Overview

Communities of Practice (CoP) formed by application may address any Community of Interest (CoI) both externally or internally that is consistent with the Cooperative Extension System mission. The expectation is that CoPs formed by application meet all guidelines and criteria, receive the same in-kind support provided by eXtension, and interact with and serve Communities of Interest on behalf of the Extension System just as CoPs formed by other methods.

Collaboration, Intellectual Property and Publishing Requirements

The following requirements of CoP members are important to 1) support the highest level of multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional collaboration, 2) support the distribution of eXtension works, and 3) ensure the highest level of content discoverability.

• Register for an eXtensionID.

- This may be done at people.extension.org.

• Content creation tools developed or selected for use should utilize the OpenID standard for authentication. All eXtension ID holders have an OpenID that they can use to authenticate with eXtension-hosted and 3rd-party content creation tools.
• Accept and sign the eXtension Contributor and Business Agreement. This will allow eXtension to support collaborative work, and publish and distribute content.

-For more information about the agreements visit eXtension Contributor and Business Agreements Overview.

• CoP created content is to be published and search indexed solely through www.extension.org to ensure maximum content discoverability by today's search engines. For a CoP with Extension faculty/staff as its CoI, the content is to be published through the public article section of create.extension.org, eXtension's content management platform.

Community of Practice

A Community of Practice (CoP) is defined as a virtual network of subject-matter content providers consisting of faculty, professional and para-professional staff, county educators, industry experts, and government agency representatives who share knowledge or competence in a specific content area and who are willing to work and learn together over a period of time to further develop and share their knowledge in forms of educational products and programs and electronic interactions with customers. CoP leadership, however, must be land-grant faculty or professional staff with Extension appointments whose institutions are in good standing with eXtension.

Newly formed communities will begin their work with Optimization in mind and will build and develop the attributes illustrated in the CoP Optimization Model. CoPs will strive to meet all the attributes but it is of utmost importance that required attributes are addressed. Communities will also be expected to publish content as it is developed. Once a community is formed its members will immediately begin to engage their users in Ask an Expert and in the social spaces where their users reside. This initial engagement is crucial as the new community moves toward optimization.

CoP Optimization Plan

Extension has always listened to its users, assessed their needs, and acted accordingly while encouraging collaboration among users to solve problems in traditional settings. It is now time to transfer this same time-tested experience to the online world where the audience is more expansive and a wider variety of users exists through the implementation of an Optimization plan.

CoP Optimization Model

What is an optimized CoP?

An optimized CoP is:

• focused on its users and establishes regular and varied interactions with them to ensure their needs are being meet.
• capitalizes on the resources at its disposal, including user contributions, to develop products and address emerging topics relevant to its users.
• engages in sensemaking of information through working in  online social spaces and participating in webinars and other online events.
• explores all options for potential funding while simultaneously remaining  flexible, attentive, and responsive to its users.

Community of Interest

A Community of Interest is an identified group of individuals sharing similar interests, concerns, and educational needs around a subject area. It is important that the description of the CoI is clear, relevant and includes a definable set of audience needs, as well as an explanation of how the CoI audience will be served by the proposed CoP. The development of a CoP should begin with identification of a definable CoI with common needs and interests.

Guiding Principles of Communities of Practice

CoP membership must subscribe to the eXtension Mission, Vision, Values and Guiding Principles.

Application Process

Overview

1. If you have questions, need help, need clarify, and guidance in the development of your application, please contact: Craig Wood at craig.wood@extension.org, 859.323.8472, Ashley Griffin at ashley.griffin@extension.org, 859.323.8473 or Dan Cotton at dan.cotton@extension.org, 402.472.8841 (office).
2. Application information should be provided as a single PDF file with signatures of the appropriate parties.
3. CoP application checklist for use prior to sending in your application.

Step 1. General Information

1. Cover letter directed to Dan Cotton, Director of eXtension, with signatures of the lead contact and his or her Director or Administrator of Extension.

Step 2. Describe the CoP (one page limit)

1. CoP lead contact information including name, title, eXtension ID, address, e-mail, telephone numbers, and other contact details. The CoP lead contact must be a land-grant faculty member or professional staff with an Extension appointment whose institution is in good standing with eXtension.
2. List of CoP core leadership members, titles, institutions or business affiliation and e-mail addresses and a description of how the leadership team was formed. The leadership team should include an administrative advisor and national program leader.
3. A person should be named that will work in the evaluation and assessment of content. This individual can be a person from any of the institutions represented on the leadership team or a professional evaluator from within the Cooperative Extension System.
4. A person should be named that will work in the area of communication and marketing. This individual can be a person from any of the institutions represented on the leadership team or a professional communicator from within the Cooperative Extension System.
5. Description of the CoP including:

• A CoP leadership and management plan.
• A plan to grow the CoP.
• 1890/1862 representation (inclusion of 1994 institutions is encouraged).
• Efforts to expand Extension’s “reach” to new audiences.
• Efforts to provide educational opportunities and training to county educators and agents.
• Evidence of prior collaboration by proposed CoP members.
• List other groups that might be included in the CoP (research and teaching faculty; practitioners, commodity, professional agency, private sector, or other appropriate groups).

Step 3. Describe CoI (one page limit)

1. Description of the CoI to be served.

• Description of how the targeted users discover information and work online.
• Description of the social networks and online environments where the CoI currently resides.
• Description of how the CoP plans to interact with CoI in their social spaces.
• Detailed description of any applicable needs assessment data pertaining to the proposed CoI.
• Description of marketability of eXtension products to the proposed CoI.
• Where the CoI is internal to Extension, description of the core competencies or other skills important to successful Extension programming to be gained by the CoI.

Step 4. Describe the Scope of Work (three page limit)

1. Scope of Work for the proposed CoP should be written for a three year period starting on the date the application is submitted. It is recommended that a logic model be used to describe the development of a functioning and sustainable CoP including inputs, outputs and outcomes (short, medium and long term). Downloadable Logic Model templates are provided by University of Wisconsin. Other methods for including inputs, outputs, and outcomes (in lieu of a logic model) can be used but must be fully described.  The Scope of Work should include detailed deliverables for the first year  along with associated budget including:
   • Describe how the community will have regular conversations with their users to ensure their needs are being met.
   • Include a statement that community members agree to create and publish FAQs for initial searching by users. Include description of how the community plans to gather these FAQs.
   • Include a statement that community members agree to immediately engage in "Ask the Expert." (This means fielding questions from the public in your subject area.)
   • Describe how including user interaction and contributions will be used to develop products and address emerging topics relevant to your users.
   • Describe how the CoP will interact with their users in the social spaces and help make sense of information being discussed.
   • Describe any online courses or learning modules. (these might be in years two and three).
   • Describe and teleconferences, chats, or Web conferences targeting the CoI.
   • Describe potential funding opportunities while simultaneously remaining responsive to your users.
2. Brief description of deliverables for years two and three.
3. Resources currently available to this proposed CoP and plans for CoP optimization and sustainability.

Step 5. Budget

1. Include a budget and budget narrative for functions of your proposed CoP using the CoP budget form.
2. Newly forming CoPs are encouraged to include the following items in their budget and budget narrative.
   • Funds for at least one annual face-to-face meeting
     • meeting should include organizational aspects of the CoP
     • collaboration and team building for CoP members
     • receive training on eXtension applications
   • Salary compensation amount for one or more of the primary investigators and/or project manager
   • Travel expenses
   • Subcontract amounts to identified institutions
   • Evidence of budget sustainability of the CoP including institutional resource sharing plans and institutional contributions, if applicable; availability of outside funding and potential development opportunities

Note: The majority of the technology infrastructure required by CoPs and their members will be provided by eXtension and should not be included in your budget. For a description of such support please link to Support Provided by eXtension.

Step 6. Submission

The application should be submitted to:

The Office of Associate Director of Content, eXtension

236 Scovell Hall, University of Kentucky

Lexington, KY 40546-0064

craig.wood@extension.org

Fax - 859.323.1006

Phone - 859.323.8472

The proposed CoP submits its application to eXtension. Applications will be accepted at any time. Reviews of applications will occur within one month of submission.

Support provided by eXtension

eXtension will provide a support package of communication (marketing, decision data management, and evaluation, etc.) and technology support services (IT, content design, multimedia specialists, etc.) to all Communities of Practice. This support is valued up to $65,000 per year per Community of Practice.

These services include but are not limited to:

• virtual collaborative work space or environments,
• technological infrastructure to facilitate the work of the CoP,
• team members’ technical competency improvement
• communications, marketing, business, and development resources,
• training for entry and maintenance of content,
• content design/standards for production,
• technical production assistance,
• online evaluation/assessment tools,
• general and overall marketing strategies for CoPs,
• assessment mechanisms to define audiences,
• CoP leadership professional development,
• monthly Web conferencing for the CoP.