott & Snyder, 2002)
Design and Life Cycle of a CoP

Virtual Community
An Emerging Concept
a virtual group that communicates via Internet
a structured social network driven by common goals
that shares a cyberspace
a cyberspace with common areas where community
life and interactions occur
a cyberspace settlement involving community
activities, artefacts, individual creations, common
realizations, etc.

Virtual Community
Grasping its Activity
Three Basic Proposals from Wengers Social Learning
Theory (1998)
Community activities are described in terms of
participation, socialisation and development of identity
Learning and Doing form a unique concept: members
participation triggers learning and understanding
Learning is the process of participating, negotiating
meaning and constructing ones identity

Types of Virtual Communities

Communities carry out distinct activities and
select various modes of participation which
result in different types of learning
Virtual communities are defined according to:
their goal (initial intention)
their level of unity (strength of the social link)
the evolution of goals and modes of association
over time

Group

Strenght of the Social Link

Types of Virtual Communities

Community of Practice
Community of Learners
Intelligent Community of Interest
Community of Interest

Gathering

Intentionality and Goal

Various Types of Virtual Communities According to their Emerging Context

Types of Virtual Communities

Although all virtual communities target a certain
type of learning, they cannot be amalgamated
The activities, the modes of participation, the
types of production and consequently, the
learning itself, differ from one virtual
communities to another

Importance of CoPs within Organizations

CoPs are an essential ingredient for success in
the knowledge economy
They can help deal with rapid changes
They can be responsible for knowledge development and sharing
and managing the knowledge produced by workers
Known to produce knowledge, they are part of the strategy to
gain productivity
They are a source of motivation for the workforce by making them
responsible for developing practical and instantly applicable
knowledge

Importance of CoPs within Organizations

CoPs are an essential ingredient for success in the
knowledge economy
They could be considered as an economical solution that
banks on cooperation and collaboration:
costs reduction for support and immersion of new
employees
promote self-learning through participation
Traditional training seems obsolete; it is no longer
considered a means to produce context adapted
knowledge

CoP Model: a Social Structure for Knowledge

Three basic components:

a domain
a community
a shared practice

CoP Model: a Social Structure for Knowledge

The Domain of Knowledge

The CoP domain differs from the field/profession
It addresses a series of issues, challenges and
problems encountered in the field by a community
who decides to tackle such elements
It is the focus and raison dtre of the community;
it defines its identity
The domain evolves over the life span of the
community in response to new, emerging
challenges and issues

CoP Model: a Social Structure for Knowledge

The Community
Group of people who care about their domain and fell
concerned by issues they face
Participation is voluntary and takes various forms
depending on members level of interest: a desire...
for the domain to develop and to contribute
to interact with peers to share what they feel is
important about it
to make a significant contribution knowing that it will
be appreciated
to simply expand their knowledge by learning about the
practice

CoP Model: a Social Structure for Knowledge

The Community
Is bounded by relationships based on reciprocity,
confidence and flexibility
Its members can manage conflicts and turn them
into productive events
It could be of various size

CoP Model: a Social Structure for Knowledge

Communities: Populations of Various Sizes
an intimate community
15-50 a medium-sized community: favours numerous
flexible relationships
~ 15

50-100 a large community: likely to split into subgroups

(according to different topics or geographical areas)

> 100 a very large community: subgroups develop local

identities; members are very involved locally but they

retain a sense of belonging to the larger community

CoP Model: a Social Structure for Knowledge

A Shared Practice
is developed by the members of the community in
order to increase day-to-day efficiency
includes:
the history of the community; the knowledge it has
developed
a set of socially selected methods and common
approaches to carry out the activities of a specific
domain
common standards to direct actions, communication,
problem-solving, performance and responsibilities

CoP Model: a Social Structure for Knowledge

A shared practice includes

a corpus of various types of empirical, theoretical and
procedural knowledge, both explicit and tacit
a framework of references, models, principles
acquired knowledge, best practices, heuristics
Tools, documents and other artefacts that reflect
knowledge
Not all practices are shared and produce a CoP
Communities and practice are linked to a specific type of
social structure which is driven by specific goals and
purposes

Types of CoPs
Strategic vs Spontaneous Communities
Strategic types according to purposes
1. help and assistance communities
2. communities of best practices
3. communities dedicated to knowledge
management and knowledge-stewarding
4. communities of innovation

CoP Design
Design:
to spark interest; not to create a rigid structure
to allow the community to express its personality,
energy and main purpose

The Community Design Paradox:

design is used to anticipate, plan and organize
design fails to anticipate and plan natural, spontaneous
or self-directed components

Rather than focus on planning every single detail,

design must strive to stimulate active participation

Life Cycle of a CoP

Life Cycle of a CoP: a Five-Step Process
Potential
Coalescing
Collective maturing
Stewardship
Transformation or death

Life Cycle of a CoP

Step 1: Community Potential
Initial design: align important issues in terms of who? what?
value? roles? output?
Determine the scope of the domain
Identify common needs of knowledge
Determine the purpose of the CoP: help, exemplary
practices, intendancy, knowledge management, innovation
Select coordinator and leaders
Interview potential members

Life Cycle of a CoP

Step 2: Coalescing
Establish the value of sharing knowledge about the
domain
Identify practice knowledge to be shared and how it
will be done
Develop confidence and strengthen relationships
between members
Create links among core members: at this point, this
is more important than developing peripheral
participation

Life Cycle of a CoP

Step 3: Collective Maturing
The community defines its role in the organization
and its relationships with other domains
It is no longer simply a network of professional
friends
It must manage its growth and ensure that it is not
distracted from its purpose
Must remain up-to-date and address real issues
(bureaucratization hazard)

Life Cycle of a CoP

Step 3: Collective Maturing

Measure and manage creation of value
Manage the knowledge system
collect anecdotes; document, share and broadcast
knowledge

Develop and provide community support

allocate time to participate actively, ex. trips to meet
members and attend events
develop financial model: funding for projects and
infrastructure

Life Cycle of a CoP

Step 4: Stewardship
Respond to the challenge of survival
Overcome a lack of energy
Avoid closing and stagnation in a well established
field
Monitor resourcing
Recruit new members, a new core
Develop new leadership

Life Cycle of a CoP

Step 5: Transformation or Death
Risks:

loss of energy
community becomes a social club
members migrate to other communities
institutionalization of the community

Redefine, update, transform, keep up

or die!

Summary
Emerging Conditions

A core
Leading, coordinating
Consult members to determine CoP purpose
Legitimate, relevant, creation of value
awareness of CoP input and output

A community design that fits its size

Programmed activities and events
Provide support: time and means