Cultivating Communities of Practice to Build Organisational Capacity: A Case Study of the Philippines-Australia Basic Education Assistance for Mindanao (BEAM) Project

Abstract

This article examines how the latent potential of communities of practice (CoPs) can be harnessed as a strategic resource for building capacity and improving organisational performance. In particular it focuses on a case study of developing communities of practice in the Philippines Department of Education (DepEd) in three Regions (XI, XII and the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)), which have been supported under the Philippines-Australia Basic Education Assistance for Mindanao (BEAM) Project.

This article describes community-building activities sponsored by BEAM to strengthen local Department of Education (DepEd) management capacity to assume greater responsibilities following the passing of the Governance of Basic Education Act 2001. It maps and examines the process of connecting staff who were previously performing the same function independently, to come together to form knowledge sharing networks. Real examples of the changes that emerging CoPs are delivering are also provided. Discussion then turns to the new challenges CoPs face in sustaining the momentum and benefits that these professional networks are yielding.

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