At its October 2021 meeting the ADEE Executive Committee were excited to approve the creation of a new means of engagement with ADEE, the ADEE Communities of Practice (COP).
The aim of these COPs is to facilitate opportunities for the wider ADEE membership to share with, and learn from peers in advancing individual, collective and organisational knowledge and in meeting the challenges that are currently faced in Oral Health Professionals’ Education. It is envisaged that these COP will operate around the year and have the opportunity to build on and enhance existing collaborative working of ADEE. It is anticipated that some SIGs will have the opportunity to develop into COPs given sufficient numbers/interest. The key difference between SIGS and COPS is that COPS are focused on individual learning and sharing of expertise while SIGS are focused on creating consensus output that may be adopted at institutional, regional and European level
The objectives of COPS are to:
- Provide a broad based network of support and ongoing professional development for individuals and organisations in dental education practice, research or policy
- Identify potential areas for personal and organisational development, outcomes, research and dissemination
- Provide opportunities to share experience, knowledge or best practice and encourage the support, development and dissemination of expertise among the ADEE membership and wider community
- Provide a facilitated communication channel that enables mentoring to build capability and capacity of less experienced practitioners
COP themes will be identified or invited from the ADEE membership or executive committee. Each COP will be facilitated by a small working group of like-minded, skilled members of approximately 3-5 persons, the COP steering group. These will be self-nominating from the ADEE membership and will ideally be from different regions. The opportunity for country/regional development will be possible within the COP and may be performed in the local language to facilitate broader engagement. If required, focused sub-goals may be included within the larger COP framework to suit local or regional needs.
Selection of the COP steering group members will initially be invited and facilitated by an ADEE Executive COP guidance committee (2-4 members of the ADEE ExCo). The COP guidance committee will support, guide and monitor the different COPs and receive information from the COPs about its work and progress during the year and in turn feedback to the ADEE Executive.
After establishing the COP steering group the core members will draft its own preliminary aim and objectives, which will submitted to the COP guidance committee for agreement. It is expected that COPs will be able to deliver tangible outcomes for dissemination and possible publication through ADEE website/conferences and the European Journal of Dental Education. After approval of the aims and objectives, they will be circulated through ADEE communications to the wider membership to join and participate. Through this process, potential members of the COP will contact the steering group directly to join and permit feedback to facilitate more inclusive aims and objectives.
An initiating online meeting will be called to discuss, agree on the aims and objectives of the COP with the wider COP membership and discussion how to advance the COP goals and outcomes. Communications will be through Zoom or similar, E mail/discussion board or document sharing platforms. COPs will of course be able to hold face-to-face meetings at the annual meeting, space/time permitting etc. Overarching terms of reference will be given to guide each COP with regards to their process, expectations and outcomes.
If you are interested in leading a COP Steering Group on a particular topic for consideration, please email administrator@adee.org with the following information:
- Area or topic for COP
- Outline of potential benefits and why this is important to local or regional ADEE members
- Proposed aims and objectives
- Your experience and expertise - you may also submit a short CV
- Potential need for language specific COP
Applications received will be brought to the COP guidance committee for consideration. If you have any specific requests or need any clarification, feel free to email these to administrator@adee.org and the chair of the ADEE COP Guidance Committee, Prof Michael Botelho, will revert to you in due course. Initially the numbers of COPs will be focused based on needs and anticipated engagement from the ADEE memberships.
