Building and Sustaining Communities of Practice - Ford Motor Co. Case Study

APQC has conducted the largest single study of communities of practice (CoPs) to date in order to understand their nature, their role, and how to create and successfully sustain them. The findings offer compelling evidence that these communities, which create, gather, and share knowledge as part of formal knowledge management efforts, are assuming a new role in knowledge work and KM systems. CoPs are gaining prominence as boundary-spanning units in organizations responsible for finding and sharing best practices, stewarding knowledge, and helping members work better. This Best-Practice Report details the types of CoPs and their characteristics; how CoPs fit within a KM strategy; successful approaches to planning, initiating, and sustaining CoPs; necessary support structures and roles; enablers such as information technology; and measurement and assessment.