Communities of Practice in local government

Professional communities in general, and Communities of Practice (CoP) in particular, are gaining recognition as highly valuable platforms for learning and advancement, both for individuals and for organizations. The CoP model is the basis of a joint initiative with the Ministry of the Interior whose goal is to cultivate the human capital in local authorities, thereby building their capacity to provide better services and more opportunities for their residents.

The initiative is designed to create leading groups of professionals holding parallel positions in different municipalities. It will tap into their combined knowledge about needs and solutions in their field, and offer a space for mutual learning, consulting, networking, and personal and professional development.

In the first stage the initiative includes four communities in the fields of education, economic development, strategy and digitation. Each community comprises 30-40 members who face similar challenges in their work and can enrich each other’s knowledge and experience. Every community will also have a broader circle of hundreds of people who will enjoy access to professional tools and best practices.

In addition to benefiting the community members and their cities, the initiative is expected to have an impact processes at the national level that touch on issues such as: the relationship between national and local government, work principles of local authorities’ staff, dissemination of knowledge in the field, and more.

Partners

Government