What are communities of practice (CoP)?

Communities of practice (CoP) are groups of people who are interested in examining a topic, or a set of issues, and/or coming together to discuss these topics with one another. They are a community-led way to engage in professional learning surrounding a specific topic. The community, usually headed by one or more people, works together to decide what learning the group wants to do around a particular topic.

As the image above depicts CoPs come together, and build trust among members to share tacit knowledge so that they can develop shared practices. These shared practices become a collective intelligence shared by the group, so that each member develops their own knowledge on the topic. The overall goal of a CoP is to build personal and collective knowledge and share it.

A CoP is a way for colleagues to meet and talk about specific topics. It differs from an Employee Resource Group (ERG) in that a CoP focuses on our work and the way that we do it, whereas ERGs center around an employee’s identities (for example race, ethnicity, gender) and how those identities affect and are affected by our work. Communities of practice are generally open to all people who want to participate and who are interested in the topic, whereas ERGs could be closed to people who don’t fit within the affinity group of the ERG.

How do I start a CoP?

Anyone at Pierce can start a CoP simply by telling ELAD what your CoP will be about and when you will plan on meeting. It helps if you already have a small group of people who want to participate in your CoP.