How CoPs Work

Introduction ll Concept ll How CoPs work ll Forming a CoP

CoPs work through three essential and three hidden variables (Bollinger 2005). An active community having a genuine interest in sharing, clarity on a specific domain of interaction and an interest in sharing each others practical and tacit knowledge symbolise the essence of CoP interactions. At a hidden level, motivation, sharing mandate (organizational or self commitment) and an informal CoP structure outside organizational boxes is critical to CoP functionality.

Thus forming a vibrant CoP is not easy. One of SA PPLPP’s key learning’s has been that while many CoPs were started, they turned dormant / non active over a period of time. The establishment of a firm basis of trust often hinders the free expression of views within the CoP fraternity. Furthermore, without a personal or professional urge to deepen ones own knowledge, the urge to regularly contribute to group interactions is gradually moved to low priority.  Finally, CoPs need strong facilitation that cares for the overall coordination and structuring of CoP based discussions and manages the information flow.

Given below are three examples of successful CoP’s.

1. SA PPLPP facilitated CoP4LPD

CoP4 LPD emerged out of a need expressed by an eclectic group of interested professionals working in livestock development to share and learn from each other on livestock policy issues. SA PPLPP facilitated the setting up of the CoP that brought together these individuals onto a platform of interaction. The overall objective of equipping members to be actively involved in the processes of livestock policy development was arrived at by the members themselves through an open discussion. 

This eight member group comprising people with past experience of working on Livestock Management and Policy development in Orissa, Sikkim, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh; representing government, NGOs and International Agencies have since interacted through multiple E group discussions and CoP meetings and have worked out their own modalities of interaction including clarity on leadership issues, management of an E Forum and planning discussion schedules. Concrete lessons from policy making such as experiences of policy formulation in Chhattisgarh and its allied Human and Institutional Development activities as well as the Pro poor Livestock Potential of Madhya Pradesh have been shared within the CoP.

Some of the tangible outcomes of the CoP interactions have been

• Sharing of past experiences of policy making processes from Sikkim, Chhattisgarh and Orissa and reviewing their pro-poor frames, created space for drawing lessons and discussing policy postulations within the CoP for states like Madhya Pradesh which is in the process of developing its own livestock policy. The lessons for the past policy making experiences were shared with CoP members associated with the Madhya Pradesh rural Livelihood Program and the Department of Animal Husbandry, GoMP.
• Various pro-poor policy options related to service delivery, livestock based livelihood generation and sharing of good and bad case examples enhanced the outlook of the CoP members on livestock policy formulation and planning processes.

The self learning component of the CoP is further elaborated by a few of its members:

**I think this CoP is a thinking tool for self development. It also taught me how to use informal resources to streamline formal processes.

-Rakesh Sharma ( Under Sec, DAHD, GoMP)

**Being a member of the CoP enables me to share my experiences of policy formulation and understand clearly why some things worked and why some didn’t. I see  the CoP as a  learning platform and find its focus on systems and institutions very interesting.

-Shefali Misra , livelihood consultant

**I have been associated with the livestock sector since the past 40 years. My interest in this CoP is its focus on the pro poor aspect of livestock development. This is a rare opportunity because there are indeed multiple limitations and negative responses to current livestock policies. I want to know what’s going wrong and I hope this CoP will help me find an answer.

-Dr Ranganekar livestock consultant

2.  CoP for Livestock Policy Change in Africa

In the late 1990s a joint review of 800 donor assisted livestock projects in East Africa was undertaken. The majority of these projects were based on a technical transfer paradigm including new methods to control animal diseases, improve livestock breeds and raise production. However, the lack of sustained project impact was assessed as poor. Given this reality, a second generation of livestock projects evolved aimed at strengthening capacities of livestock organisations, to develop and deliver novel technologies and services to the poor. These projects focused on capacity development of government organisations and aimed to promote more client focused and decentralised approaches of livestock management. The sustained benefit of these “organisational projects” was again found limiting. The truth was that new capacities did not manage to change the way organisations internally behaved.

A novel learning approach focussing on change management was promoted by a group of livestock practitioners associated with the African Union/ Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU/IBAR) who attempted to address pre-existing policy constraints for community-based delivery of animal health services. Concerned with the dismal delivery of veterinary services in marginalised arid and semiarid areas, the practitioners group developed and applied a range of lobbying, advocacy, networking and learning events within an overall strategy which recognised the need to build synergy between government – NGO and private stakeholders around decentralised delivery of veterinary services.

The network involved policy makers, street level bureaucrats, technical experts and community leaders in a multitude of learning events and impact assessment studies that eventually changed their policy makers mindsets towards decentralised delivery and engagement of the community in delivery of animal health services. 

In December 2000, the research findings and lobbying efforts of the practictioners group motivated AU/IBAR to establish the Community-based Animal Health and Participatory Epidemiology (CAPE) Project to promote the creation of supportive policies and legislation for Community Animal health workers in pastoralist areas of East Africa. In September 2002 CAPE members presented a paper at a conference of the World Organisation for Animal Health to show how CAHWs could strengthen what the OIE defined as “quality” national veterinary services. Today, CAPE functions as a Policy group on livestock service decentralization within the AU/IBAR and the practitioners who propelled this change process are currently engaged in re-defining a new networking agenda for their interactions.

(Catley, Leyland, Admassu, Thomson, Otieno and Aklilu 2005)

3. Aguasan

An interdisciplinary Swiss community of practice bringing together a wide range of specialists to promote wider and deeper understanding amongst its members and the larger development community on issues related to water supply, sanitation and hygiene in developing countries.
The AGUASAN group, based in Switzerland, is one of the oldest existing sector specific communities of practice on the Swiss development scene. Its members belong to several Swiss development and development research organisations, including the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Water and Sanitation in Developing Countries (SANDEC), Helvetas and the Skat Foundation. Since 1984 AGUASAN has regularly brought together water and sanitation experts from around the world in 3-monthly meetings to discuss current trends and innovations in the field of water supply and environmental sanitation.

Above the regular meetings, AGUASAN also holds annual summer workshops in Switzerland, bringing together project field staff, desk officers, researchers, experts and consultants for a week of exchange and reflection on selected development issues. AGUASAN workshops are clearly intended to foster a mutual learning experience, particularly making participants with a technical background more aware of non-technical aspects of water and sanitation development. Besides this major goal, the workshops also aim to utilise the broad and multi-faceted knowledge and experience available within the group, by developing and examining strategies and conceptual tools that will be of practical use in development cooperation.

Recent themes of AGUASAN workshops include private sector involvement, the household-centred approach and the impact of personal paradigms.
Details on AGUASAN available at this link.