Organisations are quick to state that people are their most valuable resource. But they often fail to recognise that it is in communities that individuals develop the capacity to create, refine, share and eventually apply knowledge - knowledge that makes an individual a valuable organisational resource. Some of the world's leading corporations have now come to recognise CoP as being important to maintaining their leadership as knowledge-driven companies. Xerox, IBM, Exxon are among a growing list of corporations that have set in place mechanisms to encourage the growth of CoP in the work environment. It is an informal, self organising group that can be found anywhere - at work, at school, even at home.
Most people belong to more than one CoP, even in a work situation.
One CoP may have a name, another may not. A CoP develops around an issue or problem that matters to a set of people. Membership of a CoP is determined by participation rather than by official position and hence it is not uncommon to find a CoP extending beyond the boundaries of an organisation to include people in other organisations who share an interest in the issue or problem. As an informal entity, a CoP does not have an official start date or an official winding up one. It grows as people join in and terminates equally informally when people stop participating.