Facilitating communities of practice through
cross-university communication fora

The establishment of cross-university communication fora at Charles Sturt University was commended by AUQA (2004) as an effective mechanism for fostering and encouraging cross-university and "cross-faculty collaboration and the effective linking of academic and support services". These fora, initiated and supported by Organisational Development, include Heads of School Committee, Professorial Forum, Course Coordinators Forum and the Professional Experience Network (Practicum Forum), as well as several fora for general staff. Members set their own agenda and terms of reference. As well as enhanced communication and collaboration, the benefits have included enhanced professional practice and experience of academic and general staff and students; tools such as online forums and web presence; collaborative research around teaching and learning; mentoring; leadership development; redistribution of workloads and roles; and improved compliance and risk management practices. These are changes that will be more effectively embedded across the University through empowerment of communities of common practice. This will improve the quality of learning and teaching across the university. The challenge is for senior management to effectively take forward the issues and solutions generated by the fora. This session will showcase some of the methods used to identify, initiate and facilitate the maintenance of these fora. Session participants will be part of an interactive discussion using the ORID method of facilitating group processes to elicit opportunities for their organization to identify communities of individuals who may come together as a discussion forum. This is also an effective learning and teaching approach for groups or tutorials.