Etienne says "A community of practice ...is a group of people who interact, learn together, build relationships, and in the process develop a sense of belonging and mutual commitment."
And you can't force that, even if Management would like to! :-D

Etienne has a CoP on CoPs started at http://www.cpsquare.org. It’s available for anyone to participate in. There is a small membership fee, but it's not an exorbitant amount. For me, the best part of joining now is that you get to participate in the creation of the umbrella CoP as well as any other CoP that you might be interested in. There is already a group forming around Education.

Like any relationship, CoP success is predicated on careful selection of team players, good time management, commitment to the outcome and process - whether CoPs are virtual or real world.

I used to train youth workers and a key point was you can't make kids develop, you can only provide the optimum environment for growth. I can see that a similar principle can apply to the CoP situation. Our principles were:

• Make connections. Make contact with the kids in a variety of contexts i.e. letter, phone, shop at the Coles they work at, involve them in your activities like going to the footy or maintaining the car if they're interested, take an interest in their activities. Key idea was lots of little but frequent contacts.
• Flowing out of the above - build trust. Give them responsibility for stuff.
• Show unconditional love and acceptance.
• Build vision and hope. A path for a better future.
• Build skills that allow them to negotiate their path and world.

Findings of a study into what gives people a sense of community and encourages them to stay -  http://members.ozemail.com.au/~marleman/html/communities.htm. It came down to a feeling of identity, being valued, a sense of ownership, having a 'place', acceptance etc.

The one thing about Communities of Practice that is consistent, is that they never happen quite how anyone first envisaged! Let me tell you a story about a company who made pantyhose. They created an online area where they felt those working in the field could converse with customers and other stakeholders, and ultimately assist with public relations and create a better product. Well, it is now a thriving online community....populated with cross-dressers discussing the best brands that fit the different male physique and hides the hairy legs!! A rather extreme twist and turn, but successful none the less...although a long way from that envisaged by the organisation.

Participation in a CoP must be voluntary...and desired! Otherwise it'd just be another committee! :-)

CoPs are often misunderstood by those in senior positions. Even though all the theory cautions against managing the process of community formation, our CoP of a group of Head Teachers were told that attendance at the initial session was compulsory. An agenda was drawn up without consultation and the session itself was a highly directed affair. As an observer I could sense what a disaster this approach signalled The atmosphere in the room was so hostile and the participants felt very patronised. Luckily, though they gave voice to their dissatisfaction in very impassioned ways and the group basically put itself back on track by jettisoning the directional, managerial approach and clearly defining what they thought the CoP should be about. After this inauspicious beginning the community is finding its collective feet and, in a curious way, the collective opposition to what was initially happening has established something of a bond between CoP members!

I was recently invited to join an Australian group of teachers with a common interest; we were fortunate enough to have a very productive, initial face-to-face meeting in Sydney, and have maintained the momentum via e-mail for the past several weeks. It may very well have had to do with the voluntary nature of the participation.

CoP's quite often 'emerge' from the structures of a network or a project team. In fact, a CoP that I am part of was originally just a project team. However we were all getting so much benefit from it, we didn't want it to stop at the end of the 'official' project term. So we continued to meet and shaped it into a CoP!

Sometimes a change of scenery will kickstart a CoP. A physical relocation at the early stages of cultivation may be exactly what's needed to allow CoP connections.

Also important is the concept of "Celebrating Successes". People need to know that a CoP has formed and, through their efforts, done "xyz".

CoPs are the ultimate win/win - management thinks the individuals are doing it for the organisation and the individual thinks she is doing it for herself. If we have careful "guidance" (NOT management) of the CoP, both parties get what they want/need!

The vision process is important. Building the big picture, letting participants see themselves as part of something that transcends the mundane or frustrations of daily organisational activity. An opportunity to dream big, to safely test ideas and concepts without fully thought through "justifications" or reactions from a threatened boss.

Despite my frustration with management at times, their support is needed. I believe a CoP has to demonstrate some outcomes
.
The name is new, but CoP's have been around since the dawn of time!  The medieval "guilds" were CoP's, where people shared their learning about new knowledge in areas like medicine and science. It’s really about informal learning from peers.

One of the most important aspects of a successful and sustainable CoP is the personal and professional value that the individuals see in being part of the group.  It’s all about "what's in it for ME"!

As much as the socialising might be fun - when things get busy members will drop the CoP if it doesn't exist for something more than a social get together.

In a CoP I am part of, I feel that one of the main "returns" that I get is that I now have a basis of trust and understanding with employees of different organisations. When I need an answer or insight into something which might not be 'general knowledge' I always feel I can just pick up the phone or send an email to get something I need. And vice versa. That’s a great benefit to the organisation because I am an employee who is "on the ball" and my work-related decision making is better informed. There is also a direct relationship to my reputation though... and I think this is where the true value of CoP's comes in for individuals.

Untested Strategies for Initiating CoP's

• Visit/phone/email everyone who you think might be interested, and ask them for their thoughts about the idea of starting a CoP."  (Obviously, you will have considered the 'domain' or common ground for the CoP, and targeted people with this thought in mind).
• Where do the roots of Cops already exist? In my own world I have people I talk to about certain areas of interest. Could these be taken to the next level? These sorts of groups exist throughout organisations. With some gentle encouragement and support they could gain so much more.
• Encourage a process improvement meeting to continue past the walls of the room into a virtual room and/or regular f2f meetings.
• Once you have some sort of 'group' happening the first time, fire up their enthusiasm and passions by suggesting that guests could be invited along (face to face or online).  Ask them to suggest people who would be interesting/enlightening/...provocative?

If you would like some background reading on communities of practice, here is a good place to start: 
http://www.co-i-l.com/coil/knowledge-garden/cop/lss.shtml

Contributors:
Elisabeth Todd, Kirsty Sharp, Claude Pogliani, Alan Morrison, Barb McDonald, Marlene Manto, Louise Housden, Ross Hartley, Carol Forestal, Judy Fawcett, Kim Edgar, Rose Denton, Alison Cutler