Events

Events

CoP

Assessment Initiative

Global Informatics

Poster Session

About PHIN CoPs In today’s resource-constrained environment, it is more important than ever for public health practitioners to find low-cost ways to maximize knowledge sharing and collaboration while minimizing rework. Communities of Practice support these priorities by providing a collaborative way to implement PHIN. Communities of Practice enable PHIN members to work together to identify and leverage best practices and standards for public health informatics and its intersections with public health and information technology. Communities of Practice leverage the processes of social learning and shared practices that emerge and evolve when people with common goals interact and strive to achieve them together. A Community of Practice (CoP) is defined as “a group of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise

by interacting on an ongoing basis.” (Wenger 2002) The three distinct elements that compose a CoP are a community that enables interaction (such as discussions, collaborative activities, and relationship building), a shared domain of interest (such as Vocabulary and Messaging Standards or Communications and Alerting), and a shared practice of experiences, stories, tools, and ways of addressing recurring problems. This approach is enabling members of the PHIN Community to work together as equal partners in focused communities.

The PHIN Communities of Practice provide a participatory environment for PHIN members to learn, share expertise, and collaboratively develop solutions to improve public health’s capacity to electronically use and exchange information. There will be multiple opportunities for conference attendees to learn about and participate in Communities of Practice at the 2009 PHIN Conference, including community meetings, presentations, and informational opportunities.

Your involvement in a PHIN Community of Practice will not only help set PHIN priorities, but also assist in strengthening and shaping the future of PHIN. To learn more and to join a community, please visit http://www.cdc.gov/phin/communities.