Online Communities of Practice presentation at EuroPCom - European Conference for Public Communication by Steven Clift. Mixes lessons from UK-based Knowledge Hub http://khub.net with a few relevant experiences via http://E-Democracy.org

1. Online Communities of Practice, EuroPCom
Steven Clift, Global Engagement Lead, KHub.Net

2. Outline
• Introduction – Groups and Individuals
• Knowledge Hub – KHub.Net Overview
• Online Communities of Practice
– Do’s
– Don’ts
– With examples
• Conclusion

3. Breaking the ice …
going back in time

4. Happy Back to the Future Day #BTTF2015

5. Government by day,
Citizen by night ... 1994
E-Democracy.org

6. Governments explore knowledge exchange to
improve public services
• Led to Knowledge Hub
in the UK (decade of
experience now)
• Other below radar
initiatives I once called
“public net-work”
• More attention to “e-
consultation”

7. Then came “private life first” social media …

8. You are in the center
“networked individualism” v. groups tension
You
Friends
Family
Communities
Prof. Peers
Public
“Entities”

9. Back to the future with online
groups – communities of practice

10. Outline
• Introduction – Groups and Individuals
• Knowledge Hub – KHub.Net Overview
• Online Communities of Practice
– Do’s
– Don’ts
– With examples
• Conclusion

11. What is Knowledge Hub?
• Digital collaboration space dedicated
to the public and non-profit sectors
• Where public service professionals
connect, exchange knowledge,
ideas, insight and experience to
improve public services
• 100,000+ registered professionals
across 450 public sector organisations
and 11 countries
• Visit KHub.Net

12. million
knowledge exchanges
at your fingertips16
Knowledge Hub is the place where members exchange knowledge to
improve public services and produce social value. It is where...
100,000+ PUBLIC SERVICE
PRACTITIONERS
GO TO WORK TOGETHER

13. © 2014 CapacityGrid Knowledge Hub Limited 13

14. Example groups and themes
Social care Health care Environment Flood defense
Voluntary services Transport Police & Fire Education
Housing Benefits Foster care Community services
Digital projects Technology National policy Regional initiatives
Connect with over 1,500 groups working to improve public services – KHub.Net
Who is using Knowledge Hub?
Practitioners, elected members, civil servants, NGOs, researchers, policy
makers, suppliers, volunteers, stakeholders … and many more.

15. KHub.Net includes
Branding and
management
Content
manageable,
branded landing
page and groups,
plus access to
create own open,
restricted and private
groups.
Partnership
working
Any individual may
join Knowledge Hub
for free enabling
easier collaboration
with partners. Our
API means you can
populate your
network more easily.
khub.net | support@khub.net
• Blogs (pictured here)
• Library with search
• People directory
• Events
• Groups
• Forum, wiki, files
and more
• Help (pictured here)
• Free to join and create
public and listed groups

16. Network option
Branding and
management
Content
manageable,
branded landing
page and groups,
plus access to
create own open,
restricted and private
groups.
Partnership
working
Any individual may
join Knowledge Hub
for free enabling
easier collaboration
with partners. Our
API means you can
populate your
network more easily.
khub.net | support@khub.net
• Organisational branding
• Self-managed
• Paid service supports
KHub overall – part of
business model
• KHub also host social style
intranets for public service
organisations

17. Outline
• Introduction – Groups and Individuals
• Knowledge Hub – KHub.Net Overview
• Online Communities of Practice
– Do’s
– Don’ts
– With examples
• Conclusion

18. Online Communities of Practice - Dos and Don’ts
• Do
– Define purpose/focus
– Do stuff
– Learn together
• Don’t
– “Build it they will
come”
– Auto-pilot community
connecting
– Skip reminders

19. 1. Do: Define your Purpose/Focus
• Examples:
– A. Intergovernmental efforts – project/working groups
– B. Professional focus/identity – classic CoPs
– C. Stakeholder engagement (output side of gov)
– D. Etc. – Training, Recruitment effort, peer review
• Decide Access: Public, Request to Join, Unlisted
• Key: Short description must clearly state the
purpose/focus of the group to attract interest and use.

20. KHub Global Showcase
• Project and Programme Management CoP
• Improvement and Performance
• Climate Local Network
• Education Connects
• Community Safety - crime prevention
• Local Democracy Bytes Club - better local democracy
• Information Graphics and Visualisation
• Social Media and Online Collaboration
• Web Improvement and Usage Community
• Public Sector Communications
• Knowledge Hub Global - Building international engagement
KHub.net/showcase

21. 2. Do: Do Stuff
• A. Online groups often connect to working groups, in-
person meetings, trusted networks, etc.
– Get things done more effectively and efficiently
– A work product - a report, recommendations, implementing
local policy from national legislation, etc. helps motivate
use.
– Example: Food Safety Group
• B. Facilitator leadership is key:
– Seed topics, update members, share summaries widely (if
a more open group), etc.

22. Case study Food Standards and Labelling
The Food Standards and Labelling Focus group is a small advisory panel of
about 35 people that supports the wider Food Standards and Labelling
community.
Operating costs of focus group WITHOUT Knowledge Hub:
• 35 people, £60 average train fare
• 4 face-to-face meetings pa
• £500 day rate for 35 people – 4 days a year
Operating costs of focus group WITH Knowledge Hub
• 35 people, £60 average train fare
• 2 face-to-face meetings
• £500 day rate for 35 people – 2 days a year
(Avoidable cost formula applied % attributable to group
& % degree of certainty in that)
Group owner: “The focus group has enabled us to progress opinions and
guidance virtually so that we are not waiting for the next meeting to discuss
issues.”
2groups
1400members
Key purpose:
To ensure a
consistency of
approach across
food standards and
labelling regulation.
£78,400
£39,200
Estimated
savings of
£39,200 &
avoidable cost
of £28,224
khub.net | support@khub.net

23. 3. Do: Learn Together
• A. Explore, engage, learning many
to many - kindred curious peers
• B. Ask Questions, Share
Answers
• C. Example: Fostering
Information Exchange

24. Fostering Information Exchange –
Stakeholder Engagement/Comms
• Example discussions:
– Fostering allowance
– Staying Put government
initiative
– Combining fostering and other
work
• Example announcements
– Directory of case studies
– Survey link
• Promotional Flyer – Note
partners

25. 4. Don’t: “Build it they will come.”
• Outreach is essential.
• Who are the key 10 people
you need to participate? The
next 20, etc.
• If public engagement – What
is your online advertising
budget? Who/where will you
target?
• Example: Open Government
Facebook Group outreach
• Related: “Why not just use
Facebook/LinkedIn, etc?”
• Example: E-Democracy
Neighbors Online

26. E-Democracy’s
outreach
Slides
Video
More

27. 5. Don’t: Auto-pilot community connecting
• Facilitation is key, human
to human focus
• KHub’s 700+ member
online facilitator group,
training on new groups
• Example: Poplus.org
round of introductions

28. 6. Don’t: Skip reminders and notices
• Email is not dead
– Why does Facebook and
Twitter send so many email
alerts? They work.
– Hyper competition for
attention online
• Forum discussion notices
• Personalized alerts
• E-updates from group
leaders

29. Additional Resources
• Facilitators Cookbook
http://po.st/KHubFacilitatorsCookbookPDF
• Prep Hangout Recording
http://po.st/KHubEuroPComPrepHangoutE
• Public Sector Communications KHub
Group
http://po.st/psc
• Art of Online Groups that Work in Public
Services Q and A
http://po.st/onlinegroupsthatwork
• Wikipedia – Virtual community of practice (further
links)
• Search “online community management guide”

30. Conclusion:
Build trusted spaces for listening, reflection,
understanding, and collaboration
… slowcial media for getting things done with
stakeholders

31. Join in on KHub.Net
For more information contact: support@khub.net
khub.net | support@khub.net

32. Additional Slides
For possible use in Q and A if
required.

34. City Hall
In-person
Conversations Shared on
Facebook
Your
Networks
Local
Media
Y
o
u
Local Biz
Neighbor#1
Local
Online
Groups
Join Group
Created “real” online
public space in local
communities

35. Can everyone talk? Where to ask ?s

36. In the center … feeling overwhelmed?

37. Knowledge Hub Vision
The digital public service space
where members go to give and get help,
co-create and share innovation, and
drive growth; securely, freely and easily.

38. Intranet
Extranet
Trusted spaces
Employees
Partners
Professional
networks
WWW
Social media
Stop working in silos:
Embrace the ‘mega’ enterprise social
network

39. Groups
Branding and
management
Content
manageable,
branded landing
page and groups,
plus access to
create own open,
restricted and private
groups.
Partnership
working
Any individual may
join Knowledge Hub
for free enabling
easier collaboration
with partners. Our
API means you can
populate your
network more easily.
khub.net | support@khub.net
• Over 1500 groups
• New Showcase lists groups
of special interest for new
“global” members:
• KHub.net/showcase
• Groups are feature rich
• Discussion forums for
Q and A and more
• New features including
web conferencing in
development

40. Group home page
Branding and
management
Content
manageable,
branded landing
page and groups,
plus access to
create own open,
restricted and private
groups.
Partnership
working
Any individual may
join Knowledge Hub
for free enabling
easier collaboration
with partners. Our
API means you can
populate your
network more easily.
khub.net | support@khub.net
• Access all the most recent
group activity
• Search group contents
• See group members
• Read group
announcements
• Access all sections of the
group

41. Group discussions
Branding and
management
Content
manageable,
branded landing
page and groups,
plus access to
create own open,
restricted and private
groups.
Partnership
working
Any individual may
join Knowledge Hub
for free enabling
easier collaboration
with partners. Our
API means you can
populate your
network more easily.
khub.net | support@khub.net
The forum enables
members to discuss
issues, share good
practice and knowledge
and help each other solve
problems.

42. Group library
Branding and
management
Content
manageable,
branded landing
page and groups,
plus access to
create own open,
restricted and private
groups.
Partnership
working
Any individual may
join Knowledge Hub
for free enabling
easier collaboration
with partners. Our
API means you can
populate your
network more easily.
khub.net | support@khub.net
• Upload a vast range of
file types
• No data storage limit
• Single file upload up to
133MB
• Upload multiple files in
one go
• Organise files into
folders
• Version control
• See number of
downloads

43. Group admin
Branding and
management
Content
manageable,
branded landing
page and groups,
plus access to
create own open,
restricted and private
groups.
Partnership
working
Any individual may
join Knowledge Hub
for free enabling
easier collaboration
with partners. Our
API means you can
populate your
network more easily.
khub.net | support@khub.net
Tools to manage your group:
• announcements
• messages to all members
• accept/reject members
• invite members
• remove members
• auto-accept members
• add/remove facilitators
• add/remove group features
• make pages public
• import blogs
• add/edit/remove polls

44. Case study Local Government Association
The Knowledge Hub concept began at the LGA.
2006 – Communities of Practice (CoP) for local government – practice sharing.
2012 – re-platformed & branded Knowledge Hub. Open source technology.
2013 – new partnership with private sector to continue to deliver the service.
2015 – LGA network of groups used to deliver:
LGA Facilitator: “Knowledge Hub is all about connections. It allows me to fully
communicate and engage with councils from an LGA perspective to support,
improve and promote their concerns. Problems and issues can all be
discussed on a broad level and solutions are found more easily. Knowledge
Hub is a great tool that allows you to ‘dip in and out’ when you need it for
something specific and is great for a ‘case by case’ analysis.”
124 groups
30,000 members
Key communities:
• Adult safeguarding
• Troubled families
• Planning
• Flood risk
• INSPIRE directive
Best practice
Expert networks
Ideas & initiatives
National
Communities
of Practice
Leadership
development
programmes
Peer
reviews
Central-local
government
partnership
projects
Funding
application
support

45. Case study Scottish Improvement Service
Working with the Knowledge Hub since its inception in 2012 and before that
with its predecessor the Communities of Practice.
Scottish Public Services Network
• A collaboration network of open, restricted and private groups to support
the improvement and delivery of public service in Scotland.
• Helping members find groups, content and people across the network
more easily and quickly.
• Showcasing innovative Scottish practice and ideas.
• Scottish groups can still benefit from the wider Knowledge Hub too.
Scottish Facilitator: “Due to the fact that we are situated in a rural area, an
online platform was needed for welfare reform and Knowledge Hub was the
clear winner due to its potential in accessing multi agency platforms. It’s
innovative and especially unique due to the fact that you are not just talking to
people, but talking with them. The information is important but Knowledge Hub
allows the information to be used in the most valuable way.”
60 groups
28,000 members
Key communities:
• NHS Procurement
• Sustainable Scotland
• Contaminated land
• Empty Homes
• Local government
benchmarking

46. Creative collaboration
Our members tell us they use Knowledge Hub in a
variety of ways to fulfil a whole range of needs.
Connecting people Developing skills
Saving time Gathering insights
Developing professional reputation Innovating
“My Knowledge Hub membership has
made me more efficient as an officer
and helped raise my profile and build
my reputation internally and
externally.”
Stacy Cosham, Broadland District
Council (East of England Scrutiny
Network)
“The group helps us to make better use
of our resources, spending much less
time responding to enquiries than we
would likely do without it.”
Robert Johnson, Department for
Transport (Concessionary Travel –
England Group)

47. Fiscal
position
Rising
Demand
Be engine
for growth
Do better
for less
Re-think
Government
Customers want to
know more
Funding redirected to
front-line services
Cost pressures in all
areas of public service
Open
data
The Digital Agenda
• Redesign services
• Encourage collaboration
• Stop re-invention
• Work smarter
The Public Service Challenge

48. Your Challenge
Funding
Pressures
Rising
Expectation
Be engine
for growth
Share
Innovation
Re-design
Offer
Investment return
on funding
Work smarter –
lead the way
Fiscal position across
member states
Share best
practice faster
The Digital Opportunity
• Repackaged offer
• Modernisation
• Virtual boundaries
• Expert networks
• Showcase for growth
• Greater resilience