Detailed schedule of activities

SCHEDULE OF CPsquare CONFERENCE ACTIVITIES

Pre-conference activities

In the weeks before the conference, CPsquare members will be organizing their presentations.  They will coordinate with remote participants to gather materials, questions, and plan for ways to connect during and after the conference.  We have outlined topics and cases for workshops, case clinics, and project teams below. 

Monday

• 4:00 - 6:00p — Introduction to CPweek
• Overview of conference and follow-up aspirations
  • Expectations & desired outcomes of participants
• Organize “household” groups (aka “homerooms” or “buddy groups” – small groups whose members connect and reflect)
• Meet each other and reflect on what we want to learn and accomplish during conference
• Organize project teams
  • What we want to work on together—tools, frameworks, workshop agenda, case development, etc.
  • How to include remote members—e.g., phone or on-line
• Review open options for conference design, such as selection of concurrent sessions, mechanisms for including remote participants, and schedule timing
• 7:00+ Informal dinner

Tuesday

• 8:00-8:15 Welcome to conference: schedule, logistics, aspirations
• 8:15-8:45 Introductions
  • Meet with 5 other people: who are you, what you bring, why you’re here; report summaries in whole group
• 8:45-9:45 Overview by Etienne Wenger and Bill Snyder on “state of communities in the world today” – as context that connects conference topics and activities to landscape of work in the field
  • Community-of-practice applications and trends across sectors, organizations, and geographies
  • Overview of linkages among conference topics
  • CPsquare context and plans for post-conference continuation
  • What this conference community can contribute—for participants and beyond
• 9:45-10:15 Break, informal conversations—informal goal: “Meet at least one person you haven’t met.”
• 10:15-11:45 Case clinic
  • Philips e-learning case (Erik Van Bekkum and Philips Electronics members)
    • Case description and highlights
    • Issues they are facing
    • Take-aways (insights, approaches, people, etc.)
• 11:45-1:00 Lunch
• 1:00-2:15 Briefs on concurrent sessions (see descriptions in 2:30p concurrent session topics below)
  • 15 minutes for each session leader to introduce highlights and key questions to address for their session
• 2:15-2:30 Break
• 2:30-4:00 Concurrent sessions—activities include: issue overviews, caselets, and project-work (sessions may shift depending on interest)
  • Technology usability study—the PMCoP case (Noel Dickover)
  • Government knowledge initiative (Kristine and Margaret)
  • Education—identifying potential issues to address; mini-case on professional development for school principals (Pam Whitehouse, Bill & others)
  • Social process issues—what they are and how address (Fernande)
• 4:00-4:15 Break
• 4:15-5:15 Concurrent sessions
  • Connecting technologies and people—Doug Engelbart
  • Reflections on themes – topic linkages across workshops and clinics, such as: uses of technology; sector differences; role of coordinator/sponsor; measuring community results; etc.
• 5:15+ Households
• 6:30+ Informal dinner

Wednesday

• 8:00-8:15 Introduction to day & Household reports
• 8:15-9:45 Case clinic
  • Novell case on launching a virtual community knowledge initiative (Lauren Klein)
• 9:45-10:15 Break
• 10:15-11:45 Module on the role of the coordinator – co-led by Erik/Noel/Patti, along with Etienne and Bill – including issues, leading practices, and caselets/simulations: “how would you deal with ….”
• 11:45-1:00 Lunch
• 1:00-2:15 Case clinic
  • Saba customer community case with Brook Manville, Amy Keill, and Jim Palmer, (& Zilog members)
• 2:15-2:30 Break·         
• 2:30-4:30 Project work
  • Coordinators
  • Healthcare
  • Education
  • Customer
  • Technology and content (focus on CPsquare Workspace)
  • Governance (about CPsquare community)
• 4:30-5:00 Reflections on the day
• 5:00+ Households
• 7:00+ Community dinner

Thursday

• 8:30-8:45 Introduction to day and reports from Households
• 8:45-10:15 Project work presentations
  • What we’ve learned and what accomplished; future plans for questions/activities/projects to pursue; help/participation we will recruit
• 10:15-10:30 Break
• 10:30-12:00 Reflections on CPweek and next steps – conversation in small groups and whole group

Conference close

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTIONS

Workshops
We are planning a number of workshops on topics of general interest. Workshops will introduce key issues, tools and frameworks, and examples of how these have been applied in the context of communities of practice or overall knowledge initiatives.  Below are listed topics under consideration.  (These have evolved since this part of document was written.  See the Schedule of Conference Activities above for current activities now planned.  We are still open to adding topics as options.)

       Community development: What is the lifecycle of a typical community, and what are key interventions for promoting effectiveness and vitality along the way?

       Differences and similarities across sectors: What can we learn from looking at communities of practice across sectors-business, government, non-profit, education, civic, etc.?

       Social and group process issues in communities of practice: What are the specific group dynamics of communities of practice and how address them? How distinct are interventions from those used with teams and other groups?

       Strategy: How link community contributions to organization performance outcomes? How make these contributions visible to members and stakeholders?

       Sponsorship: How make the business case for community investments in staff time, travel, support, and technical infrastructure?

       Support: What is the role of the initiative consultant or community coach related to community-based knowledge initiatives in organizations?

Project teams
Project teams will identify key issues related to a topic and outline a learning agenda that a practice group in this area might address.  They will choose an issues to work on together during the conference—an activity that produces specific tool or approach members can apply back home.

Case Clinics
We will hold several “case clinics," for both whole-group and concurrent sessions.  These are co-consulting sessions where participants go deep into a case, analyze it, and consider options for development.

Participants will discuss the focal case, compare issues and insights with their own experiences, and benefit from the perspectives and expertise of leading experts and practitioners in the field. These are unique opportunities for you to discuss your own community challenges with a remarkable ad-hoc consulting team. 

We are still open to other focal cases. Criteria for cases include:

·          Someone to present the case who is very familiar with it

·          A community-of-practice problem should be central to the case

·          The case can focus at the community level or at the level of an initiative that includes many communities, as well as the organization context

Activity combinations: Many activity modules will combine formats: a clinic that introduces key issues for workshops and projects; a workshop that compares approaches and perspectives by using mini-cases; and a project activity to build on tools and frameworks related to issues raised by cases.

ADDITIONAL DETAIL

Process plans: Several organizing groups are preparing for the event — developing topic material and designs for activities. They are organizing teleconferences with members and conference registrants to prepare materials and activities for specific sessions at CPweek.

If you are interested in participating in pre-conference activities related to topics you are interested in, contact Bill or Etienne at wsnyder@socialcapital.com etienne@ewenger.com  

Remote participation: We are exploring how to organize for remote participation. Activity-organizing groups are discussing ways to include CPsquare members who cannot attend in person. The focus is on ways for remote people to participate in activities on specific topics — including preparation before CPweek.

• Preparing materials and learning agenda before conference
• Sharing notes, ideas, and questions during conference
• Posting material in CPsquare members' workspace and continuing the discussion after conference

Scheduling Note: CPweek takes place from 4pm on Monday, May 19 until 12:00pm on Thursday afternoon, May 22. However, we have scheduled it so the core activities occur on Tuesday and Wednesday to accommodate those who cannot attend the full event