Virtual Communities@

» Communities of Practice Discussion Forum    Group that discusses technology, theory and developmental practices. Features a glossary and links to related sites.    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/com-prac/

» Communities of Practice and Pattern Language    James B. Smethurst. For any member of a Community of Practice, there comes a time to interface with individuals and organizations which do not form part of the Community. The difficulty of this situation is the issue of language. Every Community of Practi    http://www.mgtaylor.com/mgtaylor/jotm/summer97/community_of_practice.htm

» Communities of Practice: a social aspect to virtual worlds?    The term CoP is used to describe many groups. Here the CoP is discussed as a means of providing the missing social dimension to the virtual world.    http://www-users.cs.york.ac.uk/~kimble/teaching/mis/Communities_of_Practice.html

» Communities of practice and organizational performance    Lesser and Storck of the IBM Institute for Knowledge Management argue that the social capital in communities, which may be virtual or co-located, lead to changes that positively influence business performance.    http://researchweb.watson.ibm.com/journal/sj/404/lesser.html

» Cpsquare    Resources and information for individuals and organizations who are developing expertise in the cultivation of communities of practice. Features educational resources, publications and contact details.    http://www.cpsquare.com

» Efios knowledge management    Knowledge management consultants for building and supporting communities of practice, virtual teams and communities in the enterprise organisation.    http://www.efios.com

» Etienne Wenger    Homepage of the Community of Practice researcher and consultant who coined the term along with Jean Lave. Features links to his widely-read publications on the field, including an exhaustive survey of technologies that can be used to support Communities o    http://www.ewenger.com/

» Global Gateways    Global Gateways is currently facilitating Communities of Practice (CoPs) for Chief Information Officers (CIOs). We are also forming Communities for other management groups.    http://global-gateways.com/communit.htm

» Human Interface    Lecture notes from a course taught by Chris Kimble at York University. Provides links to sources of information on knowledge management and communities of practice.    http://www-users.cs.york.ac.uk/~kimble/teaching/hi-2/hi-2.html

» IBM Global Services experience evolving Communities of Practice    Overview of the lessons IBM Global Services have learned since 1995 implementing Communities of Practice. Focuses on people and organization behavior, supporting processes, and enabling technology factors.    http://researchweb.watson.ibm.com/journal/sj/404/gongla.html

» KnowNet    Researchs and develops new architectures, ideas and internet software for collaborative knowledge development and learning. Features overviews, portals and contact information.    http://www.theknownet.com

» Knowledge Management Research at the University of York    Chris Kimble's research in CSCW and Knowledge Management, in particular, the representation and dissemination of knowledge in virtual team and in virtual environments. He is interested in the problems associated with cross-cultural or trans-national team    http://www-users.cs.york.ac.uk/~kimble/research/research.html

» Knowledge Management for Development    A website by Bellanet on leveraging Knowledge Management and Communities of Practice for the international development sector.    http://open.bellanet.org/km/

» Knowledge Networks: Innovation through Communities of Practice    Introduction, historical view and chapter abstracts of book by Pete Bradshaw, Stephen Powell and Dr. Ian Terrell. Features annotated references.    http://www.chris-kimble.com/KNICOP/Chapters/Introduction.html

» McDermott Consulting    Communities of Practice researcher Richard McDermott's consulting firm.    http://www.mcdermottconsulting.com/

» Seven Principles for Cultivating Communities of Practice    Although communities of practice develop organically, a carefully crafted design can drive their evolution. By Etienne Wenger, Richard McDermott, and William M. Snyder; published in Harvard Business School's "Working Knowledge."    http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item.jhtml?id=2855&t=entrepreneurship

» The Meta Network    Helps groups and organizations build virtual teams and learning communities through organization development consulting, web-based conferencing, and facilitation services.    http://www.tmn.com/

» Where is the Action in Virtual Communities of Practice?    Paper argues that the transfer of a concept that is deeply rooted in the lived-in world to the virtual involves significant conceptual problems. By Christopher Lueg. [PDF]    http://www-staff.it.uts.edu.au/~lueg/papers/commdcscw00.pdf