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Resource Kit
Launch a PHIN CoP
Plan and Prepare
As stated in the Introduction to CoPs section of the Resource Kit, each community of practice consists of three primary characteristics: a domain, a related community, and a common practice.
To identify
a potential CoP, it may be helpful to brainstorm functional and technical areas that are
not covered by an existing PHIN CoP—or perhaps there is a particular niche already covered by a PHIN Community of Practice
that deserves a greater focus.
Gaining Focus is about converging, not laying concrete. While the lack of a salient vision or clearly defined goals can certainly lead to trouble, it is also important to keep things moving at an adequate pace. As you are forming a CoP, discover strategic objectives and come together with other community leaders to steward the community as it matures.
“Planning a community is more a matter of finding the triggers to catalyze evolution than creating a full design. The overall goal in the planning stage is to promote community development around each of the three key elements — domain, community and practice — by defining the community’s focus, identifying and building relationships between members, and identifying topics and projects that would be exciting for community members.”
How to Identify Leaders in Your CoP
According to Etienne Wenger, a key feature of successful CoPs is a “skillful and reputable coordinator” Since CoP membership and leadership is voluntary, it is beneficial to divide responsibilities among members to reduce the workload of any one individual. Two primary roles need to be filled at the time of CoP Initiation: Community Leader and Community Sponsor.
Community Leader: Guides the Community’s Purpose and Strategic Intent—Community Leader likely “owns” the charter of the group. He or she may have ideas about what the goals of the group should be, how to reach them, and effectively engages others to collectively chart the CoP’s course. This person helps the group stay focused on its particular domain and helps provide solutions as issues arise.
Community Sponsor: Champions the Community Internally and Externally — This person likely has close relationships with leaders in the domain and related communities. He or she is highly motivated to ensure that the community succeeds and encourages member participation. This person champions the community’s successes and advocates for the community’s needs. The sponsor legitimizes the CoP and may also provide perspectives and resources, periodically review progress and developmental needs, and build collaborative relationships with officials or sponsors from other agencies.4,7 Refer to the “Case for Sponsorship”, located in the Resources section, as a guide on how to engage a sponsor and communicate his or her responsibilities.
Other responsibilities (listed below) also need to be addressed as a Community of Practice launches. Each responsibility need not be assigned to a single individual; rather, responsibilities should be divided among
several individuals.
Strong Leadership is essential in the start-up of any new CoP. In the beginning, two key roles should be filled: the Sponsor and the Leader. A strong sponsor is needed to support the vision and the process of the community and champion the community internally and externally. A strong leader nurtures the community from infancy and tackles the initial challenges, logistical and otherwise, encountered by the group.
““The key to successful communities of practice is an appropriate leadership infrastructure that guides, supports and renews the community initiative over time. In every case we are familiar with, leadership is the most critical success factor for community participation and effectiveness.”
Council Representation—Each community needs representation on the CoPC to ensure the community has an equal voice and is informed of PHIN Community activities.
Knowledge Management—Over time, the CoP will likely develop a large repository of information. While this task may be small at first, it will grow in size with increasing responsibility for organizing and posting community documents (charter, agendas, meeting minutes, etc.) to a common repository and helping to shape the information into knowledge.
Meeting Facilitation—To ensure each member has a chance to speak, that meetings stay on track, and meeting goals are accomplished, a member needs to facilitate during community meetings. Refer to the “Facilitation Tip Sheet” located in the Resources Section for additional information.
Relationship Management—As new members join a CoP, it is important they feel welcome and have the opportunity to meet other members. To strengthen these relationships, an established member should be responsible for making introductions and connecting new and long-time members.
Subject Matter Expertise—The CoP is launched to address a PHIN technology or function. To begin conversations on this topic, related topics and hot button issues should be identified, and experts who are able to contribute to the conversations brought in for discussion. To gain more insight on this topic, please read the “SME Tip Sheet” located in the Resources section.
Technology Management—A crucial tool for a CoP is an easy-to-use, accessible communication vehicle. You may use an e-mail distribution list, or you may choose to use a message board. A member will need to be responsible for identifying the tool(s) your group will use, ensuring members have access, and confirming that the tools work as expected. Refer to the Resources section “Technology Management Tip Sheet” for more information.
Communication Management—It is important to identify a community member who will manage effective distribution of the CoP’s messages externally, seeking ways to promote and share the knowledge products of the community.
Your Community of Practice will also have support from the Community of Practice Program (CoPP) Liaison. The CoPP Liaison will work with your CoP and the CoPP to foster growth and maturation of the community by providing guidance and assistance as needed. The role of the CoPP Liaison will vary from community to community, but liaisons may:
- Meet regularly with CoP Leaders to plan community activities and meetings
- Guide the community on adopting CoP best practices and locating information in this Resource Kit
- Advise the community about next steps in development
- Assist with participation in the PHIN CoP Council
- Manage technological tools PHIN CoPs use to collaborate with one another
- Maintain and distribute meeting notes and other information to the community
- Share progress and struggles with the CoPP Team
- Assist with evaluation activities and tracking SMART objectives
Select Collaboration Resources
Members of your CoP will likely span many organizations and geographic locations; it is therefore imperative to have several tools for communication. Your Community of Practice will need to identify the tools that will best serve your group’s communication and collaboration needs. While PHIN is currently evaluating collaboration tool options and will share further information as it becomes available, it is critical to offer tools at the time of your CoP’s launch. To help you choose the tools that are right for your community, a feature comparison may be used (see the “Technology Tool Comparison”). You may wish to poll your members to identify any tools already in existence as it may be possible to borrow existing resources without incurring additional costs.
When considering collaboration resources,
two factors should be considered: geography and timeliness. The
image at left, adapted from Leveraging Communities of Practice for Strategic Advantage (p. 89), shows several communication tools available depending on the location of the participants and how fast a response is expected.6
The preferred type of communication is an in-person meeting. These take place face-to-face and participants have the opportunity to respond immediately. Unfortunately, with geographically dispersed communities, these meetings are expensive and difficult to schedule. While it is great to host these meetings for all members once or twice each year, a lack of resources may make it difficult to hold these in-person meetings on a more regular basis.
Another common communication vehicle takes place while people are geographically dispersed, yet connected. Examples of this
vehicle include web conferences, teleconferences, instant messaging, and chat rooms. These interactions are scheduled for a specific day and time or are initiated
by someone who can expect an immediate response.
These first two categories of communication are considered synchronous or “real-time” communication because they happen at the same time for all participants.
The final category of communication includes types of interaction during which someone can respond to a presentation, question, or statement at their leisure. This type of communication is considered asynchronous or not happening at the same time. E-mail, listservs, message boards, wikis, blogs, podcasts, and many types of social networking tools are based on this asynchronous concept. An author can post a blog today, and in 3 weeks, someone else can read that posting
and respond via comment or e-mail. Asynchronous interactions do not happen at scheduled times—they depend on users to seek them out and respond if and when they choose.
All types of communication are important for encouraging collaboration within a CoP. For an explanation on how communication mediums impact community relationships, please refer to the
section
Foster Engagement.
A real time meeting or teleconference will allow your group to discuss relevant topics,
but it may not be possible for all members to attend at the same
time. By using multiple tools, it is possible to include all members
via several mediums. For instance, storing meeting minutes in a
repository or posting follow-up questions on a message board can
yield valuable input from members who missed an event or have something additional to add to the discussion.
Resources
This CoP Resource Kit has been developed by the PHIN CoPP and will be enhanced and expanded with PHIN Communities of Practice growth. Templates and guides are available at the end of each major Resource Kit section for use by all PHIN CoPs. If you have suggestions for additional resources that may be useful to your CoP and others, please provide those suggestions via the online form. The following table provides an overview of Resources located in the Resources section that may be helpful as you learn more about CoPs.
| Related Resource | Description | Audience |
| You Might Be A CoP If… | If you’re part of a group but are not sure if it is functioning as a Community of Practice, this quiz may help you decide. | Members of existing groups who might want to explore the possibility of the group becoming a Community of Practice (CoP) for the Public Health Information Network (PHIN). |
| In What Phase is My CoP? | The Community of Practice Resource Kit is for use by brand new CoPs as well as those who have several years of experience. This quiz will help you decide which sections of the kit are most useful to your group. This quiz may also assist you in determining the stage in the CoP lifecycle in which your community operates. | Leaders of existing PHIN Communities of Practice (CoPs) |
| Could It Be A CoP? | Have an idea for a new CoP? These questions will help you explore the idea with your peers and make sure you’re on the right track. | Individuals that would like to start a new PHIN Community of Practice (CoP) |
|
CoP Charter Template CoP Charter Overview |
CoP charters, developed by each CoP, include mission, scope, objectives, and other course-setting components needed by the group. This template gives you some ideas for the type of information you might want to include in yours — with the expectation that the needs of your CoP, and therefore the charter, may change over time. | Leaders of new and existing PHIN Communities of Practice (CoPs) |
| Community Expectations | It’s important to provide guidelines to your members to ensure that they honor expectations that allow your CoP to thrive. This resource provides examples of general guidelines for participating in a CoP and specific guidelines for participating in a CoP meeting. | Leaders of new and existing PHIN Communities of Practice (CoPs) |
|
Request an Executive Sponsor Brief Case for Sponsorship Brief |
As a new CoP it is important to retain a sponsor who can legitimize and support the community. This
template provides a mechanism for demonstrating the value of sponsoring a
Community of Practice. Microsoft PowerPoint— includes in-depth background slides Microsoft Word Brief— includes a brief overview of CoPs |
Leaders of new and existing PHIN Communities of Practice (CoPs) that are in need of an executive sponsor |
| Facilitation Tip Sheet | The facilitator is responsible for managing meetings, keeping conversations on track, and ensuring each member’s voice is heard. This tip sheet gives some tips for how to accomplish these tasks. You can also refer to the “Advanced Facilitation Guide” for an advanced guide to facilitation (suggested for experienced facilitators). | Leaders and members acting as PHIN Community of Practice (CoP) Facilitators |
| Advanced Facilitation Guide | The facilitator is responsible for managing meetings, keeping conversations on track, and ensuring each member’s voice is heard. This guide covers both basic and advanced tips for how to accomplish these tasks. You can also consult the Facilitation Tip Sheet to find basic guidelines for facilitation (suggested for new or interim facilitators). | Leaders and members acting as PHIN Community of Practice (CoP) Facilitators |
| Agenda Template | The facilitator may use a variety of tools to manage meetings. This template can be used to help you put together a CoP Meeting Agenda. | Leaders and members acting as PHIN Community of Practice (CoP) Facilitators |
| Discussion Log Template | The facilitator may use a variety of tools to manage meetings. This log can help you keep a running log of the discussion points during a CoP Meeting. | Leaders and members acting as PHIN Community of Practice (CoP) Facilitators |
| Scribe Template | The facilitator may use a variety of tools to manage meetings. This template can be used to note and report the outcomes of CoP Meeting Agenda. | Leaders and members acting as PHIN Community of Practice (CoP) Facilitators |
| Follow-up Item Log Template | The facilitator may use a variety of tools to manage meetings. This template can help you ensure that action items are assigned and appropriately monitored over time. | Leaders and members acting as PHIN Community of Practice (CoP) Facilitators |
| Meeting Feedback Form | The facilitator may use a variety of tools to help them manage meetings. This template can be used to solicit information from members about the meeting process and where there are opportunities to improve that process. | Leaders and members acting as PHIN Community of Practice (CoP) Facilitators |
| SME Tip Sheet | As a SME for your community, your responsibilities include inviting experts to speak to your CoP, bringing in new ideas, identifying topics for meeting agendas, and maintaining the CoP focus. This tip sheet gives some ideas for how to get all of this done. | Leaders and members acting as PHIN Community of Practice (CoP) Subject Matter Experts |
|
Technical Management Tip Sheet Technology Tool Comparison |
You’re technically savvy, but for your CoP you also need to help identify the right tools for your group, define account permissions and roles, and help develop collaboration rules to ensure everyone acts respectfully. Read this Tip Sheet for some ideas on how this can work within your CoP. | Leaders and members acting as PHIN Community of Practice (CoP) Technical Managers |
Contact Us:
- Communities of Practice Program
- Public Health Information Network (PHIN)
- National Center for Public Health Informatics
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Atlanta, Georgia 30345
- 404-498-6455
- PHIN@cdc.gov
