Communities of Practice (CoP) play a vital role in fostering collaboration and professional development among employees at UW–Madison. These informal networks enable individuals with shared interests and expertise to come together, exchange ideas, and learn from one another. By participating in these communities, employees can enhance their skills, build valuable relationships, and contribute to a culture of continuous improvement within the university.
There are many CoPs on campus serving a variety of interests and skills. Here are a few that may be of interest.
- WordPress Users Group: Most websites on campus are built on the UW–Madison WordPress theme. Many websites are also built on WiscWeb — UW–Madison’s WordPress hosting platform. The WordPress users group offers a space for website admins and editors to share their experiences, offer guidance, and ask questions. This is an essential resource for anyone whose unit or department has a website.
- Event Producers Group: The Event Producers Group is a place where event planners of all types of events – in-person, virtual, and hybrid can ask questions, navigate policy, and get the support needed to produce a successful event on campus. No matter how many events you plan or what the size is, this CoP is essential for event planning.
- Campus Communicators: If you have to communicate information to students, alumni, donors, faculty/staff, or any group of internal or external audiences irrespective of your title, this group is for you. Whether you manage websites, run social media, produce promotional material, or just have to send emails this group can help address questions about all forms of communications.
- Project Manager Community of Practice: This CoP is for anyone involved with or interested in managing projects. You should consider joining if you manage projects on campus or are interested in utilizing project management tools and techniques to improve processes and tasks within your unit.
- Digital Accessibility Community of Practice: Accessibility is essential to creating inclusive digital content and experiences. In many cases, digital accessibility is legally required. If you produce any digital content like websites, documents, graphics, videos, social media posts, canvas courses, emails, and more then you should join this community CoP.
- Campus Supervisors Network: If you supervise employees or interns or aspire to become a supervisor, this CoP will provide you the support and tools you need. The CoP sends out a regular newsletter with resources and often hosts events to foster coaching, development, and feedback.
These are just a few CoPs. There are many more on campus. Human Resources has a list of campus CoPs and the Office of Strategic Communication lists CoPs for marketing and communications professionals. DoIT also has a listing of IT Connects, CoPs for IT professionals. Many schools, colleges, and departments also have internal communities of practice designed for unique internal needs.
If you need support finding CoPs of practice here are some tips:
- Ask your supervisor – During your regular check-ins or reviews ask your supervisor to recommend CoPs that will provide you the support to thrive and succeed in your role.
- Ask your colleagues – Are you part of a larger team or work unit? As people who have similar roles what CoPs they have found beneficial.
- Make it your networking question – whenever you attend a campus event make sure to ask your connections what CoPs they are a part of.
- Build it into team meetings – If you are part of a team or unit that meets regularly, request to incorporate CoPs in the agenda. Ask people to share about any CoP events they recently attended or how they utilized a CoP to resolve a problem or question.
- Create your own CoP – If you have a unique role and can’t find the right CoP to meet your needs, you can always create one. UW–Madison encourages innovation and driving collective knowledge. Many of the major CoPs on campus were created because one or two people had the idea.