The Application of CDC's Conceptual Framework for Communities of Practice

The National Center for Public Health Informatics (NCPHI) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has developed a conceptual framework that can be used to set the context for communities of practice (CoP) related to its Public Health Information Network (PHIN). CoPs provide a platform by which PHIN partners can come together to solve common problems, learn new practices, exchange information, and otherwise improve the implementation of PHIN. The conceptual framework sets CoPs within an adapted federated model and uses the principles of community-based participatory approaches to guide the activities. This presentation discusses the model, which was adapted from Wenger’s (2002) initial work, in terms of its application to the PHIN CoP program.  It also explains how a theory of change approach has been generated to explore how CoPs are expected to influence the implementation of PHIN on three different levels: individual, organizational, and programmatic.  Several examples of guiding theories, such as social capital and social networks, will be given.