Resources
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This section contains all of the resources referenced throughout the CoP Resource Kit. The resources provided are intended to help you determine the current phase of your CoP, and provide you with downloadable, customizable templates to support you throughout your CoP’s lifecycle. To open a resource, click on the Resource Name in the following table.
If you have questions or suggestions about any of the Resources, please send an email to ostltsfeedback@cdc.gov.
| Resource Name | Summary | Phase | Audience |
|---|---|---|---|
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If you’re part of a group but not sure if it is functioning as a Community of Practice, this quiz may help you decide. |
Quiz |
Members of existing groups who may want to explore becoming a CoP |
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This quiz will help you decide which sections of the Resource Kit are most useful to you. This quiz may also assist you in determining at which phase in the CoP lifecycle your community operates. |
Quiz |
Leaders of existing CoPs |
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Have an idea for a new CoP? These questions will help you vet the idea with your peers and make sure you are on the right track. |
Plan |
Individuals that would like to start a new CoP |
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CoP Charter Template [DOC - 214KB] |
CoP charters, developed by each CoP, include mission, scope, objectives, and other course-setting components needed. These resources give you ideas for the type of information you may want to include. |
Plan |
Leaders of new and existing CoPs |
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It is important to provide guidelines to members to ensure they follow expectations that allow your CoP to thrive. This resource provides examples of general guidelines for participating in a CoP and specific guidelines for participating in a CoP meeting. |
Plan |
Leaders of new and existing CoPs |
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Case for Sponsorship Brief [DOC - 160KB] Case For Sponsorship [PPT - 640KB] |
As a new CoP it is important to retain a sponsor to support the community. These resources provide examples on how to demonstrate the value of sponsoring a CoP. |
Plan |
Leaders of new and existing CoPs that need an executive sponsor |
|
Facilitation Tip Sheet [DOC - 202KB] |
The facilitator is responsible for managing meetings, keeping conversations on track, and ensuring each member’s voice is heard. These resources provide suggestions for accomplishing these tasks. |
Plan |
Leaders and members acting as CoP Facilitators |
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The facilitator may use a variety of tools to manage meetings. This template can be used to help you put together a CoP Meeting Agenda. |
Plan |
Leaders and members serving as CoP Facilitators |
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The facilitator may use a variety of tools to manage meetings. This log can help you keep a running log of the discussion points during a CoP Meeting. |
Plan |
Leaders and members serving as CoP Facilitators |
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The facilitator may use a variety of tools to manage meetings. This template can be used to note and report the outcomes of CoP Meeting Agenda. |
Plan |
Leaders and members serving as CoP Facilitators |
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The facilitator may use a variety of tools to manage meetings. This template can help you ensure that action items are assigned and appropriately monitored over time. |
Plan |
Leaders and members serving as CoP Facilitators |
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The facilitator may use a variety of tools to help them manage meetings. This template can be used to solicit information from members about the meeting process and where there are opportunities to improve that process. |
Plan |
Leaders and members serving as CoP Facilitators |
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As a Subject Matter Expert for your community, your responsibilities include inviting experts to speak to your CoP, bringing in new ideas, identifying topics for meeting agendas, and maintaining the CoP focus. This tip sheet gives ideas for how to get all of this done. |
Plan |
Leaders and members who are CoP Subject Matter Experts |
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Technical Management Tip Sheet [DOC - 141KB] |
You’re technically savvy, but for your CoP you also need to help identify the right tools for your group, define account permissions and roles, and help develop collaboration rules to ensure everyone acts respectfully. These resources provide ideas on selecting and managing technology within your CoP. |
Plan |
Leaders and members serving as CoP Technical Managers |
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Your CoP has formed and now it is time to spread the word. This template offers boilerplate text for your use. |
Launch |
Leaders of new CoPs |
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After identifying people who may be interested in joining your CoP, you may want to reach out to them personally. This template offers dialogue and text ideas to get you started. |
Launch |
Leaders of new and existing CoPs |
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If you’d like to reach out to potential members by sending them an email invitation to join your CoP, this template offers general text as a starting point. |
Launch |
Leaders of new and existing CoPs |
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You’ll want to track both the people you invited to join your CoP, as well as those who have joined. This template makes it easy to log both in one central location. |
Launch |
Leaders of new and existing CoPs |
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Public health professionals who want to launch a community can use this tool with potential members to assess the need for and interest in the community. |
Launch |
Leaders of new and existing CoPs |
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Tap into the wisdom and experience of your Community of Practice and create a supportive environment where all ideas are welcome. Read this document for some ideas on how this process can work for your CoP. |
Launch |
Leaders of new and existing CoPs |
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As your CoP begins maturing, you may want to develop a CoP newsletter for your domain. This template gives you a great start. |
Launch |
Leaders of new and existing CoPs |
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Members may need to obtain permission or organizational support to participate in a CoP. By sharing this completed guide, potential members can identify mutual or shared goals with the CoP and determine how practical it is for them to participate. This resource also allows potential members to create a plan for obtaining support from their managers and sharing information about the CoP. |
Sustain & Evolve |
Individuals who are interested in joining a CoPs and want to justify and explain their involvement in the CoP to their managers and peers |
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The Case For Participation [PDF - 640KB] |
These resources aid potential members in sharing information about the CoP, as part of their plan to obtain support from their managers. |
Sustain & Evolve |
Individuals who are interested in joining a CoP and want to explain the concept to their peers or request permission to participate from their managers |
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To help your CoP members get to know one another, you can ask each to share information about their personal and professional interests. This resource provides the framework for capturing this information. |
Sustain & Evolve |
Members of CoPs who would like to provide a brief biography of themselves to their community |
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The Facilitator may want to explore the specific responsibilities of facilitators in this environment and to get tips on things to do before, during, and after an event or meeting. |
Sustain & Evolve |
Facilitators and other Leaders of CoPs |
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Your CoP can start to tell stories from its inception. You can use this Microsoft Word template to structure storytelling activities and as means to gather information and document best practices/lessons learned from the community. |
Sustain & Evolve |
Members of CoPswho are interested in sharing stories and creating Success Stories |
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If you set up a Mentor-Protégé program, it may be helpful to give participants guidelines for creating an agreement. This resource may also be used by community members who want to enter into a mentor/protégé relationship on their own. This resource can be used to ensure participants are considering concrete action items when making their arrangement. |
Sustain & Evolve |
Members of CoPs who are interested in forming a Mentor/Protégé relationship as either Mentor or Protégé |
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A SWOT analysis will help you identify internal and external factors in the environment (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) that can help with the development of your CoP's goals and objectives. |
Evaluate |
Leaders of new and existing CoPs |
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When you begin to define the goals and objectives of your CoP, this template will walk you through the process of developing specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-based objectives. |
Evaluate |
Leaders of new and existing CoPs |
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This Guide helps you evaluate a community's impact on the individual members, their organizations, and the public health focus of the community. Questions enable you to assess CoP outcomes, success factors, and barriers that limit participation. |
Evaluate |
Leaders of new and existing CoPs |
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Creation and dissemination of new products and ideas are important outcomes of CoP collaborations. This template provides a means to record and track innovations from CoPs. |
Evaluate |
Leaders of new and existing CoPs |
If you require assistance with accessing or using files found on this website, please contact ostltsfeedback@cdc.gov for further assistance.
- Page last reviewed: March 2, 2015
- Page last updated: April 25, 2016
- Content source: