Best Practices: Organization and Process - Selection and Implementation of CoPs
Knowledge leaders have typically used the following criteria to select CoPs:
Clear, demonstrated, and documented need (ideally supported by a business case)
Presence of existing networks (formal or informal)
Internal community leadership (or potential for leadership)
Executive sponsorship
Manageable size and budget
Culture amenable to change or open to knowledge sharing
Technical competence and access to necessary technology
Typically, knowledge leaders begin with one or two small pilots organized around a pressing need. They focus on quick-wins and rapid returns. Based on this experience, they then build out to other communities.
CoP Implementation
The following exhibit illustrates a recommended implementation cycle based on the experience of several public sector best practice organizations. CoP development is composed of three major tasks: community building, technology building, and content building. The specific level of effort and timeline will depend on the complexity and scope.
Community building is focused on those activities that are necessary to recruit and energize the potential CoP. Technology building addresses those activities involved with developing the supporting technology (these issues are dealt with in more detail in "Technology and Systems"). Content building addresses activities related to populating CoP structures with knowledge and materials. Each of these activities goes through a cycle of three distinct stages:
Develop: In the development stage, the development group and implementation plan are created and initial designs are shaped. Activities in this period focus on community building and soliciting input from the community. Only in the later portion of this stage does the development team focus on technology development and implementation.
Deploy: As the community moves towards deployment, technology implementation, content building, and communication and change management are the focus of the development team. These activities culminate in the rollout of an operating CoP structure (normally via a web-based structure).
Sustain: The community then moves into a sustain phase with a small staff remaining who are committed to the program to facilitate the CoP and maintain the technology and content.
