With new business rules emerging in the knowledge economy, organizations are developing innovative strategies for leveraging information systems and knowledge capital to create a sustainable competitive advantage. A prominent strategy is developing and supporting communities of practice. While the idea of communities of practice is not a new phenomenon (people have formed groups to address work-related issues for centuries), the term was first coined in 1991 by researchers studying organizational learning.

Early analysis of knowledge-based organizations identified groups of employees getting together to solve work-related problems without management directive or involvement. Recognizing the level of information exchange and learning that took place within the group, management began to pay attention to these loosely formed, often organic structures. Through a meeting of the minds, community members are able to pool their expertise, build their information stores, share their experience, test new ideas, improve on past processes and procedures, and find solutions that result in increased capability and improved performance.

This two-day course will explore communities of practice with a focus on how information and knowledge professionals can play a key role in their success. In the course you will learn:

• The concepts and components of communities of practice
• How information and knowledge systems support effective communities
• How to support strategic imperatives with communities
• How communities contribute to an organization's knowledge capital
• How to create communities ? the infrastructure and design approach
• How to nurture community development through facilitation ? information navigation and brokering, creating expertise networks, knowledge access and exchange
• How to develop a strategy that supports community development across an organization

Course registration includes a copy of Leveraging Communities of Practice for Strategic Advantage by Hubert St. Onge and Deb Wallace. (http://www.knowinc.com/cop-book)