Community of Practice

A community of practice is a group of people who share a craft, role or area of interest and learn from one another by interacting regularly. The idea, developed by Etienne Wenger and Jean Lave, holds that much valuable learning is social and situated — it happens through participation, storytelling and shared problem-solving rather than only through formal courses. In organisations, communities of practice connect people across teams and locations to exchange tips, document know-how, mentor newcomers and solve real problems, capturing tacit knowledge that would otherwise stay locked in individuals' heads. They complement structured training by keeping expertise alive between formal programmes and by surfacing practical, up-to-date insight. Sustaining one requires purpose, active facilitation and easy places to interact, such as forums, discussion spaces and shared resource libraries. Learning platforms support communities of practice with forums, groups, social features and searchable knowledge, turning a one-off course into an ongoing, collaborative learning culture.