Viewpoints on Communities of Practice

From Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP)
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This page documents the brief discussion on the role of Communities of Practice during the Air Quality and GEOSS Meeting held during the GEO-VI Plenary in Washington DC on 18 Nov 2009. Presenters included:

  • Masami Onoda, GEO Secretariat. Conveyed that the GEO Secretariat is please to see the community organizing an active Community of Practice. Stressed that Communities of Practice have great flexibility in how they organize themselves and their approach. CoPs should be an important way for people to get involved with GEOSS.
  • David McCabe, US EPA. Slide outlining Potential Roles of CoP (.pdf). Also mentioned conversations with European colleagues. Stressed that the CoP is not to replace the many functioning groups devoted to increasing and improving the use of air quality observations and information / capacity building / etc. Nor is the group to oversee those functioning groups. Instead, the CoP is intended to connect those many groups, and to seek wide input on globally relevant problems and initiatives (eg, GEOSS architecture). Promoting communication, and potentially coordination, between groups is also a key role.