5 Lessons from building global communities of practice for governments
Public servants all over the world are doing basically the same thing, so how can we stop reinventing the wheel and instead better share, collaborate and work together for a better world?
This is the question that has haunted me for the last few years. The lost potential is maddening! And the stakes are too high to not get this right. I have been trying to address it through the development of global communities of practice (CoPs) working with the OneTeamGov network.
Recently, I had a chance to chat with three of my mentors in the space: Susie Floresco (Canada), David Durant (UK) and aimee Whitcroft (New Zealand). We explored what we had been learning and how this community work could be improved. What follows are some high level insights from those conversations.
- The power of community managers
Most CoPs are driven by one or a couple really passionate individuals who set them up out of their own initiative. These people are natural connectors and are the lifeblood of this work. As they go, so does the CoP. The downside is that when they get burnt out (which happens often) the community suffers.
Figuring out how to better support these people and develop transition planning is key to maintaining and growing CoPs.
2. Side of desk problem
Despite the growing recognition of the importance of CoPs, rarely do they make it into people’s official roles. This means, participation is always off the side of one’s desk. As a result, commitment can be sporadic and often on people’s personal time.
It is therefore key to show clear value for participating in CoPs and to make it enjoyable so people want to make time. Also we need to help coach people on how to get management support for their participation in CoPs to move it from the side to the centre of their desk.
3. The platform problem
Global CoPs depend on platforms to run. However, again and again I hear how people are overwhelmed by the diversity of platforms. This is extra difficult for public servants who have to deal with IT systems that block many platforms. Finding a single platform that everyone can use is a big challenge. Getting people to regularly engage with the platform is the next big challenge.
The key is to go as much as possible to the platforms people are already using as part of their regular work and then make sure they have a reason to come back. So many platforms are full of people who have signed up, see a quiet space with no activity and never come back. Having someone at the virtual door to welcome them in and help them to connect with what they need is key.
4. Safe spaces
It is really important to create a safe space for participants, especially public servants. You can do this by restricting membership (e.g. public servants only) though this must also be balanced with openness so new members can join. Developing a community charter is a good way to set a safe culture and help everyone know what to expect and how to engage, though it must also be enforced by the community.
5. Sustainability
Every CoP has a lifecycle, it ebbs and flows but it is hard to sustain them, particularly if there is not institutional support, inevitably the driving champions burnout or move on. Emily Webber highlights this lifecycle in the image below:
A common solution that is suggested is to expand leadership to a group of people. This is helpful but the bigger need is to find institutional support, ideally providing someone who’s formal role is to sustain the community. I have also written about the potential of leveraging events and activities to help sustain community energy.
What could help grow global CoPs?
- The first step is to crowdsource the creation of a network map of the different CoPs related to governments around the world. There are tons but they are often disconnected and isolated, hidden in their siloes.
- Next, reach out to the leaders of these different CoPs to see what support would help them with their work. This could be access to platforms and templates (maybe even a wiki of resources), logistical support with setting up calls or even their own community of support.
- Connect like CoPs together so they can learn and share. There needs to be coordination of all of this incredible work to reduce duplication. Maybe even the development of “guilds” around key roles (e.g. UX designers) and focus areas (e.g. digital identity).
More Resources:
Two of my heroes in this space are Emily Webber and James Arthur Cattell. Emily has a book, talk, article and website with lots of information. I would follow James on twitter to stay up to date with opportunities for community builders. He is also running a webinar on the subject next month.
Apolitical is an organization with a mandate to grow a global community of public servants, they are well positioned to provide a lot of the list above and a great place to go to learn and get connected with others.
What about you?
What have you learned? What ideas do you have about how we can do this better?
