Monitoring the value of communities and networks

Monitoring and evaluation of communities of practice and networks has been a hot topic in many of the group discussions I’m involved in . Now the Open University of the Netherlands (OUNL) has published our conceptual framework for promoting and assessing value creation in communities and networks. It is a working paper co-authored by Etienne Wenger, Bev Trayner and Maarten de Laat.

We wrote it with a wide audience in mind – researchers, sponsors, community leaders, members and other members. It is a framework that draws on both quantitative and qualitative data to create a compelling picture of how communities and networks create value for their members (or not).

Below is a copy of the Contents page and you can download the document here.  We will be discussing how we have been using the framework and its implications at our BEtreat workshop on the 5th – 9th July 2011.

And do let us know if you have any comments about the framework – especially if you implement it.