Publication

Communities of practice have been hailed as a way to spread knowledge and innovation, but we still know little about their real impacts, or even how to evaluate these. A good example to learn from is IIED’s conference series on community-based adaptation. The meetings have nurtured networks of practitioners that ‘fit the bill’ as a community of practice: filtering information, amplifying lesser-known ideas, convening, facilitating, community building and investing. This briefing looks at the ‘what, who and how’ of forming communities of practice, then looks ahead to an evaluation of whether, and how, why and when, such a community achieves better policies and practice to support local climate adaptation.