Mobilising knowledge in community−university partnerships: what does a community of practice approach contribute?

Over the past decade different approaches to mobilising knowledge inCommunity2University Partnership (CUP) contexts have emerged in the UK. Despite this,detailed accounts of the intricate texture of these approaches, enabling others to replicate orlearn from them, are lacking. This paper adds to the literature which begins to address thisgap. The case considered here concentrates on one particular approach to knowledgemobilisation (KM) developed in the UK context. It provides an account of the authors’involvement in applying the concept, and practical lessons from a community of practice(CoP) approach, to developing knowledge exchange (KE) between academics, parents andpractitioners. The authors’ approach to KM explicitly attempts to combat power differentialsbetween academics and community partners, and problematises knowledge powerhierarchies. The paper explores the CoP concept and critically investigates key elements ofrelevance to developing KE in the CUP context. Specific themes addressed are those ofpower, participation and working across boundaries by CoP members with very differentsubject positions and knowledge capitals. The paper concludes that CoPs can be a usefulmechanism for KM, but have many limitations depending on the specific context in whichKM is being undertaken.