DM Community of Practice (COP)

1. DM Community of Practice (COP) Outlook FedNet Lyris

2. What is a Community of Practice? A Community of Practice (COP) is a group of people who share professional interest in their practice areas to address concrete business needs of an organisation. The Federation DM Community members will come from around the world (both field offices and NSs) as well as from a wide range of backgrounds and expertise within the DM field.

3. What is a Knowledge Network? A Knowledge Network serves as the bridge between members of the COP. The Federation DM COP or Knowledge Network will provide support to staff requesting advice on comparative experiences and or expert referrals or those who wish to discuss a key business topic. It is intended to be a capacity building mechanism for all staff and serve as a bridge between HQ and the field.

4. DM COP: scope • Thematic: disaster management • Internal + Advisory Groups: disaster managers (GVA – Field) / Experts in NSs • Practice / Cross-Practice: DM and related sectors (DRR, food security, recovery, relief, etc.) • Moderated • E-mail based: Lyris • Global: globally moderated from GVA

5. Facilitation Team, HQ: 2 people Core Group: TARGET 50 practitioners in GVA and Zone : compulsory subscription 10-15% Action Groups: TARGET extra 100 to 200 members: strongly encouraged subscription 15-20% Resource Group Members: experts to be defined Community Members/Observers : TARGET 300; spontaneous subscription DM COP: Initial Target 500

6. Launching the DM COP • Assess demand and be clear on objectives of CoP : scoping study carried out in December 2009; • Identify services to be provided: Queries and Consolidated Replies, Electronic newsletters, eDiscussions (policy issues; position papers, etc.) • Identify simple technology matching purpose of the network: Lyris and FedNet as a repository platform (consider DMIS) • Identify and train moderator (to be familiar with technology as well as community building / facilitation techniques): completed (UNDP exchange) • Communicate with other network facilitators and leverage cooperation with existing networks: maintain contact with UNDP KM unit; explore existing RC/RC social networks, build on their experience / invite them to join

7. Launching the DM COP • Establish core group: initial 50 members identified • Build membership: welcome letter from SM, identify initial topics for discussion, identify possible quick wins, face-to-face meetings (build on existing training FACT / ERU / RDRT / DM working group); • Prepare substantive e-discussion (and identify expert guest moderator) with practical application: identify relevant topics / policy issues • Prepare an evaluation plan and identify performance benchmarks: set up a form in Lyris to track DM COP member demographic / statistical analysis, internal survey after 12 months; assessment of impact commissioned externally / compare with other similar networks

8. DM COP : launching cycle Collect expectations of the core group; define and document the purpose and type of network Fill the form requesting network creation; create Lyris mailing list and a welcome message Identify the sponsor of the network, resources available, services to be provided Start Network Attend KM Training Register members while collecting topics for e-Discussions Critical Mass Reached? Craft the communication strategy Contact the target-group and ask for topics of interest and 3 to 5 names of potential members Develop Network’s Workspace Implement selected services (CR, News Updates, E-discussions, etc.)

9. DM COP : launching cycle (1) Collect expectations of the core group; define and document the purpose and type of network Identify the sponsor of the network, resources available, services to be provided Start Network Attend KM Training • Collect expectations: scoping study – Dec 09 • Identify the sponsor, resources, services: YA / DRRR Division; Tiziana & Samira, services defined – April / May 10 • Attend KM training: UNDP NY – May 10

10. DM COP : launching cycle (2) Fill the form requesting network creation; create Lyris mailing list and a welcome message Register members while collecting topics for e-Discussions Contact the target-group and ask for topics of interest and 3 to 5 names of potential members • Create Lyris mailing list: May 10 • Welcome message: YA to DM COP potential members – May 10 • Plan a brainstorming session to identify the “action group” members – May 10 • Contact target group for discussion topics: propose sector or operational themes for discussion (Recovery support; food security policy; current DM strategy) – May to July 2010 • Register additional members – May to December 2010 / spontaneous subscription

11. DM COP : Launching cycle (3) Critical Mass Reached? Craft the communication strategy Develop Network’s Workspace Implement selected services (CR, News Updates, E-discussions, etc.) • Define a communication plan: welcome message; newsletter; promotional leaflet / brochure • Critical mass reached: by December 2010 reach 800 members • Implement selected services / development of a workspace: FedNet / Learning platform – as from May 2010

12. DM COP: Workspace DM COP/Networks Consolidated replies Newsletters eDiscussions

13. Golden rules • Maintain a free and trusty space for communication: encourage a “flat structure” / no titles / only names and locations • Resources: SM should commit appropriate resources for moderation and translation costs • Time and task management: moderator always answers to queries within 24 hours, however the network should not be overloaded (treat maximum two / three queries a day); define a time-frame for the consolidated reply • Define first topic of discussion / query : keep it easy, safe, focused / result oriented • Build on current information providers: if a person is already answering queries to individual requests, let’s move them to the network