Complex challenges are rarely met in one shot. What a JAM does most of all is it takes everyone to a new level of thinking and possible action. But it will require sustained collaboration to capitalize on the action points the JAM surfaces.
This is where an eCommunity comes in.
A VIRTUAL VILLAGE – WITHOUT BORDERS
An eCommunity is like a virtual village-without borders but with a well-defined structure and purpose. It is a place where a select group of people come together to collaborate over a period of time, in order to achieve very specific outcomes.
While eCommunities may occasionally meet off-line, the preponderance of work is done online, thus allowing a dispersed group of people to participate and work together towards achieving a common goal.
NOT ALL ECOMMUNITIES ARE CREATED EQUAL
Each is only as valuable as the parameters that define its purpose and guide its outcomes. Successful eCommunities have a well-defined structure, a detailed vetting process for participants, milestones to measure progress and clear outcomes.
If YOU build it they won’t come…
10 things about e-Communities YOU should know.
DESIGNING THE ECOMMUNITY
KPI’s role in an eCommunity strongly parallels the way we help to shape and guide a JAM. We begin by collaborating with the leadership team in defining the eCommunity’s purpose and goals. We then plan the design of the eCommunity. Next we lead the team to select digital tools that will best enable the community to function effectively. Finally, and most critically, we design the “routines” that the community members will follow, in order to accomplish the established goals. We believe that eCommunities are most likely to succeed with a work process that is adaptive, based on careful on-going monitoring, analysis and assessment.
K STUDIES
KPI has helped define, shape and guide eCommunities with a variety of goals ranging from statewide program change (Race to GED in VA »), to program design (MCNC Wraparound Student Support »), to pedagogical innovation (Global Skills for College Completion »).