Welcome to the SSVF Community of Practice

1. Communicate PARTNER SUPPORT Welcome to the SSVF Community of Practice SHARE COLLABORATE

2. Agenda Mission CoP Components Goals Roles & Responsibilities Benefits Characteristics Rules of Engagement

3. “If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple… But… if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then… each of us will have two ideas.” — George Bernard Shaw

4. Mission: The mission of the NYS & New England VA SSVF Community of Practice is to provide an environment for SSVF providers to exchange ideas, best practices and build collaboration through a variety of learning, communication, and networking settings. • Provides a neutral and impactful platform for sharing concerns, issues and opportunities, as well as a vehicle for professional growth – exists alongside VA Technical Assistance but importantly, this is your forum to help one another become best-in-class. • Designed to build capacity across New York and New England by creating practices and systems that best-assist and support SSVF Providers serving Veterans and their families.

5. SSVF CoP Components: SSVF Community of Practice Domain Serving Veteran Families Community Connecting, Engaging & Communicating Practice Develop, Share & Maintain Knowledge

6. SSVF Community of Practice Goals: • Foster Peer-Driven Knowledge Exchange • Promote Cross-Sector Agency Coordination to Identify Challenges and Opportunities • Identification and Modeling of Emerging & Promising Practices • Embed Peer-to-Peer Assistance • Promote and Sustain a Culture of Consensus Focusing on Outcomes and Issues • Maximize the Efficient use of Resources • Reduce Fragmentation & Redundancy • Benchmark Progress/Evaluate Impact • Provide the means by which to measure the collective ROI

7. CoP Roles and Responsibilities Sponsor/Champion – Provides guidance, resources, visibility legitimacy Facilitator/Coordinator – Facilitates & guides direction, organizes events - serves as the administrator of information Core Group – Working group that initially assists with start-up activities and provides input Experts – Subject matter experts/specialist, in or outside the CoP Members/Participants – Interact, sharing information, insights and experiences

8. Levels of CoP Participation Transactional Outsiders Peripheral Occasional Lurkers Active Beginners Experts Core group Members Leaders Coordinator Sponsors Source: Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner

9. The role of IVMF in the CoP: • 1. Create engagement opportunities& making members aware of the knowledge, skills, and expertise of other members of the community • Regional convening's • Professional Development Training Workshops • Annual Leadership Meeting • 2. Build the means by which to share • Offering a Knowledge Network Web Site • Improving information flow and knowledge reuse • 3. Provide ongoing measurement of the Community’s efficacy • 4. Ensure the sustainability of our domain serving Veteran families - positioning grants to remain competitive • 5. Foster a collaborative effort geared towards aggressively supporting the goal to end Veterans homelessness and preventing its recurrence

10. Individual Member’s Role: Participate in productive conversations – Provide expertise, advice, and opinions to help solve the problems presented Bring problems of practice to the community – Keep the community active in pursuing ways to address problems Engage in personal and professional development – Continue to increase individual capabilities that in turn will challenge the community to keep the practice moving forward Establish links with other agencies & communities – Support the creation of a knowledge network by making connections between the various communities in which you are members CONNECT CONVERSE COOPERATE

11. WIIFM? For Organizations – • Reduced time/cost to retrieve information • Reduced learning curves • Knowledge sharing and distribution • Coordination, standardization, and synergies across programs • Reduced rework and reinvention • Benchmarking against industry standards • An ability to communicate collective impact (What’s in it for me?....) Benefits of Participating in a CoP… • For Members – • Continual learning/professional development • Improved communication with peers • Increased productivity and quality of work • Sense of professional identity • Provides challenges & opportunities to contribute

12. What can the Community of Practice Assist with? Problem Solving… Requests for Information… Seeking Experience…. Coordination & Synergy… Reusing Assets… Documentation…. Identifying Gaps… Visits… “I’m stuck. Can someone assist me in brainstorming a solution for…” “Where can I find the guidelines for…” “Has anyone dealt with a client in this situation?...” “Can we share outreach location dates?…” “We have a great SOP for that, let me send it to you…” “We have faced this problem before, lets write it down….” “Who knows what else we are missing…” “Can we come and see your financial counseling program?...”

13. Community of Practice V A L U E Source: Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner

14. Value of the Community of Practice • Exclusivity: Unique opportunity for each to join a select group of providers with unique strengths and experiences • Access to resources: Professional development opportunities, a strong network of peers with opportunities for knowledge exchange, IVMF’s continuous support, etc. • Contributing to the CoP: Sharing strengths and best practices, and providing training in your area of expertise • Sum is worth more than its parts: Impact on Veterans and their families extends beyond those served by a single service provider – achieving the greatest good, for the greatest number

15. The Characteristics of a Good Community of Practice Commitment – Promise to Commit Collaboration – Connect & Work Together Conversations – Engage & Ask Questions Connectivity – Use Technology Capabilities– Link Strategy & Performance The Five C’s

16. “ROE” Rules of Engagement: • 1. Communicate – • Willingly solicit and discuss ideas • Promote an environment that is safe for participation & open communication • Be open to new ideas or thinking that appears “outside the box” • 2. Participate – • Participate actively, providing input that reflects the unique expertise or experience you bring • Support your colleagues by adding information that strengthens and sharpens their ideas • 3. Cooperate – • Avoid side bar conversations & interruptions • Don’t do outside work - not on computers, PDA’s, or paper. Hold your twittering… • Arrive & return on time • 4. Coordinate – • Find a new way to collaborate with someone outside of your organization • Be responsible for the success of our efforts and help facilitate, critique, and evaluate work

17. 2014 CoP Calendar of Events May 8th – Downstate Professional Development Workshop, NYC May 22nd – Upstate Professional Development Workshop, Chittenango July 1st – Community of Practice Knowledge Network August 14th – Upstate Regional Meeting, Syracuse September 23-24 – New Grantee/Staff Training September 25th – Downstate Regional Meeting November 7th– Leadership Meeting, Annual Recognition of Excellence & Innovation, Albany

18. Annual Recognition – ICE Award (Innovation, Collaboration & Excellence) • Purpose – • Recognize and honor organizations within the SSVF Community of Practice that demonstrate extraordinary innovation, collaboration and excellence in providing services to Veterans and their Families • Criteria – • Creative or innovative model/solution/strategy utilized to adapt to changing environment or solve an issue faced by the organization or Veteran Families • Exemplary effort in partnering or assisting other organizations to address a compelling problem/issue in serving Veteran Families • Exceptional commitment to improving the lives of Veteran Families through demonstrated ethical integrity, organizational productivity and effective service delivery • Selection Process & Timeline – • Nominations due October 1st - form available online by June 1st

19. Annual Recognition – ICE Award (Innovation, Collaboration & Excellence) • Award Recipients Will Receive: • Honor & distinction of being recognized as leader among SSVF Providers • One of kind engraved glass art award • Featured article on the organization on the CoP Website • A $1,000 unrestricted grant

20. Questions?