Communities  of  practice  
a  brief  introduction  
 
Etienne  and  Beverly  Wenger-­‐Trayner  
 
A  group  of  internal  auditors  in  the  public  sector  from  different  countries  in  Eastern  
th
Europe  and  Central  Asia  were  having  their  34  official  meeting.  For  seven  years  now  
they  had  been  coming  together  to  hear  how  others  in  the  region  were  engaged  in  
internal  audit  and  to  create  manuals  and  other  publications  that  they  felt  were  missing  
from  their  profession.    Only  a  few  of  the  original  members  were  still  part  of  the  group,  
but  the  shared  work,  stories,  and  artifacts  created  over  time  gave  their  meetings  a  sense  
of  continuity  and  purpose.  If  you  were  a  fly-­‐on-­‐the  wall  at  one  of  their  events  you  would  
notice  how  new  members  were  warmly  welcomed  into  “the  family”,  how  many  people  
stepped  up  to  take  initiative  or  share  their  war  stories,  and  how  ambitious  core  members  
were  to  advance  the  practice  of  internal  audit  in  the  public  sector  in  the  region.  Evening  
events,  organized  by  the  host  country,  were  always  lively  -­‐  with  singing,  dancing  and  the  
singing  of  a  hymn  composed  and  sung  by  members.  
-­‐ The  PEMPAL  Internal  Auditors  Community  of  Practice  
-­‐  
 
 
The  term  "community  of  practice"  is  of  relatively  recent  coinage,  even  though  the  
phenomenon  it  refers  to  is  age-­‐old.  The  concept  has  turned  out  to  provide  a  useful  
perspective  on  knowing  and  learning.  A  growing  number  of  people  and  organizations  in  
various  sectors  are  now  focusing  on  communities  of  practice  as  a  key  to  improving  their  
performance.    

This  brief  and  general  introduction  examines  what  communities  of  practice  are  and  why  
researchers  and  practitioners  in  so  many  different  contexts  find  them  useful  as  an  
approach  to  knowing  and  learning.  

What  are  communities  of  practice?  

Communities  of  practice  are  formed  by  people  who  engage  in  a  process  of  collective  
learning  in  a  shared  domain  of  human  endeavor:  a  tribe  learning  to  survive,  a  band  of  
artists  seeking  new  forms  of  expression,  a  group  of  engineers  working  on  similar  
problems,  a  clique  of  pupils  defining  their  identity  in  the  school,  a  network  of  surgeons  
exploring  novel  techniques,  a  gathering  of  first-­‐time  managers  helping  each  other  cope.  
In  a  nutshell:  
Communities  of  practice  are  groups  of  people  who  share  a  concern  or  a  
passion  for  something  they  do  and  learn  how  to  do  it  better  as  they  
interact  regularly.  
 

Communities  of  practice     1  

A  brief  introduction  –  V  April  15,  2015  
Note  that  this  definition  allows  for,  but  does  not  assume,  intentionality:  learning  can  be  
the  reason  the  community  comes  together  or  an  incidental  outcome  of  member's  
interactions.  Not  everything  called  a  community  is  a  community  of  practice.  A  
neighborhood  for  instance,  is  often  called  a  community,  but  is  usually  not  a  community  
of  practice.  Three  characteristics  are  crucial:  
 
1. The  domain:  A  community  of  practice  is  not  merely  a  club  of  friends  or  a  network  of  
connections  between  people.  It  has  an  identity  defined  by  a  shared  domain  of  
interest.  Membership  therefore  implies  a  commitment  to  the  domain,  and  
therefore  a  shared  competence  that  distinguishes  members  from  other  people.  
(You  could  belong  to  the  same  network  as  someone  and  never  know  it.)  The  
domain  is  not  necessarily  something  recognized  as  “expertise”  outside  the  
community.  A  youth  gang  may  have  developed  all  sorts  of  ways  of  dealing  with  
their  domain:  surviving  on  the  street  and  maintaining  some  kind  of  identity  they  can  
live  with.  They  value  their  collective  competence  and  learn  from  each  other,  even  
though  few  people  outside  the  group  may  value  or  even  recognize  their  expertise.  
 
2. The  community:  In  pursuing  their  interest  in  their  domain,  members  engage  in  joint  
activities  and  discussions,  help  each  other,  and  share  information.  They  build  
relationships  that  enable  them  to  learn  from  each  other;  they  care  about  their  
standing    with  each  other.    A  website  in  itself  is  not  a  community  of  practice.  Having  
the  same  job  or  the  same  title  does  not  make  for  a  community  of  practice  unless  
members  interact  and  learn  together.  The  claims  processors  in  a  large  insurance  
company  or  students  in  American  high  schools  may  have  much  in  common,  yet  
unless  they  interact  and  learn  together,  they  do  not  form  a  community  of  practice.  
But  members  of  a  community  of  practice  do  not  necessarily  work  together  on  a  
daily  basis.  The  Impressionists,  for  instance,  used  to  meet  in  cafes  and  studios  to  
discuss  the  style  of  painting  they  were  inventing  together.  These  interactions  were  
essential  to  making  them  a  community  of  practice  even  though  they  often  painted  
alone.  
 
3. The  practice:  A  community  of  practice  is  not  merely  a  community  of  interest-­‐-­‐
people  who  like  certain  kinds  of  movies,  for  instance.  Members  of  a  community  of  
practice  are  practitioners.  They  develop  a  shared  repertoire  of  resources:  
experiences,  stories,  tools,  ways  of  addressing  recurring  problems—in  short  a  
shared  practice.  This  takes  time  and  sustained  interaction.  A  good  conversation  
with  a  stranger  on  an  airplane  may  give  you  all  sorts  of  interesting  insights,  but  it  
does  not  in  itself  make  for  a  community  of  practice.  The  development  of  a  shared  
practice  may  be  more  or  less  self-­‐conscious.  The  “windshield  wipers”  engineers  at  
an  auto  manufacturer  make  a  concerted  effort  to  collect  and  document  the  tricks  
and  lessons  they  have  learned  into  a  knowledge  base.  By  contrast,  nurses  who  meet  
regularly  for  lunch  in  a  hospital  cafeteria  may  not  realize  that  their  lunch  discussions  
are  one  of  their  main  sources  of  knowledge  about  how  to  care  for  patients.  Still,  in  
the  course  of  all  these  conversations,  they  have  developed  a  set  of  stories  and  cases  
that  have  become  a  shared  repertoire  for  their  practice.  
 
It  is  the  combination  of  these  three  elements  that  constitutes  a  community  of  practice.  
And  it  is  by  developing  these  three  elements  in  parallel  that  one  cultivates  such  a  
community.  

Communities  of  practice     2  

A  brief  introduction  –  V  April  15,  2015  
What  do  communities  of  practice  look  like?  
Communities  develop  their  practice  through  a  variety  of  activities.  The  following  
table  provides  a  few  typical  examples:  
Problem  solving   “Can  we  work  on  this  design  and  brainstorm  some  ideas;  
I’m  stuck.”  
Requests  for  information   “Where  can  I  find  the  code  to  connect  to  the  server?”  
Seeking  experience   “Has  anyone  dealt  with  a  customer  in  this  situation?”  
Reusing  assets   “I  have  a  proposal  for  a  local  area  network  I  wrote  for  a  
client  last  year.  I  can  send  it  to  you  and  you  can  easily  
tweak  it  for  this  new  client.”  
Coordination  and   “Can  we  combine  our  purchases  of  solvent  to  achieve  bulk  
synergy   discounts?”  
Building  an  argument   “How  do  people  in  other  countries  do  this?  Armed  with  this  
information  it  will  be  easier  to  convince  my  Ministry  to  
make  some  changes.”  
Growing  confidence   “Before  I  do  it,  I’ll  run  it  through  my  community  first  to  see  
what  they  think.”  
Discussing  developments   “What  do  you  think  of  the  new  CAD  system?  Does  it  really  
help?”  
Documenting  projects   “We  have  faced  this  problem  five  times  now.  Let  us  write  it  
down  once  and  for  all.”  
Visits   “Can  we  come  and  see  your  after-­‐school  program?  We  
need  to  establish  one  in  our  city.”  
Mapping  knowledge  and   “Who  knows  what,  and  what  are  we  missing?  What  other  
identifying  gaps   groups  should  we  connect  with?”  
 
Communities  of  practice  are  not  called  that  in  all  organizations.  They  are  known  under  
various  names,  such  as  learning  networks,  thematic  groups,  or  tech  clubs.    
 
While  they  all  have  the  three  elements  of  a  domain,  a  community,  and  a  practice,  they  
come  in  a  variety  of  forms.  Some  are  quite  small;  some  are  very  large,  often  with  a  core  
group  and  many  peripheral  members.  Some  are  local  and  some  cover  the  globe.  Some  
meet  mainly  face-­‐to-­‐face,  some  mostly  online.  Some  are  within  an  organization  and  
some  include  members  from  various  organizations.  Some  are  formally  recognized,  often  
supported  with  a  budget;  and  some  are  completely  informal  and  even  invisible.  
 
Communities  of  practice  have  been  around  for  as  long  as  human  beings  have  learned  
together.  At  home,  at  work,  at  school,  in  our  hobbies,  we  all  belong  to  communities  of  
practice,  a  number  of  them  usually.  In  some  we  are  core  members.  In  many  we  are  
merely  peripheral.  And  we  travel  through  numerous  communities  over  the  course  of  our  
lives.    
 
In  fact,  communities  of  practice  are  everywhere.  They  are  a  familiar  experience,  so  
familiar  perhaps  that  it  often  escapes  our  attention.  Yet  when  it  is  given  a  name  and  
brought  into  focus,  it  becomes  a  perspective  that  can  help  us  understand  our  world  
better.  In  particular,  it  allows  us  to  see  past  more  obvious  formal  structures  such  as  
organizations,  classrooms,  or  nations,  and  perceive  the  structures  defined  by  
engagement  in  practice  and  the  informal  learning  that  comes  with  it.  

Communities  of  practice     3  

A  brief  introduction  –  V  April  15,  2015  
Where  does  the  concept  come  from?  
Social  scientists  have  used  versions  of  the  concept  of  community  of  practice  for  a  variety  
of  analytical  purposes,  but  the  origin  and  primary  use  of  the  concept  has  been  in  
learning  theory.  Anthropologist  Jean  Lave  and  Etienne  Wenger  coined  the  term  while  
studying  apprenticeship  as  a  learning  model.  People  usually  think  of  apprenticeship  as  a  
relationship  between  a  student  and  a  master,  but  studies  of  apprenticeship  reveal  a  
more  complex  set  of  social  relationships  through  which  learning  takes  place  mostly  with  
journeymen  and  more  advanced  apprentices.  The  term  community  of  practice  was  
coined  to  refer  to  the  community  that  acts  as  a  living  curriculum  for  the  apprentice.  
Once  the  concept  was  articulated,  we  started  to  see  these  communities  everywhere,  
even  when  no  formal  apprenticeship  system  existed.  And  of  course,  learning  in  a  
community  of  practice  is  not  limited  to  novices.  The  practice  of  a  community  is  dynamic  
and  involves  learning  on  the  part  of  everyone.  

Where  is  the  concept  being  applied?  

The  concept  of  community  of  practice  has  found  a  number  of  practical  applications  in  
business,  organizational  design,  government,  education,  professional  associations,  
development  projects,  and  civic  life.    
 
Organizations.  The  concept  has  been  adopted  most  readily  by  people  in  business  
because  of  the  recognition  that  knowledge  is  a  critical  asset  that  needs  to  be  managed  
strategically.  Initial  efforts  at  managing  knowledge  had  focused  on  information  systems  
with  disappointing  results.  Communities  of  practice  provided  a  new  approach,  which  
focused  on  people  and  on  the  social  structures  that  enable  them  to  learn  with  and  from  
each  other.  Today,  there  is  hardly  any  organization  of  a  reasonable  size  that  does  not  
have  some  form  communities-­‐of-­‐practice  initiative.  A  number  of  characteristics  explain  
this  rush  of  interest  in  communities  of  practice  as  a  vehicle  for  developing  strategic  
capabilities  in  organizations:  
§ Communities  of  practice  enable  practitioners  to  take  collective  responsibility  for  
managing  the  knowledge  they  need,  recognizing  that,  given  the  proper  structure,  
they  are  in  the  best  position  to  do  this.  
§ Communities  among  practitioners  create  a  direct  link  between  learning  and  
performance,  because  the  same  people  participate  in  communities  of  practice  and  
in  teams  and  business  units.  
§ Practitioners  can  address  the  tacit  and  dynamic  aspects  of  knowledge  creation  and  
sharing,  as  well  as  the  more  explicit  aspects.  
§ Communities  are  not  limited  by  formal  structures:  they  create  connections  among  
people  across  organizational  and  geographic  boundaries.  
From  this  perspective,  the  knowledge  of  an  organization  lives  in  a  constellation  of  
communities  of  practice  each  taking  care  of  a  specific  aspect  of  the  competence  that  the  
organization  needs.  However,  the  very  characteristics  that  make  communities  of  
practice  a  good  fit  for  stewarding  knowledge—autonomy,  practitioner-­‐orientation,  
informality,  crossing  boundaries—are  also  characteristics  that  make  them  a  challenge  
for  traditional  hierarchical  organizations.  How  this  challenge  is  going  to  affect  these  
organizations  remains  to  be  seen.  
 
Government.  Like  businesses,  government  organizations  face  knowledge  challenges  of  
increasing  complexity  and  scale.  They  have  adopted  communities  of  practice  for  much  
the  same  reasons,  though  the  formality  of  the  bureaucracy  can  come  in  the  way  of  open  
knowledge  sharing.  Beyond  internal  communities,  there  are  typical  government  

Communities  of  practice     4  

A  brief  introduction  –  V  April  15,  2015  
problems  such  as  education,  health,  and  security  that  require  coordination  and  
knowledge  sharing  across  levels  of  government.  There  also,  communities  of  practice  
hold  the  promise  of  enabling  connections  among  people  across  formal  structures.  And  
there  also,  there  are  substantial  organizational  issues  to  overcome.  
 
Education.  Schools  and  districts  are  organizations  in  their  own  right,  and  they  too  face  
increasing  knowledge  challenges.  The  first  applications  of  communities  of  practice  have  
been  in  teacher  training  and  in  providing  isolated  administrators  with  access  to  
colleagues.  There  is  a  wave  of  interest  in  these  peer-­‐to-­‐peer  professional-­‐development  
activities.  But  in  the  education  sector,  learning  is  not  only  a  means  to  an  end:  it  the  end  
product.  The  perspective  of  communities  of  practice  is  therefore  also  relevant  at  this  
level.  In  business,  focusing  on  communities  of  practice  adds  a  layer  of  complexity  to  the  
organization,  but  it  does  not  fundamentally  change  what  the  business  is  about.  In  
schools,  changing  the  learning  theory  is  a  much  deeper  transformation.  This  will  
inevitably  take  longer.  The  perspective  of  communities  of  practice  affects  educational  
practices  along  three  dimensions:  
§ Internally:  How  to  organize  educational  experiences  that  ground  school  learning  in  
practice  through  participation  in  communities  around  subject  matters?  
§ Externally:  How  to  connect  the  experience  of  students  to  actual  practice  through  
peripheral  forms  of  participation  in  broader  communities  beyond  the  walls  of  the  
school?    
§ Over  the  lifetime  of  students:  How  to  serve  the  lifelong  learning  needs  of  students  
by  organizing  communities  of  practice  focused  on  topics  of  continuing  interest  to  
students  beyond  the  initial  schooling  period?  
From  this  perspective,  the  school  is  not  the  privileged  locus  of  learning.  It  is  not  a  self-­‐
contained,  closed  world  in  which  students  acquire  knowledge  to  be  applied  outside,  but  
a  part  of  a  broader  learning  system.  The  class  is  not  the  primary  learning  event.  It  is  life  
itself  that  is  the  main  learning  event.  Schools,  classrooms,  and  training  sessions  still  have  
a  role  to  play  in  this  vision,  but  they  have  to  be  in  the  service  of  the  learning  that  
happens  in  the  world.  
 
Associations.  A  growing  number  of  associations,  professional  and  otherwise,  are  seeking  
ways  to  focus  on  learning  through  reflection  on  practice.  Their  members  are  restless  and  
their  allegiance  is  fragile.  They  need  to  offer  high-­‐value  learning  activities.  The  peer-­‐to-­‐
peer  learning  activities  typical  of  communities  of  practice  offer  a  complementary  
alternative  to  more  traditional  course  offerings  and  publications.  
 
Social  sector.  In  the  civic  domain,  there  is  an  emergent  interest  in  building  communities  
among  practitioners.  In  the  non-­‐profit  world,  for  instance,  foundations  are  recognizing  
that  philanthropy  needs  focus  on  learning  systems  in  order  to  fully  leverage  funded  
projects.  But  practitioners  are  seeking  peer-­‐to-­‐peer  connections  and  learning  
opportunities  with  or  without  the  support  of  institutions.  This  includes  regional  
economic  development,  with  intra-­‐regional  communities  on  various  domains,  as  well  as  
inter-­‐regional  learning  with  communities  gathering  practitioners  from  various  regions.  
 
International  development.  There  is  increasing  recognition  that  the  challenge  of  
developing  nations  is  as  much  a  knowledge  as  a  financial  challenge.  A  number  of  people  
believe  that  a  communities-­‐of-­‐practice  approach  can  provide  a  new  paradigm  for  
development  work.  It  emphasizes  knowledge  building  among  practitioners.  Some  
development  agencies  now  see  their  role  as  conveners  of  such  communities,  rather  
than  as  providers  of  knowledge.  

Communities  of  practice     5  

A  brief  introduction  –  V  April  15,  2015  
  
The  web.  New  technologies  such  as  the  Internet  have  extended  the  reach  of  our  
interactions  beyond  the  geographical  limitations  of  traditional  communities,  but  the  
increase  in  flow  of  information  does  not  obviate  the  need  for  community.  In  fact,  it  
expands  the  possibilities  for  community  and  calls  for  new  kinds  of  communities  based  
on  shared  practice.  
 
The  concept  of  community  of  practice  is  influencing  theory  and  practice  in  many  
domains.  From  humble  beginnings  in  apprenticeship  studies,  the  concept  was  grabbed  
by  businesses  interested  in  knowledge  management  and  has  progressively  found  its  way  
into  other  sectors.  It  has  now  become  the  foundation  of  a  perspective  on  knowing  and  
learning  that  informs  efforts  to  create  learning  systems  in  various  sectors  and  at  various  
levels  of  scale,  from  local  communities,  to  single  organizations,  partnerships,  cities,  
regions,  and  the  entire  world.  
 
Myths  about  communities  of  practice  
The  diversity  of  types  of  communities  across  different  sectors  has  shown  that  there  is  no  
one-­‐recipe-­‐fits-­‐all,  despite  some  of  the  claims  that  are  made  about  them.  Here  are  some  
of  the  assertions  or  “myths”  that  have  won  some  acclaim,  in  part  due  to  the  
interpretation  of  early  theoretical  writing  about  them.    
 
Communities  of  practice  are  always  self-­‐organizing  
False.  Some  communities  do  self-­‐organize  and  are  very  effective.  But  most  communities  
need  some  cultivation  to  be  sure  that  members  get  high  value  for  their  time.    
 
There  are  no  leaders  in  a  true  community  of  practice  
Mostly  false.  In  many  communities  of  practice  decisions  need  to  be  taken,  conditions  
need  to  be  put  in  place,  strategic  conversations  need  to  be  had.  Not  all  members  see  
value  in  being  involved  in  these  processes.  Whether  you  call  them  leaders,  co-­‐
ordinators,  or  stewards,  someone  needs  to  do  it  -­‐  and  it  is  as  well  to  recognize  them  for  
the  role  they  play.  
 
True  communities  of  practice  are  informal    
False.  There  are  many  informal  communities  of  practice.  And  there  are  many  formal  
ones  too.  The  more  intentionally  they  are  used  for  developing  the  strategic  capability  of  
an  organization  or  a  cause,  the  more  likely  they  are  to  have  to  go  through  some  formal  
process  to  be  recognized  as  such.  
 
The  role  of  a  community  of  practice  is  to  share  existing  knowledge  
Partially  true.    The  experience  people  have  to  share  is  clearly  important.  But  
communities  of  practice  also  innovate  and  solve  problems.  They  invent  new  practices,  
create  new  knowledge,  define  new  territory,  and  develop  a  collective  and  strategic  
voice.    
 
It  is  too  difficult  to  measure  the  impact  of  communities  of  practice  
Mostly  false.  It  may  be  difficult  to  attribute  with  100%  certainty  the  activities  of  a  
community  of  practice  to  a  particular  outcome.  You  can,  howowever,  build  a  good  case  
using  quantitative  and  qualitative  data  to  measure  different  types  of  value  created  by  
the  community  and  trace  how  members  are  changing  their  practice  and  improving  
performance  as  a  result.  
 
 

Communities  of  practice     6  

A  brief  introduction  –  V  April  15,  2015  
Good  facilitation  is  all  it  takes  to  get  members  to  participate  
False.  Artful  faciliation  is  very  important.  But  there  are  many  other  reasons  why  people  
may  not  participate.  The  domain  must  be  relevant  and  a  priority  to  members.  The  value  
of  participation  usually  needs  to  be  recognized  by  the  organization  otherwise  members  
will  not  bother.  Members  need  to  see  results  of  their  participation  and  have  a  sense  
that  they  are  getting  something  out  of  it.  Good  facilitation  can  help  to  make  this  visible,  
but  is  not  the  main  reason  why  people  participate.    
 
Communities  of  practice  are  harmonious  places  
Maybe.  But  if  they  are  totally  conflict  free,  you  should  be  concerned  that  groupthink  
may  be  settling  in  or  voices  being  silenced.    More  important,  and  usually  quite  difficult  
to  achieve,  is  that  differences  are  discussable  and  that  they  contribute  to  the  learning.  
 
There  is  a  technology  that  is  best  for  communities  of  practice  
False.  There  may  be,  but  we  haven’t  found  it  yet.  The  online  universe  is  clutttered  with  
spaces  that  nobody  uses.  It’s  also  full  of  sites  that  are  called  a  community  of  practice  
even  if  noone  is  there!    A  tool  or  technology  is  as  good  as  it  is  useful  to  the  people  who  
use  it.  And  a  forum  is  simply  a  forum  until  it  becomes  occupied  by  a  community  of  
practice.      
 
Communities  of  practice  are  the  solution  to  everything!  
False.  Communities  of  practice  don’t  substitute  teams  or  networks  or  other  joint  
enteprsies.  Each  has  its  own  place  in  the  overall  ecology  of  the  learning  system.    In  
recent  developments  of  the  theory  we  talk  about  landscapes  of  practice,  and  of  creating  
different  types  of  social  learning  spaces  that  open  up  new  opportunities  for  developing  
learning  capability.      
 

Further  reading  
For  the  application  of  a  community-­‐based  approach  to  knowledge  in  organizations:  
§ Cultivating  communities  of  practice:  a  guide  to  managing  knowledge.  By  Etienne  
Wenger,  Richard  McDermott,  and  William  Snyder,  Harvard  Business  School  Press,  
2002.  
§ Communities  of  practice:  the  organizational  frontier.  By  Etienne  Wenger  and  William  Snyder.  
Harvard  Business  Review.  January-­‐February  2000,  pp.  139-­‐145.  
§ Knowledge  management  is  a  donut:  shaping  your  knowledge  strategy  with  communities  of  
practice.  By  Etienne  Wenger.  Ivey  Business  Journal,  January  2004.  
 
For  in-­‐depth  coverage  of  the  learning  theory:  
§ Communities  of  practice:  learning,  meaning,  and  identity.  By  Etienne  Wenger,  
Cambridge  University  Press,  1998.  
 
§ Learning  in  landscapes  of  practice.  By  Etienne  Wenger-­‐Trayner,  Mark  Fenton  
O’Creevy,  Steven  Hutchinson,  Chris  Kubiak,  Beverly  Wenger-­‐Trayner,  Routledge,  
2014  
 
For  monitoring  the  value  creation  in  communities  of  practice  and  networks  
• Promoting  and  assessing  value  creation  in  communities  and  networks:  a  
conceptual  framework.  By  Etienne  Wenger,  Beverly  Trayner,  Maarten  de  Laat,  
Rapport  18,  Ruud  de  Moor  Centrum,  Open  University  of  the  Netherlands,  2011  
 

Communities  of  practice     7  

A  brief  introduction  –  V  April  15,  2015  
 • Srategic  evaluation  of  network  activities.  Highlights  of  the  development  of  the  
framework  and  its  application  to  a  project  in  a  blogpost.  By  Beverly  Wenger-­‐
Trayner,  2015  http://wenger-­‐trayner.com/resources/publications/strategic-­‐
evaluation-­‐of-­‐network-­‐activities/  
 
• Planning  and  evaluating  social  learning.  A  video  and  its  transcript  about  the  
developments  of  the  framework.  By  Etienne  and  Beverly  Wenger-­‐Trayner,  2015  
http://wenger-­‐trayner.com/resources/planning-­‐and-­‐evaluating-­‐social-­‐learning/  
 
Other  useful  resources  
• Frequently  asked  questions  about  communities  of  practice,  networks,  and  social  
learning.  By  Etienne  and  Beverly  Wenger-­‐Trayner  http://wenger-­‐
trayner.com/faqs/  
 
• Leadership  groups:  a  practice  for  fostering  leadership  in  social  learning  
contexts.    By  Etienne  and  Beverly  Wenger-­‐Trayner  http://wenger-­‐
trayner.com/resources/leadership-­‐groups-­‐for-­‐social-­‐learning/  
 

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A  brief  introduction  –  V  April  15,  2015