Communities of Practice and Promise Neighborhoods

When introducing Macon Promise Neighborhood to people who have never heard of it before, they will tend to ask the same questions such as: "What exactly do you all do", "Why just that neighborhood?", "Where are you located", and every now and then "Are you hiring?" However, after explaining the purpose of the Promise Neighborhood and how it operates, the response may include "Wow, that's neat. Maybe you all can actually accomplish something around here." Although there are a number of organizations existing to accomplish many of the same goals as Macon Promise Neighborhood, Macon Promise Neighborhood sets itself apart from other initiatives and organizations with its use of a layered "communities of practice" approach within the actual neighborhoods, its partners and among other Promise Neighborhoods.

A community of practice (CoP) is a group of people who share a common concern, set of problems or interest in a topic and who come together to fulfill both individual and group goals; it is shared learning in its simplest definition. The theory has been used one way or another since the beginning of recorded history and is used extensively in a wide variety of fields (for instance, teachers who teach the same or similar subjects readily share content, materials, and best practices among each other). Promise Neighborhoods are no exception. Within a Promise Neighborhood, residents may meet to discuss ways to identify and approach a problem within the community, to share issues with Promise Neighborhoods, or simply to fellowship with others who share a similar hobby. Outside of the neighborhood, Promise Neighborhoods collaborate with local agencies to help direct a concentrated effort to establish and achieve goals.

Macon Promise Neighborhood (MPN) uses the Community of Promise theory extensively. In an interview with the Magnet Schools Assistance Program, Project Director Ebony Harris explains how MPN works to establish buy-in, feedback, and participation among partners, “We try to
make sure that we cross sectors as much as possible to help everybody see all levels of participation and all perspectives on how this work is moving forward.” MPN has also made sure that there is feedback and participation at each and every layer of the project, ranging from neighborhood advocates arranging and attending meetings inside of residents homes, to having a council made up of the partners of MPN that meets periodically to measure and monitor MPN's progress. MPN has also begun to collaborate with the other Promise neighborhoods in the state (Atlanta, Athens, and Savannah) in order to share resources and best practices. For instance, through working with the other Promise Neighborhoods in the state, MPN was able to create a web-based data system that was then shared with with the other sites in the state. It's not about competition but more about "resource sharing and lessons learned" says Ebony.

Being a part of a Community of Practice is an excellent way of sharing knowledge, solving problems, forging working relationships and sharing resources. It has allowed MPN to be a lot more efficient in terms of using methods that work along with becoming a source real value to to the community. All in all, more organizations should adopt the CoP theory to become leaner and more efficient in their work.