Institutional CoP Programs Across Australia
A national reference framework for CoP scholarship (McDonald & Cater-Steel, 2017) anchors this scan; the largest formal scheme runs at a Go8 university. Filter by university grouping below.
Multi-Institutional Infrastructure
CoPs by University Grouping
Theoretical Evolution: From LPP to Landscapes
The CoP concept has undergone four major shifts: descriptive → prescriptive → evaluative → post-bounded. Click any framework to expand.
Critical Literature: What Wenger Doesn't Address
Structural Models: Choosing the Right One
| Model | Duration | Size | Structure | Best For | Risk |
|---|
⚠ Evidence quality caveat: No systematic review exists. Most case studies are written by facilitators of their own successful CoPs — substantial publication bias.
Success Factors (Evidence Strength)
Failure Modes (Severity)
The Operative Mechanism
Pyrko, Dörfler & Eden (2017): The operative mechanism is trans-personal indwelling in real problems through Polanyi's tacit-knowing process. Without it, CoPs become "communities in name only."
The Recognition Stack: Current State
Five mechanisms are converging. Workload allocation remains the critical gap.
Value Creation Framework (Wenger-Trayner 2011)
The default evaluation framework worldwide. Combines quantitative indicators with qualitative value-creation stories.
Badging Ideas for an LTF Research CoP
6 Evidence-Based Design Principles
Distilled from leading Australian CoP programmes, the Pharo et al. four-institution network, and FYiMaths evidence.
The Structural Tension
The McDonald–Cater-Steel resolution: executive sponsors protect rather than direct communities. Facilitators "manage up" without instrumentalising. Recognition follows demonstrated value, not KPI compliance.
PSF 2023 ↔ CoP Theory Alignment
PSF 2023's strengthened emphasis on collaboration, inclusion, and effectiveness brings it closer to the landscape-of-practice and value-creation reformulations than the 2011 UKPSF.
| PSF 2023 Element | CoP-Theoretic Alignment | Strength |
|---|