The phenomenon of emergent communities of practice at NRCan is one that’s been referenced repeatedly in our blog posts here. At NRCan, it really is fascinating to watch one community after another come to fruition over common interests and to see the energy and giddy enthusiasm of members who have self identified and are passionate about changing the culture of work. Communities of Practice (CoPs) are by no means new, but at NRCan their emergence seems to be directly connected to our Web 2.0 implementation that began almost 2 years ago. It was as if a new order of employee was created revealing wonderfully unexpected skills such as video editing, facilitation, subject classification, photography and countless others as well as, a new way of connecting, learning and sharing.

Some communities quietly meet on a regular basis to share and exchange ideas while others have created a niche market and are actively delivering products and services within the department. One such community is the Video Community of Practice (VCoP). In just over one year, this community has created some 15 videos for use in the department and by building in-house expertise, has reduced the need to outsource this requirement. Granted, some early productions will not be recognized by the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences anytime soon, but that’s not the point – they meet a need, create an appetite for more video and make video as a knowledge sharing tool more accessible. The same goes for NRCan’s other CoPs – replacing “video” of course with the common element in each of the following:

• Technology Mentors (tech-savvy employees mentoring senior managers in the use of Web 2.0 tools)
• Learning Organization (providing planning, facilitation and training support as well as promoting Learning Organization concepts such as shared vision and values, continuous personal learning and systems thinking)
• Information Management (addressing IM issues through a horizontal approach)
• RADAR (creating weekly NRCan science and policy news aggregator to inform and support decision making)
• Shadow Team (bold, young policy analysts working alongside DM-appointed horizontal task team on NRCan’s international strategy development)

Community and social media blogger, Chris Brogan states in a recent blog post that “Community happens when people feel they’re among like-minded others and when they feel their contributions matter.”

As a member of four of these communities I find this work incredibly rewarding. My network of like-minded colleagues has increased exponentially, I am acquiring new skills and I am sharing my expertise with others. I also have the good fortune of having a boss who “gets it”. But, working as a community in a government context is not always easy. The issues of leadership, ownership, accountability, recognition, permission to participate and workload present huge challenges. Many of us still do this community work off the corner of our desks. Management promotes collective leadership but struggles with it at the same time. Old organizational structures and accountability and compensation frameworks rely on well defined roles and are based on individual contributions.

The question is no longer “should management change” but rather how management must change to fully leverage the opportunities associated with Web 2.0 and new ways of working.

Tags: Collaboration, communities of practice, CoP, Gov 2.0, VCoP