Community of Practice Model Canvas
I find that visual planning tools can be powerful thinking aids that allow for rapid design and communication of complex ideas.
I've just drafted a new tool for designing Communities of Practice that is based on the Business Model Canvas.
How to use it
If this is the first time you have seen the Business Model Canvas it could be confusing. Here is a brief introduction on how to use it.
Each section is a prompt for the parts of the model that you need to think about.
Often we print these planning tools out using the A0 plan printing service from OfficeWorks and use them as planning posters during workshops. Writing responses on sticky notes is a great way to rapidly explore ideas.
I personally think of the Canvas as having a general pattern, with cost and returns being at the bottom, members at the right and activities and resources on the left.
The Business Model Canvas process starts with the value proposition to the customer. With the Community of Practice model the process needs to be a bit different.
- Begin with the value proposition for your organisation
- Then move to the members
- Once you have defined the members, you need to make the value proposition for those members clear. This is the “what's it for me”. It's important to get this right because this is the key to the success of the Community of Practice. This is why it's at the centre of the canvas.
The order of the other sections is less important. Often the conversations are nonlinear, and people do jump around, which is part of the power of the visual process.
The Community of Practice Model Canvas has Creative Commons Licence, so please feel free to modify and share it.
