Communities of Practice

By Lena

Last updated May 13, 2026

Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly. They are not formal teams or departments. They are networks of practitioners who exchange knowledge, solve problems together, and build shared expertise over time.

What Are Communities of Practice?

A community of practice forms when people with a common interest come together to deepen their understanding and skill. The concept was developed by Etienne Wenger and Jean Lave in the early 1990s. They observed that learning happens socially and that practitioners naturally cluster around shared challenges.

Three elements define a community of practice:

• The domain — a shared area of interest or competence that gives the group its identity
• The community — relationships built through ongoing interaction and mutual engagement
• The practice — a shared repertoire of resources, stories, tools, and approaches

These communities can exist inside an organization, across organizations, or entirely outside formal structures. A group of innovation managers meeting monthly to share methods is a community of practice. So is an online forum where data scientists discuss new techniques.

Why Communities of Practice Matter

Organizations that support communities of practice often see faster problem-solving and smoother knowledge transfer. When expertise is trapped inside individual heads or siloed teams, the same mistakes get repeated and good ideas spread slowly.

Communities of practice create a living knowledge base that is more current and more useful than any document repository. People learn what works from peers who face similar constraints. They also build relationships that make cross-functional collaboration easier later.

Research by the World Bank and other institutions has shown that communities of practice can reduce training costs, improve onboarding, and accelerate the adoption of new methods. They are especially valuable in fields where knowledge changes quickly and formal training cannot keep up.

Communities of Practice in Practice

A global pharmaceutical company struggling with slow technology transfer created communities of practice around specific manufacturing processes. Engineers from different plants began sharing fixes and improvements through regular video calls and a shared wiki. Within a year, the average time to resolve process issues dropped by 30 percent.

Another example is the Xerox repair technicians studied by Julian Orr in the 1980s. Technicians gathered informally to share stories about difficult repairs. This storytelling was not idle chat. It was how the community built and transmitted expert knowledge that the official manuals could not capture.

Common Misconceptions

Many people assume communities of practice are the same as formal working groups or project teams. They are not. A project team has a deadline and a deliverable. A community of practice has no formal mandate and no end date. Its value comes from ongoing exchange, not from completing a specific task.

Another misconception is that communities of practice need heavy management. They do need support, especially early on. But too much control kills the organic engagement that makes them useful. The best communities are self-governing and self-sustaining.

Related Terms

• Knowledge Management
• Open Innovation
• Collaborative Innovation
• Learning Organization
• Innovation Culture

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a community of practice and a team?

A team is formed to accomplish a specific task with defined roles and deadlines. A community of practice is an informal network focused on learning and sharing expertise around a shared domain.

How do you start a community of practice?

Find a small group of people who care about the same problem. Give them a simple way to meet and share. Start with a clear topic and a regular rhythm. Let the community shape its own norms over time.

Can communities of practice exist entirely online?

Yes. Many effective communities operate through forums, Slack channels, or video calls. What matters is regular interaction and a genuine shared interest, not physical proximity.

How do you measure the value of a community of practice?

Look at participation rates, the quality of knowledge shared, and concrete outcomes such as faster problem resolution or reduced repeated work. Surveys can also capture whether members feel the community helps them do their jobs better.

What kills a community of practice?

Lack of time, lack of relevance, and top-down control are the most common causes. When participation becomes mandatory or the topic drifts away from members’ real concerns, engagement drops quickly.

Contributor

Lena @lena_thorsvik

Explains research-backed innovation concepts in plain language for students, founders, and product teams.

Lena enjoys turning dense innovation theory into practical reading people can use before a workshop, sprint planning session, or leadership review. She draws on sources like the IDEO Design Kit, the WIPO Global Innovation Index, and MIT Sloan Management Review when checking how concepts are used.

She frequently covers customer research, experimentation, and product discovery, often drawing examples from the IDEO Design Kit, trend benchmarks from the WIPO Global Innovation Index, and management insights from MIT Sloan Management Review. You will notice she tends to include comparison tables and quick decision prompts because they help readers act faster.

Lena believes credible content should be usable in both classrooms and boardrooms. If a concept cannot be explained to both audiences, it probably needs another rewrite.