online communities at europcom - steven clift khub.net and e-democracy.org
TRANSCRIPT
Online Communities of Practice, EuroPComSteven Clift, Global Engagement Lead, KHub.Net
Outline• Introduction – Groups and Individuals• Knowledge Hub – KHub.Net Overview• Online Communities of Practice
– Do’s– Don’ts– With examples
• Conclusion
Breaking the ice … going back in time
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”
Then came “private life first” social media …
You are in the center
“networked individualism” v. groups tension
You
Friends
Family
Communities
Prof. Peers
Public
“Entities”
Back to the future with online groups – communities of practice
Outline• Introduction – Groups and Individuals• Knowledge Hub – KHub.Net Overview• Online Communities of Practice
– Do’s– Don’ts– With examples
• Conclusion
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
millionknowledge exchangesat 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
© 2014 CapacityGrid Knowledge Hub Limited 13
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.
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 | [email protected]
• 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
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 | [email protected]
• Organisational branding
• Self-managed
• Paid service supports KHub overall – part of business model
• KHub also host social style intranets for public service organisations
Outline• Introduction – Groups and Individuals• Knowledge Hub – KHub.Net Overview• Online Communities of Practice
– Do’s– Don’ts– With examples
• Conclusion
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
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.
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
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.
Case study Food Standards and LabellingThe 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 yearOperating 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.”
2 groups
1400 membersKey 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 £28,2
24
khub.net | [email protected]
3. Do: Learn Together• A. Explore, engage, learning many
to many - kindred curious peers
• B. Ask Questions, Share Answers
• C. Example: Fostering Information Exchange
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
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
E-Democracy’s outreach
Slides
Video
More
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
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
Additional Resources• Facilitators Cookbook
http://po.st/KHubFacilitatorsCookbookPDF
• Prep Hangout Recordinghttp://po.st/KHubEuroPComPrepHangoutE
• Public Sector Communications KHub Grouphttp://po.st/psc
• Art of Online Groups that Work in Public Services Q and Ahttp://po.st/onlinegroupsthatwork
• Wikipedia – Virtual community of practice (further links) • Search “online community management guide”
Conclusion: Build trusted spaces for listening, reflection, understanding, and collaboration
… slowcial media for getting things done with stakeholders
Additional Slides
For possible use in Q and A if required.
City Hall
In-personConversations Shared on
YourNetworks
Local Media
You
School, Library
Reporter
Com
mun
ity
Org
City
Councillor
Candidate
Local Biz
Neig
hbor
#1
Park Staff
Neighborhood
Leader
Mayor
Forum
Ma nag er
Neighb
or #5
00Po
lice
LocalOnline GroupsJoin Group
New Resident
Created “real” online public space in local communities
Can everyone talk? Where to ask ?s
In the center … feeling overwhelmed?
Knowledge Hub Vision
The digital public service spacewhere members go to give and get help, co-create and share innovation, and drive growth; securely, freely and easily.
Intranet
Extranet
Trusted spaces
Employees
Partners
Professional networks
WWW
Social media
Stop working in silos:Embrace the ‘mega’ enterprise social network
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 | [email protected]
• 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
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 | [email protected]
• Access all the most recent group activity
• Search group contents• See group members• Read group
announcements• Access all sections of the
group
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 | [email protected]
The forum enables members to discuss issues, share good practice and knowledge and help each other solve problems.
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 | [email protected]
• 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
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 | [email protected]
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
Case study Local Government AssociationThe 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 membersKey communities:
• Adult safeguarding• Troubled families• Planning• Flood risk• INSPIRE directive
Best practice
Expert networks
Ideas & initiatives
National Communities
of Practice
Leadership development programmes
Peerreviews
Central-local government partnership
projects
Funding application
support
Case study Scottish Improvement ServiceWorking 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 membersKey communities:
• NHS Procurement• Sustainable Scotland• Contaminated land• Empty Homes• Local government
benchmarking
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)
Fiscal position
Rising Demand
Be engine for growthDo 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
Your Challenge
FundingPressures
Rising Expectation
Be engine for growth
ShareInnovation
Re-design Offer
Investment returnon 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