International Federation
of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
DM Community of Practice (COP)
Outlook
FedNet
Lyris
International Federation
of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
What is a Community of Practice?
A Community of Practice (COP) is a group of people
who share professional interest in their practice
areas to address concrete business needs of an
organisation.
The Federation DM Community members will come
from around the world (both field offices and NSs)
as well as from a wide range of backgrounds and
expertise within the DM field.
International Federation
of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
What is a Knowledge Network?
A Knowledge Network serves as the bridge between
members of the COP.
The Federation DM COP or Knowledge Network will
provide support to staff requesting advice on
comparative experiences and or expert referrals or
those who wish to discuss a key business topic.
It is intended to be a capacity building mechanism
for all staff and serve as a bridge between HQ and
the field.
International Federation
of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
DM COP: scope
 Thematic: disaster management
 Internal + Advisory Groups: disaster
managers (GVA – Field) / Experts in NSs
 Practice / Cross-Practice: DM and related
sectors (DRR, food security, recovery,
relief, etc.)
 Moderated
 E-mail based: Lyris
 Global: globally moderated from GVA
International Federation
of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
DM COP: Initial Target 500
Facilitation Team, HQ: 2
people
Resource Group
Members: experts to
be defined
Community
Members/Observers
: TARGET 300;
spontaneous
subscription
Core Group: TARGET
50 practitioners in GVA
and Zone : compulsory
subscription
10-15%
Action Groups:
TARGET extra 100 to
200 members:
strongly encouraged
subscription
15-20%
International Federation
of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
Launching the DM COP
1.
Assess demand and be clear on objectives of CoP : scoping study carried
out in December 2009;
2.
Identify services to be provided: Queries and Consolidated Replies,
Electronic newsletters, eDiscussions (policy issues; position papers, etc.)
3.
Identify simple technology matching purpose of the network: Lyris and
FedNet as a repository platform (consider DMIS)
4.
Identify and train moderator (to be familiar with technology as well as
community building / facilitation techniques): completed (UNDP exchange)
5.
Communicate with other network facilitators and leverage cooperation with
existing networks: maintain contact with UNDP KM unit; explore existing
RC/RC social networks, build on their experience / invite them to join
International Federation
of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
Launching the DM COP
6.
Establish core group: initial 50 members identified
7.
Build membership: welcome letter from SM, identify initial topics for
discussion, identify possible quick wins, face-to-face meetings (build on
existing training FACT / ERU / RDRT / DM working group);
8.
Prepare substantive e-discussion (and identify expert guest moderator)
with practical application: identify relevant topics / policy issues
9.
Prepare an evaluation plan and identify performance benchmarks: set up
a form in Lyris to track DM COP member demographic / statistical
analysis, internal survey after 12 months; assessment of impact
commissioned externally / compare with other similar networks
International Federation
of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
DM COP : launching cycle
Start
Network
Collect expectations of
the core group; define
and document the
purpose and type of
network
Critical
Mass
Reached?
Implement selected
services (CR, News
Updates, E-discussions,
etc.)
Identify the sponsor of the
network, resources
available, services to be
provided
Craft the communication
strategy
Develop
Network’s
Workspace
Register members
while collecting
topics for eDiscussions
Attend KM
Training
Fill the form
requesting
network
creation;
create Lyris
mailing list
and a
welcome
message
Contact the target-group
and ask for topics of
interest and 3 to 5 names
of potential members
International Federation
of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
DM COP : launching cycle (1)
Start
Network
Collect expectations of
the core group; define
and document the
purpose and type of
network
Identify the sponsor of the
network, resources
available, services to be
provided
Attend KM
Training
• Collect expectations: scoping study – Dec 09
• Identify the sponsor, resources, services: YA / DRRR Division;
Tiziana & Samira, services defined – April / May 10
• Attend KM training: UNDP NY – May 10
International Federation
of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
DM COP : launching cycle (2)
Fill the form
requesting
network
creation;
create Lyris
mailing list
and a
welcome
message
Register members
while collecting
topics for eDiscussions
Contact the target-group
and ask for topics of
interest and 3 to 5 names
of potential members
• Create Lyris mailing list: May 10
• Welcome message: YA to DM COP potential members – May 10
• Plan a brainstorming session to identify the “action group” members – May 10
• Contact target group for discussion topics: propose sector or operational themes for
discussion (Recovery support; food security policy; current DM strategy) – May to July
2010
• Register additional members – May to December 2010 / spontaneous subscription
International Federation
of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
DM COP : Launching cycle (3)
Critical
Mass
Reached?
Implement selected
services (CR, News
Updates, E-discussions,
etc.)
Craft the communication
strategy
Develop
Network’s
Workspace
• Define a communication plan: welcome message; newsletter;
promotional leaflet / brochure
• Critical mass reached: by December 2010 reach 800 members
• Implement selected services / development of a workspace: FedNet
/ Learning platform – as from May 2010
International Federation
of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
DM COP: Workspace
DM COP/Networks
Consolidated replies
Newsletters
eDiscussions
International Federation
of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
Golden rules
1.
Maintain a free and trusty space for communication: encourage a “flat
structure” / no titles / only names and locations
2.
Resources: SM should commit appropriate resources for moderation and
translation costs
3.
Time and task management: moderator always answers to queries within
24 hours, however the network should not be overloaded (treat maximum
two / three queries a day); define a time-frame for the consolidated reply
4.
Define first topic of discussion / query : keep it easy, safe, focused / result
oriented
5.
Build on current information providers: if a person is already answering
queries to individual requests, let’s move them to the network