Communities of Practice (CoPs)

To go fast, go alone. To go far, go together (African Proverb)

Communities of Practice (CoPs) are learning networks of people who share an interest or issue.  They connect with each other to get better together.

SLHI facilitates nearly 80 CoPS using an online network (www.slhinet.org) and face-to-face meetings. People share knowledge, learn from each other, build collective identity and collaborate on community projects. Some examples:

• The Healthy Weight Maricopa CoP (98 members) supports a Maricopa County Department of Health effort focused on policy, systems and environment change to support healthy eating and active living. The community has been instrumental in the Communities Putting Prevention to Work program, a federally funded grant that has allowed for the implemented of Arizona Baby Steps to Breastfeeding Success and School Health Advisory Councils.
• The Community Garden CoP (65 members) supports organizations and individuals who sponsor gardens as part of their mission. In the first year of development the group shared best practices in community gardening, conducted workshops on water harvesting and readying produce for market, and engaged in planning for the Southwest Regional American Community Garden Association Conference.

As costs to participate decrease, collaboration increases. In FY2011 membership increased 30% to 1,800 active participants.