Community of practice synonyms

Posted by  Mark Schenk —November 23, 2005
Filed in Collaboration

Images[1]I have just returned from a conference in Sydney on Knowledge and Innovation.  I sat on a panel yesterday addressing the question “Communities of Practice: why do they work or fail?” One of the points I made was that communities of practice are often named something else, normally to adopt a title more suitable for the organisational context.  The question was then asked “what other names might be applied to communities of practice”.  I rattled off a few examples, and a number more came to me later.  Here are some of the generic synonyms for communities of practice that I am aware of::

  • Networks of Excellence (CRS Australia)
  • Centres of Excellence (various)
  • Knowledge Networks (ASIC)
  • Networks of Expertise
  • Special Interest Groups (various)
  • Domain Teams (Jacobs Sverdrup Australia)
  • Professional Forum (US Army CompanyCommand)
  • Networks (BHP Billiton, Shell Oil US)
  • Taskforce (eg NSW Health Greater Metropolitan Clinical Taskforce that started as a temporary structure and has now become relatively permanent)
  • Thematic Groups (World Bank)
  • Tech Clubs (DaimlerChrysler)
  • Best Practice Replication Networks (Ford)
  • Community of Interest Network (COIN) (Cap Gemini Ernst and Young)
  • Practice Forums (legal firm)
  • Practice Areas (CSIRO)

Of course, many communities of practice are referred to by specific names rather than the generic ones listed above, with examples including Project Management Forum (Defence Materiel Organisation) and the ‘turbodudes’ (Shell Oil US – as described in Wenger, McDermott and Snyder: Cultivating Communities of Practice).

Do you know of any other generic names used to describe communities of practice?

Mark Schenk About  Mark Schenk

Mark works globally with senior leadership teams to improve their ability to communicate clearly and memorably. He has been a Director of Anecdote since 2004 and helped the company grow into one of the world’s leading business storytelling consultancies. Connect with Mark on:

Comments

  1. Les Posen says:

    Well, I represent my professional body on a council of like professions which operates like a CoP – we call ourselves a Practitioners’ Alliance.
    More conveys an action group rather than a thinking one.

  2. Joitske Hulsebosch says:

    Knowledge circles or learning networks/circles (this is translated from the Dutch kenniskringen which seems to be common name here). uhm.. then I’m now in a group without a name…but wondering if it’s important to talk about what you are (and at which point in time)

  3. Viv McWaters says:

    In the Global IAF (International Association of Facilitators) Conferences we have a thing called ‘Birds of a Feather’ where people with a common interest can come together and form an informal community of practice that may last the length of a meal, the duration of the conference and sometimes continues beyond.

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