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www.semantix.co.uk
Steve DaleDirector
Semantix (UK) LtdCollabor8now Ltd
Discovering the value Discovering the value of Social Networks and of Social Networks and
Communities of Communities of PracticePractice
www.collabor8now.com
Based on a presentation to the Public Health Information Network (PHIN)Based on a presentation to the Public Health Information Network (PHIN)Atlanta, Georgia. September 2009Atlanta, Georgia. September 2009
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www.semantix.co.ukwww.collabor8now.com
Who am I?
An evangelist and practitioner in the use of Web 2.0 technologies and Social Media applications to support personal self-development and knowledge sharing.
Steve was the business lead and information architect for the community of practice platform currently deployed across the UK local government sector, the largest professional network of its type, and continues to play a key role in the support of virtual communities of practice for value creation in public services.
Stephen Dale (Steve)
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www.semantix.co.ukwww.collabor8now.com
What I will cover
How do we value shared knowledge? What is the ROI for a collaborative
network? What we have learnt from CoPs in UK
local government.
There is a growing recognition but not yet a There is a growing recognition but not yet a consensus about integrating Community of consensus about integrating Community of Practice (CoP)-style working in the everyday Practice (CoP)-style working in the everyday
practice of public sector programmes and practice of public sector programmes and services.services.
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www.semantix.co.ukwww.collabor8now.com
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About UK Local Government
Local government in England and Wales Local government in England and Wales employs a workforce of 2.1 million employs a workforce of 2.1 million people across 411 local authorities.people across 411 local authorities.
Each authority is working to deliver the Each authority is working to deliver the same 700 services to their residents.same 700 services to their residents.
Has an annual operating budget of over Has an annual operating budget of over £106 billion ($177 billion) for delivering £106 billion ($177 billion) for delivering services.services.
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Over 700 Local G
ov Services
Over 700 Local G
ov Services
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Background to the IDeA
Set up in 1999 by and for local government Owned by the Local Government
Association Accountable through a stakeholder board Working for local government improvement
so councils can serve people and places better
Learning what works and helping the councils and their partners help each other improve
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IDeA CoP Platform Statistics
Platform officially launched November 2007.
Currently 50,000 registered users, and 900 communities.
90 new members a day (over 400 new joiners a week).
Average of 10 new CoPs created each week.
100% council coverage (411 councils)
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www.semantix.co.ukwww.collabor8now.com
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Work group descriptionsPurpose Members Adhesive Duration
Formal work group
To deliver a product or service
Employees who reports to the group’s manager
Job requirements and org structure
Until organisational restructuring
Project team
To accomplish a task
Employees assigned by senior management
Project milestones and goals
Until project completion
Social networks
To collect and pass on information
Friends and acquaintances
Mutual needs and interests
As long as people have a reason to connect
Community of Practice
To develop members’ capabilities; to build and exchange knowledge
Members who select themselves
Passion, commitment and identification with the group’s expertise
As long as there is interest in maintaining the group
KIN, Warwick Business School
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So what’s new about So what’s new about CoPs?CoPs?
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Royal Guild of Cloth makers
Guild of St Luke (painters)Guild of Goldsmiths
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Over 800 Worshipful Companies
www.wordle.net
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So, nothing new about people So, nothing new about people gathering together and sharing gathering together and sharing
knowledgeknowledge.
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But have we forgotten But have we forgotten how to have how to have
conversations?conversations?
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The age of mass production has The age of mass production has stifled independent thoughtstifled independent thought
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Uniformity, repetition
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Workplace – no place for Workplace – no place for creative thoughtcreative thought
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Is this what Is this what we asked we asked
for or what for or what managers managers think we think we need?need?
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"If you always do what you always did, you'll always get what you got."
Albert Einstein, 1879-1955
Evolution
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This is NOT profound!
We don’t know what we don’t know People don’t learn from content –
they learn from other people. We don’t know the value of
knowledge until it is shared We need to find where the
conversations are happening….and join in!
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Brian Solis and Jesse Thomas http://www.marcomprofessional.com/posts/trevor.young/brian-solis-introduces-the-conversation-prism
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Group Collaboration Dialogue is NOT:
Discussion, deliberation, negotiation Committee, team, task or working group Majority wins, minority dominance,
groupthink
Dialogue IS: Free-flowing exchange of ideas among
equals All ideas are solicited and are considered Best ideas rise to the top
Cass R Sunstein, 2006
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The ROI conundrum
How do you put a price on a conversation How do you put a price on a conversation and how do you measure the value of and how do you measure the value of
that conversation?that conversation?
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Return on Investment (ROI)
Keep the Keep the II small small and the and the RR will look after itself.will look after itself.
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ROI – alternative definitions
Return on InfluenceInfluence Return on InteractionInteraction Return onReturn on Impact Impact
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Different perceptions of ‘value’
Communitymember
Community
Benefits to the organisation
Benefits to the individual
KnowledgeSharing
Quality and intensity of
engagement
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Value to the organisationCost of one face to face conference: 100 people attending an event in London £5000/$8200 for rooms + lunch £30/$50 per person return train travel from a
central England venue (Birmingham).One face-to-face conference would cost One face-to-face conference would cost
£8000/$13000£8000/$13000
Cost of an on-line conference is Cost of an on-line conference is virtually £0/$0. There have been virtually £0/$0. There have been over ten on-line conferences over ten on-line conferences facilitated by IDeA in 2009.facilitated by IDeA in 2009.
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Measuring value to the individual
Ask the CoP membersAsk the CoP members….….
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Keeping up to date with current thinking
“The site is a good way to check things being released by government or to look up something you may have missed, it’s an extra safety net. I always go on at least a couple of times a week to keep my eyes open to the issues and make sure we’re pointing in the right direction.”
Tristan Hardman-Dodd, Policy Officer, Sandwell Borough Council
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Innovations
“Many of the online groups that we set up on the site either reflected new projects or were new groups working on a new priority that wasn’t covered under the business unit or structure. So for our change groups for example, it was a place for those new projects and communities to have a home.”
Noel Hatch, Projects and Research Lead, Innovation Unit, Kent County
Council.
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Sharing Good Practice / avoiding duplication of work
“I was scanning the website and I happened to come across work by colleagues in Barnet on diversity monitoring, which means you can profile your users to make sure you’re not providing services that aren’t needed.”
Dennis Bartholomew, Senior Policy Manager
(equalities), London Borough of Sutton.
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Relationship Building
“The thing about CoPs is the discussions and ideas that go on,” he adds, “it’s like having an ongoing network of contacts, and that was difficult to do before.”
Pete Thomson, business architect, Wolverhampton City Council
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Measuring value by productivity
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Metrics & Measurement Step 1: Identify Business Objectives Step 2: Decide on Priorities Step 3: Choose What to Measure &
Tools Quantitative Qualitative
Step 4: Benchmark Step 5: Identifying Trends & Reporting
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IDeA CoP Business Objectives
Connecting people to peopleConnecting with key stakeholders, practitioners and experts ensures that fundamental learning and experience is shared
within and across the sector.
Efficiency and value for moneyCollaborative working environments support faster problem
solving, reduces duplication of effort, and potentially provides endless
access to expertise.
Sustainable self-improvementProviding opportunities for staff to network, share and develop practice encourages an effective flow of knowledge within and across the sector, while supporting evidence informed
decision and policy making.
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What to measure (everything!)
Total registrations
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
35000
40000
Number of contributing CoP Members
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
Jan-08
Feb-08
Mar-08
Apr-08
May-08
Jun-08
Jul-08 Aug-08
Sep-08
Oct-08
Nov-08
Dec-08
Jan-09
Feb-09
Mar-09
Apr-09
May-09
Jun-09
Percentage of CoP members who are contributors
11.00%
12.00%
13.00%
14.00%
15.00%
16.00%
17.00%
Jan-08
Feb-08
Mar-08
Apr-08
May-08
Jun-08
Jul-08
Aug-08
Sep-08
Oct-08
Nov-08
Dec-08
Jan-09
Feb-09
Mar-09
Apr-09
May-09
Jun-09
Average no. of contributions per member
0.3000
0.8000
1.3000
1.8000
2.3000
2.8000
3.3000
3.8000
4.3000
Jan-
07Fe
b-07
Mar-0
7Ap
r-07
May-
07Ju
n-07
Jul-0
7Au
g-07
Sep-
07Oc
t-07
Nov-
07De
c-07
Jan-
08Fe
b-08
Mar-0
8Ap
r-08
May-
08Ju
n-08
Jul-0
8Au
g-08
Sep-
08Oc
t-08
Nov-
08De
c-08
Jan-
09Fe
b-09
Mar-0
9Ap
r-09
May-
09Ju
n-09
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Understanding your community
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Observers
PowerContributors
Contributors
Inactive
Understanding your community profile
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Network maps provide insight and prompt questions
I frequently or very frequently receive I frequently or very frequently receive information from this person that I need information from this person that I need to do my jobto do my job.
Hutchinson Associates 2005
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Metrics
Don’t rely on metrics to claim your community is successful.
Use metrics and indicators to understand your community better.
Don’t let your managers turn indicators into targets!
A chicken doesn’t get fatter the more you weigh it!A chicken doesn’t get fatter the more you weigh it!
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IDeA CoPs - what we have learntIDeA CoPs - what we have learnt
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Tools that can support collaborative working
Find and connect with experts
Threaded discussion forums, wikis, blogs, document repository
News feeds
Event calendar
News and Newsletters
Find and connect with your peers
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…but it’s more about the people than the technology
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What can you accomplish in one week?
Time in the week
Start a discussion
Be a Be a CoP CoP
membmemberer
FacilitaFacilitate a te a CoPCoP
Respond to a forum posting
Write a blog
Contribute to a wiki
Read a document
Read a blog
Read a wiki
Comment on a blog
Add an event
Upload a document
Read a forum post
No time I hr 5 hrs 10 hrs Lots of time
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Top Tips.
..identify and look after your facilitators – they are quite often the difference between successful and unsuccessful communities
..let users drive their own experimentation and use of tools.
..target and support areas that have a clear desire and need.
..build trust and relationships face to face where possible.
..condition your managers for failure – not every CoP is going to be successful.
..use online conferences and ‘Hot Seats’ to build membership growth and encourage conversations.
Do….
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Don’t....
..think you can force people to collaborate ..assume everyone understands how to
use Web2.0/social media tools. ..assume everyone knows how to
contribute. ..worry about the ‘lurkers’. ..let command, control or hierarchy
hamper or kill your community ..set unrealistic targets
Top Tips.
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Know when to let go!
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Lao Tsu, Chinese Philosopher (Contemporary of Confucius); Taken from Tao Te Ching c 500 BC
““Go to the PeopleGo to the PeopleLive with themLive with them
Learn from them,Learn from them,Love them.Love them.
Start with what they know,Start with what they know,Build with what they have.Build with what they have.
. . . But with the best leaders. . . But with the best leadersWhen the work is doneWhen the work is done
the task is accomplishedthe task is accomplishedThe people will say,The people will say,
‘We have done this ourselves.”‘We have done this ourselves.”
And finally…
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www.semantix.co.ukwww.collabor8now.com
Stephen Dalewww.semantix.co.ukwww.collabor8now.comEmail: [email protected]: www.twitter.com/stephendaleBlog: http://steve-dale.net
Stephen Dalewww.semantix.co.ukwww.collabor8now.comEmail: [email protected]: www.twitter.com/stephendaleBlog: http://steve-dale.net
Thank you!Thank you!
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Credits Getty Images http://www.gettyimages.com/ Brian Solis and Jesse Thomas
http://www.marcomprofessional.com/posts/trevor.young/brian-solis-introduces-the-conversation-prism
Social Network Analysis - Hutchinson Associates 2005 Jacob Nielson
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/participation_inequality.html Uniformity image Edward Burtynsky ‘Let go’ image http://minusthebars.blogspot.com/ Connie Benson http://conniebensen.com/ Cass R Sunstein
http://www.law.harvard.edu/faculty/directory/index.html?id=552
Knowledge Management Team colleagues at the Improvement & Development Agency (IDeA) http://www.idea.gov.uk