1

Welcome to the

SSVF Community of Practice

COLLABORATE

PARTNERSUPPORT

SHARE

Communicate

2

Agenda

Mission

CoP Components

Goals

Roles & Responsibilities

Benefits

Characteristics

Rules of Engagement

3

“If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples

then you and I will still each have one apple…

— George Bernard Shaw

if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then… each of us will have two ideas.”

But…

The mission of the NYS & New England VA SSVF Community of Practice is to provide an environment for SSVF providers to exchange ideas, best practices and build collaboration through a variety of learning, communication, and networking settings.

Mission:

Provides a neutral and impactful platform for sharing concerns, issues and opportunities, as well as a vehicle for professional growth – exists alongside VA Technical Assistance but importantly, this is your forum to help one another become best-in-class.

Designed to build capacity across New York and New England by creating practices and systems that best-assist and support SSVF Providers serving Veterans and their families.

5

SSVF Community of Practice

DomainServing Veteran Families

PracticeDevelop, Share

& Maintain Knowledge

CommunityConnecting, Engaging &

Communicating

SSVF CoP Components:

6

SSVF Community of Practice Goals:

Foster Peer-Driven Knowledge Exchange

Promote Cross-Sector Agency Coordination to Identify Challenges and Opportunities

Identification and Modeling of Emerging & Promising Practices

Embed Peer-to-Peer Assistance

Promote and Sustain a Culture of Consensus Focusing on Outcomes and Issues

Maximize the Efficient use of Resources

Reduce Fragmentation & Redundancy

Benchmark Progress/Evaluate Impact

Provide the means by which to measure the collective ROI

Sponsor/Champion –Provides guidance, resources, visibility legitimacy

Facilitator/Coordinator –Facilitates & guides direction, organizes events - serves as the administrator of information

Core Group –Working group that initially assists with start-up activities and provides input

Experts –Subject matter experts/specialist, in or outside the CoP

Members/Participants –Interact, sharing information, insights and experiences

CoP Roles and Responsibilities

Occasional

Transactional

Peripheral

Active

Coordinator

Core group

Lurkers

Leaders

Sponsors

Experts Beginners

Outsiders

Source: Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner

Levels of CoP Participation

Members

9

The role of IVMF in the CoP:

1. Create engagement opportunities & making members aware of the knowledge, skills, and expertise of other members of the community

Regional convening's Professional Development Training Workshops Annual Leadership Meeting

2. Build the means by which to share Offering a Knowledge Network Web Site Improving information flow and knowledge reuse

3. Provide ongoing measurement of the Community’s efficacy

4. Ensure the sustainability of our domain serving Veteran families - positioning grants to remain competitive

5. Foster a collaborative effort geared towards aggressively supporting the goal to end Veterans homelessness and preventing its recurrence

Participate in productive conversations –Provide expertise, advice, and opinions to help solve the problems presented

Bring problems of practice to the community –Keep the community active in pursuing ways to address problems

Engage in personal and professional development – Continue to increase individual capabilities that in turn will challenge the community to keep the practice moving forward

Establish links with other agencies & communities – Support the creation of a knowledge network by making connections between the various communities in which you are members

Individual Member’s Role:

CONNECT

COOPERATE

CONVERSE

For Members – Continual learning/professional development Improved communication with peers Increased productivity and quality of work Sense of professional identity Provides challenges & opportunities to contribute

Benefits of Participating in a CoP…

Reduced time/cost to retrieve information Reduced learning curves Knowledge sharing and distribution Coordination, standardization, and synergies

across programs Reduced rework and reinvention Benchmarking against industry standards An ability to communicate collective impact

WIIFM?(What’s in it for me?....)

For Organizations –

What can the Community of Practice Assist with?Problem Solving…

Requests for Information…

Seeking Experience….

Coordination & Synergy…

Reusing Assets…

Documentation….

Identifying Gaps…

Visits…

“I’m stuck. Can someone assist me in brainstorming a solution for…”

“Where can I find the guidelines for…”

“Has anyone dealt with a client in this situation?...”

“Can we share outreach location dates?…”

“We have a great SOP for that, let me send it to you…”

“We have faced this problem before, lets write it down….”

“Who knows what else we are missing…”

“Can we come and see your financial counseling program?...”

13

PHASE 1Immediate Value:

Productive Activities

Good Meeting

Challenging Inquiry

Introductions

PHASE 2Potential Value:

Robust Resources

Documents

Relationships

Insight

PHASE 3Applied Value:

Promising Practices

New Practice

Applied Advice

Use of Connection

PHASE 4 Realized Value:

Return on Investment

Measurements

Outcome

Feedback

Community of Practice

VALUE

Source: Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner

14

Exclusivity: Unique opportunity for each to join a select group of providers with unique strengths and experiences

Access to resources: Professional development opportunities, a strong network of peers with opportunities for knowledge exchange, IVMF’s continuous support, etc.

Contributing to the CoP: Sharing strengths and best practices, and providing training in your area of expertise

Sum is worth more than its parts: Impact on Veterans and their families extends beyond those served by a single service provider – achieving the greatest good, for the greatest number

Value of the Community of Practice

The Characteristics of a Good

Community of PracticeCommitment

Collaboration

ConversationsConnectivity

Capabilities

1. Commitment – Promise to Commit

2. Collaboration – Connect & Work Together

3. Conversations – Engage & Ask Questions

4. Connectivity – Use Technology

5. Capabilities – Link Strategy & Performance

The FiveC’s

Rules of Engagement:1. Communicate –

Willingly solicit and discuss ideas Promote an environment that is safe for participation & open communication Be open to new ideas or thinking that appears “outside the box”

2. Participate – Participate actively, providing input that reflects the unique expertise or experience you bring Support your colleagues by adding information that strengthens and sharpens their ideas

3. Cooperate – Avoid side bar conversations & interruptions Don’t do outside work - not on computers, PDA’s, or paper. Hold your twittering… Arrive & return on time

4. Coordinate – Find a new way to collaborate with someone outside of your organization Be responsible for the success of our efforts and help facilitate, critique, and evaluate work

“ROE”

May 8th – Downstate Professional Development Workshop, NYC

May 22nd – Upstate Professional Development Workshop, Chittenango

July 1st – Community of Practice Knowledge Network

August 14th – Upstate Regional Meeting, Syracuse

September 23-24 – New Grantee/Staff Training

September 25th – Downstate Regional Meeting

November 7th – Leadership Meeting, Annual Recognition of Excellence & Innovation, Albany

2014 CoP Calendar of Events

Annual Recognition – ICE Award (Innovation, Collaboration & Excellence)

Purpose –Recognize and honor organizations within the SSVF Community of Practice that demonstrate extraordinary innovation, collaboration and excellence in providing services to Veterans and their Families

Criteria –1. Creative or innovative model/solution/strategy utilized to adapt to changing environment or

solve an issue faced by the organization or Veteran Families2. Exemplary effort in partnering or assisting other organizations to address a compelling

problem/issue in serving Veteran Families3. Exceptional commitment to improving the lives of Veteran Families through demonstrated

ethical integrity, organizational productivity and effective service delivery

Selection Process & Timeline –• Nominations due October 1st - form available online by June 1st

Annual Recognition – ICE Award (Innovation, Collaboration & Excellence)

Award Recipients Will Receive:

Honor & distinction of being recognized as leader among SSVF Providers

One of kind engraved glass art award

Featured article on the organization on the CoP Website

A $1,000 unrestricted grant

Questions?