The Improvement Network Health and Development Framework (INHD Framework) sets a vision for a complex new organizational form for practical problem solving: the Networked Improvement Community (NIC). One critical test of this idealized framework is to explore its usefulness in describing variation in these deliberatively formed, temporary…

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges and opportunities for knowledge management systems (KMS) in various domains and sectors. This research explores the strategies to manage expectational knowledge in higher education after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study employed a qualitative research method with a case study design to…

The pandemic represented a context where rapid changes to planning, organization and service delivery were undertaken to respond to an urgent and life-threatening health system problem. There was intense interest in knowledge mobilization--mechanisms that allow the timely sharing of evidence with the aim of supporting improvement--to mitigate the…

Background: Knowledge brokers in higher education are described as requiring a broad range of skills and characteristics, leading to both role conflict and ambiguity. Although existing studies report broad concepts regarding the role of knowledge brokers, the activities that they actually perform to broker knowledge are not systematically reported…

The Teaching and Learning Network (TLN) at the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, represents an effective network model for faculty and educational leadership development. Grounded in the principles of communities of practice (Wenger, 1998), the TLN is a collaborative network that fosters interdisciplinary dialogue, relationship building,…

Improvement networks are a novel organizational form designed to support collaborative, interorganizational learning and improvement aimed at solving complex, interdependent problems spanning classrooms, schools, systems, and their broader contexts. These networks aim to develop and augment local capabilities for innovation and improvement by…

This paper explores the development of a special interest group bound by common interests, experiences, and access to opportunities in mobile learning as a model of a networked academic development community. With core members spanning eleven educational institutes across three continents, the Mobile Learning Special Interest Group (MLSIG) was…

Creating sustained, transformative change within and across organizations is challenging, particularly when those undertaking change act as individuals. COMmunities of Practice (CoPs) are organically created collaborations among like-minded participants, working toward a common set of goals (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wenger-Trayner &…

This article explores the implementation of cross-functional professional learning communities (PLCs) involving faculty, staff and administrators at three different institutional types -- research, urban regional, and rural regional universities -- with the goal of learning about and then implementing a culture change approach to support academic…

In this brief, the authors argue that creating avenues to support VITAL faculty is an essential role for leaders within academic affairs, and particularly those in faculty affairs. While the authors review a host of supports needed, they argue for the importance of sustained professional development opportunities like faculty learning communities…

Purpose: Driven by the need to deepen understanding of the mechanisms driving teacher collaboration for enhancing teacher learning and practices, this study aims to investigate the influence of collaborative organizational conditions, network intentionality and efficacy for leading curriculum learning on teachers' professional growth within the…

Public community colleges must adapt to ever-changing student populations to increase student retention and completion levels. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how community college students described their academic experiences and social interactions in a coordinated studies learning community at an urban community…

Educators worldwide are engaged in efforts to improve teaching and learning through teachers' collaborations in learning communities and networks. Teacher leadership has played a crucial role in such communities or networks. This study focused on a teacher professional development program in mainland China, the Master Teacher Studio, in which a…

This article introduces work originating from the area of Networked Learning that seeks to problematise and critically discuss notions such as 'collaboration', 'community', and 'participation'. It argues that there is a dark and shadowy side to these ideals, which we need to attend to in a reflexive manner. To this end, it introduces ideas of…

Purpose: This paper aims to present insights on the governance of sustainability transitions in higher education in Africa. The authors interrogate the research literatures on the governance of socio-technical transitions in water, electricity, transport and waste management, and identify barriers and enabling factors that enhance transformative…