Traditionally, 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 one and other and collectively advance their own knowledge. The idea behind them, first theorised by Lave and Wenger (1991; 1998) is that learning is fundamentally social and relational, and structured communities can act as a way to connect and learn outside of formal training. 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
- 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-Committee’s 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.
