What is a Community of Practice in green transition related work? 

A Community of Practice (CoP) is a group of staff members who share a commitment to sustainability and engage in collective learning and collaboration. Originally introduced by Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger in 1991, CoPs play a crucial role in the green transition of health and care services by fostering innovation, knowledge-sharing and skills development. CoPs function through three key principles: Domain, Community and Practice. The Domain refers to the shared purpose and focus of members. The Community emphasises relationships and interactions. Lastly, Practice encompasses structured forums, shared resources and platforms for co-creation. With management support, CoPs serve as transformational agents. Through participatory staff engagement, members refine strategies for adopting sustainable practices, such as waste reduction, renewable energy use and green infrastructure development.

The concept of a 'Community of Practice' (CoP) was first proposed by cognitive anthropologist Jean Lave and educational theorist Etienne Wenger in their 1991 book Situated Learning. In the context of green transition, a CoP is a group of staff members who share a common interest in sustainability and who want to learn from each other through regular interaction and everyday work situations. Members of a green transition CoP collaborate and co-create to find more sustainable practices, they learn and share knowledge about green transition, and they develop their skills together. This community provides a supportive environment where individuals can grow and improve their practices through shared experiences and collective and critical learning.

There are three principles that describe the purpose, the people involved and the practices of a green transition CoP:

1. DOMAIN: Domain is linked to purpose. Members share a common domain of interest, competence and commitment that unites them. This creates shared space, motivation and meaningfulness in work, inspires participation, guides learning and gives focus to action. It is the common ground that binds the community together. For example, in a workplace, a group of health and care practitioners concerned about environmental issues such as food waste or recycling share an interest in improving their daily work practices. This common domain gives them a sense of identity and purpose and motivates them to participate and learn from each other.

2. COMMUNITY: Community is about people, the practitioners involved and the relationships and interactions between practitioners. Through regular engagement, members build trust, share information and knowledge and support each other. It is the social fabric of the group. In practical terms, this means regular interactions such as formal and informal meetings, discussions about finding alternative practices, and collaborative projects. Through these interactions, practitioners build relationships, trust and a sense of belonging. For example, health and care practitioners have weekly or monthly meetings to discuss challenges, generate ideas, co-create and share solutions, and support each other. They often take the lead in mentoring colleagues, organising sensemaking and setting the vision for sustainability in workplaces, and creating space, structure and framework for discussion, testing and impact assessment of new environmental practices. They may not have all the answers, but they are crucial to keeping the community engaged and focused on its environmental purpose. The full potential of the Community of Practice comes from the structure of the organisation recognising the role of this type of employee. Management support is important.

3. PRACTICE: Practice refers to procedures such as co-creation forums, guidance and platforms such as meetings for sharing sustainable practices. It includes the shared repertoire of resources, experiences, stories, participatory methods and ways of dealing with recurring problems as well as opportunities. It is the practical aspect of the community's explicit and implicit knowledge and skills. It is the body of knowledge, tools and techniques that the community develops and shares around the green transition. Practically, it includes the resources and experiences that practitioners use to solve problems, think about possibilities and improve their skills. For example, health and care practitioners can share best practices and lessons learned from the past and co-create a space where they can work together to create new and better practices. This could be through workshops, webinars or conferences where practitioners discuss sustainable practices and how best to organise them in their daily work and workplaces. For example, how to organise the adoption of renewable energy, waste management, carbon footprint reduction or green infrastructure development?

Further information:

Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge University Press.