Shared Work is both a communication tool and a collaborative work space.  It brings organizations, agencies, groups, and individuals together to communicate what is important to them, to learn together, to do work together, and to collaborate in addressing complex educational problems. Working in community enables these groups to seek out new approaches to persistent issues and to gain support from each other in implementing these approaches.

Using sharedwork tools

SharedWork is the site where active Communities of Practice (CoP) do their work. They use the technology to support relationships and a collective commitment to changing practice and improving outcomes. Some of the technology tools are: wikis, blogs, polls, event calendars, documents, etc.

User and moderators guides are now available to help you design and manage your Community pages.

Communities of Practice?

Communities of Practice facilitated by the IDEA Partnership begin with four simple questions:

• >  Who cares about this issue and why?

• >  What work is underway separately?

• >  What shared work could unite us?

• >  How we can deepen our connections?

The communities on sharedwork.org began with these questions and these questions shape their ongoing work.

Community Building

Communities of Practice can be formed at the national, state or local level. The IDEA Partnership supports a four-part approach to building community.

• Coalescing around issues: What will bring people together?

• Ensuring relevant participation: Who must be involved to ensure changes in practice?

• Doing work together: Recognize individual pursuits and shared goals.

• Leading by convening: Translate complex challenges into ways that individuals can contribute.

Putting it all together:  Check out The Partnership Way, a Blue Print for authentic stakeholder engagement.