Creating Collaborative Communities

Bring Your World Together For Learning and Innovation™

Services


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Models and Tools

Every organization and community possesses unique needs and faces distinct challenges

We know that using thoughtfully designed software is key for a successful, collaborative online community. However, we recognize that the most important agents for success are the people and ideas driving collaboration. Your community-building efforts and the participation of your members provide the energy needed to sustain a lasting and beneficial online community.

We provide all our clients with consultation and training. We work with you to review the success factors critical for building and implementing collaborative communities. We also provide strategic consulting and assistance for designing, launching and growing your online community. [learn more about our consulting]

Our approach integrates the four key capabilities of our software — relationship building, collaborative learning, collaborative knowledge sharing and project collaboration — with strategies and dynamic group processes that drive your community's goals.

Over the years we have listened to our clients and enhanced our product to meet their needs. We have developed proprietary white papers, tools, and templates for ease in creating collaborative online environments. All new clients receive these models and tools to help ensure their success.

Some of these resources include:

Collaborative Community Design Guide
Launching Collaborative Environments
Role Definition Matrix
Building Trust Online
Models for Online Communication
Models of Group Collaboration

Our Collaborative Community Model

We have found that in successful organizations, leaders recognize the importance of embracing the complete spectrum of collaborative processes.

For example, even the most task-oriented team needs to honor the importance of building cohesive relationships among its members. just as the most relationship-focused community must be capable of accomplishing goal-oriented tasks.

Group Type	Examples	Characteristics	Focus
Affinity Networks	Professional networking organizations Membership associations Employee networks (e.g., diversity networks)	People who share common characteristics and derive value from building relationships based on their shared interests Often involves peer mentoring and a structure to help create connections that lead to personal and professional opportunities	Relationship Oriented
Learning Communites	Distance education Blended learning courses Online conferences	People who come together for a single purpose - to learn Participation is usually time-bound Often involves strong guidance or facilitation
Communities of Practice	Distributed business function like R&D, sales, training Cross-organizational practice areas like product development groups Groups of business partners or vendors	Typically organized around a domain of knowledge or specific content area People focused on sharing information and best practices to solve specific problems and achieve personal and collective results May spawn project teams to address unique business challenges
Project Communities	Task forces Committees Cross-organizational programs	A task-oriented group established to achieve specific objectives Participation is usually time-bound	Task Oriented

The challenge of leading an organization involves building and fostering an environment in which groups and teams can work fluidly as they build relationships, share information and best practices and accomplish task-focused deliverables.

With our background in organizational development, education, knowledge management and group process facilitation, we help leaders of organizations of all sizes address these challenges.