Community of practice (CoP)

A Community of Practice is an informal, self-organizing, interactive group that develops in response to a specific, work-related activity, subject, practice, or problem of mutual interest. Membership is determined by participation and may transcend hierarchical and organizational boundaries. It provides a means for developing best practices or solutions to problems through communication, that is, through participation in the exchange of information and the creation of knowledge. A community of practice may use a variety of media for this purpose, including face-to-face meetings, reports, email, instant messaging, collaborative workspaces, and intranets. Communities of practice can sometimes make a major contribution to social capital in organizations. A CoP may sometime be called a Community of purpose or commitment, and a large, geographically dispersed community is often referred to as a Network of practice.


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Community of practice (CoP),A Community of Practice is an informal, self-organizing, interactive group that develops in response to a specific, work-related activity, subject, practice, or problem of mutual interest. Membership is determined by participation and may transcend hierarchical and organizational boundaries. It provides a means for developing best practices or solutions to problems through communication, that is, through participation in the exchange of information and the creation of knowledge. A community of practice may use a variety of media for this purpose, including face-to-face meetings, reports, email, instant messaging, collaborative workspaces, and intranets. Communities of practice can sometimes make a major contribution to social capital in organizations. A CoP may sometime be called a Community of purpose or commitment, and a large, geographically dispersed community is often referred to as a Network of practice.,