CoP Area Navigation

• About Communities of Practice
• What Are CoPs
• Examples of Use of CoP
• Selected Resources
• NCDDR's CoPs Activities
  • CoP on Accomplishment Nuggets
  • CoP on Outreach to Diverse Audiences
  • NIDRR Grantee and CoP

NCDDR's Community of Practice Activities

In 2005, the NCDDR directed efforts to working with interested grantees to initiate a Community of Practice for the purpose of sharing knowledge about conducting research within the NIDRR community and examining issues of quality and standards for high quality disability research. These activities indicated that the CoP concept is a positive strategy to encourage NIDRR grantees to work together in areas of common interest. As the research environment focuses more on outcomes and evidence, grantees can work collegially to share and learn from each others' expertise, and to use their collective knowledge to build the practice of disability and rehabilitation research. The NCDDR developed FOCUS Technical Brief #11, Communities of Practice: A Strategy for Sharing and Building Knowledge. (http://www.ncddr.org/kt/products/focus/focus11/)

CoP on Accomplishment Nuggets.

In response to the focus on research quality, the NCDDR facilitated a modified Community of Practice on Accomplishment Nuggets in 2006 for NIDRR grantees in the Health & Function priority. The purpose was to help grantees build capacity in preparing to report their "Accomplishment Nuggets" for the 2006 Annual Portfolio Assessment Expert Review (APAER). A total of 110 grantees participated, including Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers (RERCs); Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers (RRTCs); Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects (DRRPs); Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Spinal Cord Injury (SCI), and Burn Injury Model Systems; Field-Initiated Projects (FIPs), and Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) projects. Activities of the CoP included teleconferences with NIDRR staff; an online forum for discussion among grantees and questions and answers with NIDRR sfaff; and a series of Web pages, updated on an ongoing basis, that provided copies of correspondence from NIDRR, examples, and a Q&A feature. This effort will be repeated in the summer of 2007 to support the annual reporting and APAER efforts.

CoP on Outreach to Diverse Audiences.

The purpose of this CoP is to help NIDRR grantees identify, examine, and discuss salient issues regarding the involvement of under-represented groups in research studies, the utilization of research outcomes, and strategies for effective outreach to diverse populations. At present, 17 individuals from ten NIDRR-funded projects have participated in CoP activities.

NIDRR Grantees and CoPs.

The NCDDR conducted a brief survey in fall 2004 addressing the area of communities of practice with all of the NIDRR-funded "Centers of Excellence" (Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers and Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers), and Model Systems (burn, spinal cord injury, and traumatic brain injury). A sample of Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects (DRRP) and Field-Initiated Projects (FIP) was included to total 100 grantees. The response rate was 96%, with 96 surveys were returned. Respondents reported great variability in familiarity with and interest in CoPs. The survey revealed the following:

* 40% of respondents reported familiarity with the concept of CoPs.
* 16% reported having direct experience participating in a CoP.
* 51% of grantees reported an interest in participating in a CoP with researchers from other NIDRR-funded projects.
* 47% responded "Unsure" when asked if they'd like to participate in a CoP, with several adding comments that they would like to know more before committing to a "Yes" response.
* 2% of grantees responded "No" when asked if they'd like to participate in a CoP with other NIDRR researchers (Martin, Starks, & Westbrook, 2005).

These results suggest a need to provide technical assistance and information resources on CoPs that are tailored for the NIDRR grantee community. The results also facilitated the identification of grantees with experience and interest in CoPs.

In August 2005, the NCDDR asked 100 NIDRR grantees about their interest in CoPs as a topic for training and technical assistance (TA) and as a strategy for working with NIDRR grantees. The grantees surveyed again included Centers of Excellence, Model Systems, and a sample of other NIDRR-funded projects. Although it was not one of the most requested TA topics, 19% of respondents indicated that CoPs would be a TA topic of interest. About 22% of respondents identified CoPs as an effective strategy for the NCDDR in working with NIDRR grantees.