Tamarack’s Communities of Practice are composed of people involved in multisectoral community collaborations who meet regularly by telephone and online for learning opportunities. Learn about our current and previous CoP's, and learn how you can join in and advance the learning.
On this page you'll find:
“Communities of Practice are groups of people who share a passion for something they do and who interact regularly to learn how to do it better.”
~ Etienne Wenger
Vibrant Communities’ communities of practice (CoP) focus on poverty reduction, but are relevant to anyone working with multisectoral, comprehensive and community-based approaches to social issues. They meet regularly by telephone and online to learn and share experience on a “domain” or topic. Each community of practice is unique, but they share the following common characteristics:
- Peer to peer collaborative networks
- Driven by the willing participation of members
- Focused on learning and building capacity
- Engaged in knowledge sharing, developing expertise, and solving problems
In the past, communities of practice included the Funders Network and the Government Learning Circle, and you will find resources and online seminars on this site related to those sectors. Current CoPs include:
Anyone who is active in community-based multisectoral collaborative initiatives is welcome to join a Vibrant Communities CoP.
There is no cost to participate in the CoP, beyond long distance changes to access the teleconference bridge, which is located in the United States.
CoP members are expected to be active in a community collaboration, to attend regularly, share their experiences openly, and contribute to the building of a resource base as they are able.
To join or learn more about a community of practice, please email us here.
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Living Wage
This community of practice focuses on employer practices that reduce poverty; it includes living wages, and employer human resource practices.
A Living Wage is the amount of income an individual or family requires to meet their basic needs, and to save for future needs and goals. It differs from a minimum wage; a living wage changes according to the cost of living in each community. Employer human resource practices and the cost of housing and child care are important factors. A living wage can be viewed as an affordability index – the hourly wage an individual or family requires to live in a specific community.
This CoP focuses on case studies, tools and techniques that members of collaborations use to research, analyse and affect living wages and employer human resource practices.
Following the Vibrant Communities Living
Wage learning initiative in 2004 and 2005, these groups
decided to form a community of practice to continue learning
from and with each other. Through this community of practice,
these groups exchange information, experiences, and best practices
related to their work in the living wage and human resource
practices arenas.
To join or learn more about the Living Wage community of practice, please email us here.
For more background, visit:
 Access the Living Wage audio seminar series
Access more resources on Living Wage in the Resource Library
Access the Living Wage Community of Practice brochure
Evaluation
This community of practice focuses on evaluation in complex, comprehensive community collaborations.
It discusses case studies, tools and techniques that members of collaborations use to capture and make sense of the outcomes – particularly poverty reduction outcomes -- of their joint work.
The Vibrant Communities Trail Builders are
actively employing and assessing their poverty reduction/quality
of life building work. Several other members of the Pan-Canadian
Learning Community are also preparing or have already begun
implementation of local poverty reduction plans. Through this community of practice, they
seek to strengthen their unique local efforts by continual
networking, learning and peer support from and with their
counterparts in other communities.
To join or learn more about the Evaluation community of practice, please email us here.
For more background, visit:
Access the Measuring Learning: Developmental Evaluation audio seminar series
Access more resources on Evaluation in the Resource Library
Engaging Business
This community of practice focuses on the potentials and challenges of collaborating with the business sector for achieving social change.
To join or learn more about the Engaging Business community of practice, please email us here.
For more background, visit:
More about Engaging Business in our action-Learning topics
Access the Engaging Business audio seminar series
More resources on Corporate Social Responsibility in the Resource Library
Access the Engaging Business Community of Practice Brochure
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In the past, Tamarack has assisted learners from funding and government agencies to convene Communities of Practice specific to their sectors. Online seminars that originated in these communities of practice have been archived in the Learning Centre, and can be accessed below.
Funders Network
The Vibrant Communities Funders Network is
open to all national and local funders and contributors of
Vibrant Communities. This includes those who support the overall
work of Vibrant Communities and those who partner with and
provide supports to the Vibrant Communities work in a partner
community. The Network is chaired by Tim Brodhead, CEO of
The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation and past chair of Philanthropic
Foundations Canada.
Access the Grantmaking
for Comprehensive Impact audio seminar series
Access the Social
Justice Grantmaking audio seminar series
Government Learning Circle
The Government Learning Circle (GLC) allows
government learners from all levels and portfolios interested
in Vibrant Communities to come together to learn how they
can play a key role in helping to reduce poverty through collaboration
with business, the voluntary sector and citizens at the local
level. Susan Scotti, Assistant Deputy Minister of the Social
Development Sectors Branch of Human Resources and Social Development
Canada, chairs the Circle.
Access the Government & Community audio seminar series
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