Community of Practice

In addition to Workgroups and Special Events, the NYS Forum also sponsors a limited number of Communities of Practice. A Community of Practice (COP) brings together a select group of public sector members to learn from each other and product experts about a specific product that is in broad use in their agency or across agencies. A COP operates as a formally structured user group. While a COP is product focused, the underlying principle of vendor neutrality is maintained at all times. In practice, this means that participation is strictly limited to only those individuals or agencies that have already procured and deployed the specific product. A COP cannot be used by as a vehicle to demonstrate a product to other agencies or to engage in any sales activities.

Some basic requirements for Product Based Community of Practice:

Must be in Use in Multiple Agencies with a significant number of users
Must be requested by at least two NYS or NYC agencies and/or ITS
Only individuals in agencies that already have the product may participate
Must be Championed/Sponsored by at least one public sector volunteer
Technical Resource/Subject Matter Expert (SME) should be provided by company
Agendas are limited to customer education, and will avoid marketing/sales content
Adherence to Vendor Neutrality – no sales pitches for additional products or add-ons
Agendas and presentations will be reviewed in advance by Forum Staff and Sponsor to monitor compliance with vendor neutrality
All participants will be provided with materials emphasizing vendor neutrality
Attendance will be monitored to ensure only appropriate participation
Meetings will be publicized in a way that allows vendor community to monitor sessions
Discussion board entries will be reviewed by Forum Staff and/or Sponsor prior to posting
COP’s are open to all ITCR members in good standing