• Communities of Practice (CoPs) bring together diverse knowledge and expertise to support integrated policy work and cross-team collaboration. They strengthen collective learning and improve organisational performance through the co-creation and implementation of policy proposals. 

• We offer guidance for developing a CoP, including assessing its status, focusing on specific development areas and helping to launch a new community, to ensure that it has lasting impact and is integrated with an organisation’s goals.

• We also manage the Collaboration Hub, which is the central community for all CoPs within the European Commission and its Executive Agencies, bringing colleagues together to improve collaboration and share knowledge. 

Communities as Policy Instruments

The Communities as Policy Instruments highlights that

• Our future depends on resilient institutions able to act efficaciously where it matters. Beyond slow and costly regulation, we need smarter ways to act and be prepared.

• Communities as policy instruments leverage the EC's convening power to close the implementation gap through stakeholder-driven solutions. By convening people with shared purpose, communities enable structured dialogues and peer learning that help translate policy into practice and provide essential reality checks.

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The Communities of Practice Playbook

Enabling communities to thrive within governance processes can strengthen stakeholders’ capacity to work and learn creatively together. Fostering communities that bridge the gap between knowledge and action ensures co-created, co-implemented, and co-evaluated policies that are not only innovative but also deeply rooted in the realities of those they aim to serve.

The Communities of Practice Playbook is the reference guide to collectively run and develop communities.

Online version  Printable version

The Community Checklist

The Community Checklist is an interactive design guide to assist communities thrive through stepwise action planning, including how to shape the quality and order of next steps, identify involved roles, specify deliverables and actions, and estimate the time and competences needed for so doing.

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Working Sheet (Excel)   Working Sheet (PDF)

The Community Barometer

The Community Barometer is a strategic tool designed to assist in evaluating and advancing communities. It covers eight critical success facets of community performance, providing concrete questions and action maps to evaluate current status and plan future actions.

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Templates A2 and A4 (PDF)

The Community Digital Compass

The Community Digital Compass offers guidance on digital community platform solutions by providing 39 platform selection questions, practical game cards, and in-depth checklists to help policymakers and community leaders align social and technical needs.

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Single Selection Cards (PDF)

At a Glance: Your Community Roadmap

The Community Roadmap is your one-page overview providing you with simple entry-points before starting your community.

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