ARI Practitioners Community of Practice

Key information

• What is a Community of Practice?

  A Community of Practice is a space in which to convene practitioners who share a common area of expertise, interest, or experience to learn from each other and collectively advance their own knowledge. The idea behind them is that learning is fundamentally social and relational, and structured communities can act as a way to connect and learn outside of formal training.  

  “For members of a community of practice learning from and with each other, challenges of practice drive learning, and learning is only relevant in so far as it changes what happens in practice.” Wenger-Trayner et al (2023) Communities of Practice: a guidebook 

  Communities of Practice have been used in various ways across contexts and sectors. UPEN would like to use Communities of Practice not only as a space of shared learning, but as an active, member-led space for action and activity across academic-policy engagement. They are intended to be a space for:  

  • Supporting networking between members 

  • Facilitating peer learning and knowledge exchange across institutions. 

  • Building capability and capacity across the membership 

  • Identifying shared challenges and co‑developing solutions 

  • Producing resources, guidance, or outputs that support the wider network. 

  • Strengthening relationships between universities, and with policy stakeholders. 

  UPEN’s strength comes from its members and the network and community we build together. 

  As part of our wider governance and Membership review, in April 2026 we agreed to turn our Sub-Committees into Communities of Practice, to reflect the nature of the activities carried out and provide further foundation for Members to engage in self-sustained, collective activity around sector issues or topics.  

• Can I join?

  Anybody can join a UPEN Community of Practice. This ARI Practitioner CoP is particularly looking for anybody who works with, develops, delivers, or engages with Areas of Research Interest as a practitioner. Members may be affiliated to UPEN member organisations, hold a relevant role within a policy organisation (at local, regional, or national level), or otherwise be actively working in the ARI space.

  If you are generally interested in engaging with ARIs, please consult our Areas of Research Interest hub, or get in touch with us at hello@upen.ac.uk to discuss further.

• What is the time commitment?

  The ARI CoP will meet online three times a year. Meetings will ordinarily be 1 hour in duration, although longer meetings may be scheduled if appropriate. 

  The ARI CoP may also host in-person meetings, subject to funding available from UPEN and in-kind support from UPEN member organisations. Attendance of in-person meetings may be supported by the UPEN Participation Fund (subject to individual application approval). 

  Agendas and relevant papers will be circulated electronically to group members at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting date. 

  There is no firm time commitment beyond a minimum expectation of engagement, for example, attending meetings, responding to emails and requests for feedback, and contributing to the wider group.

• What am I expected to do?

  CoP members are expected to: 

  • Participate actively in meetings and discussions 
  • Share relevant expertise, resources, and experience for the benefit of the community  
  • Contribute to outputs  
  • Respect confidentiality  
  • Support a collaborative, inclusive, and constructive environment aligned to UPEN’s values.