CoP Kickoff Meeting

CoP Kickoff Meeting

BUILD EXCITEMENT. Make a big splash by announcing your kickoff meeting and/or a call for members. If you already have a core group of members, share their names, titles, and links to their bios or online profiles. Announce your CoP launch via various marketing channels--a newsletter, Slack channels, email lists, flyers, or social media such as LinkedIn.

Here's a suggested structure for your kickoff meeting:

WELCOME & PURPOSE. After a quick team connection activity (see Team Connection Exercises), core members share their stories of how and why they were inspired to start the CoP.

REFLECT & SHARE. In 1-2 minutes, each member responds to the following questions:

What inspired you to become part of this community?

Why is this topic important to you?

i5 CANVAS GROUP BRAINSTORM. Core leaders share the i5 Canvas and facilitate a group brainstorming session. Remind everyone that the i5 Canvas is meant to be a "living document,

" and is not meant to be finalized in one session. The CoP may choose to work on the Canvas on an ongoing basis, working on one component each time you meet.

CLOSE. Thank members for joining you and ask them to fill out a questionnaire (see Community of Practice Questionnaire). Create the questionnaire to determine your community rhythm, and to solicit feedback that you can incorporate into subsequent meetings.