Networks of Practice

We're fans of the work of Etienne Wenger, and what his concepts of situated cognition have contributed to the domain of knowledge management. With experience in establishing professional communities of practice as an engine room for business innovation and the development of business process or practice excellence, we've learnt there are several things that need to be done well for Communities of Practice and Networks of Practice.

Core elements:

• Networks of Practice (NOPs) align with an organisations business process domains (typically core and non-core, or supporting, activities)
  
• NOPs are comprised of 3 main audiences, arranged in layers like an onion:
  

Ideas marketplace: where majority of people work. Contribute observations, ideas on improved practices
Network of Interest: For staff with an active BPI interest, but not wanting to commit time/energy. Generally limited experience. Limited incentives.
Network of Practice: For staff wanting to do BPI work, shaping/polishing processes, working with cross-disciplinary teams. Deeper experience desirable. Greater incentives.

• Each NOP has 3 main characteristics:

Domain: an area of knowledge that brings the community together, defines its focus and identity
Communities:  the group of people for whom the domain is relevant
Practices: the body of knowledge, tools, processes, practices, case studies which members share and develop together

• Each NOP has dedicated collaboration spaces (e.g. Wiki spaces, physical project workspaces), aligned to areas of BPI priority/activity.
• Time and activity demands increase as you move closer to the core.

We like to use a simple explanation diagram that demonstrates how NOPs can be used in a business that has the usual generic supporting activities and three core business areas. Within the figure below, the NOP layers are shown along with how online and physical spaces can support the creation, discovery of new business innovations by each network of practice.