Communities of Practice have been defined as: 

"groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly." 

Wenger, McDermott, & Snyder (2002)

In the RRTC's recent national survey of vocational rehabilitation counselors 74.6% of the 938 respondents reported they were "very interested' or "somewhat interested" in joining a community of practice.  Reasons for joining were to openly discuss and exchange feedback (75.8%), to gain access to evidence-based practices and information (72.6%), for interaction with others (55.9%), and to develop supportive relationships (54.9%).

In response the RRTC is currently piloting a CoP to explore how the gap between research and practice in vocational rehabilitation (VR) can be bridged through the development and use of CoPs.  Members of this CoP include VR practitioners and leaders in the state-federal VR system, practitioners in private rehabilitation, researchers, educators, business leaders, and people with disabilities.  We are using information gained through this pilot to develop future CoPs that will meet the needs of practitioners and researchers and to develop resources that will be valuable in assisting practitioners in implementing evidence-based practice (EBP) in service delivery.

The focus of future CoPs will revolve around skill development, disability-specific strategies connected with successful employment outcomes, and employer needs and labor market demand.  If you are interested in participating in a CoP, please click here to let us know: http://research2vrpractice.org/cop/.