MANAGING KNOWLEDGE IN CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS: EXAMINING THE CONTRIBUTION OF COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE.

Drawing primarily from the literature in the fields of project management and knowledge management the authors seek to critique the contribution that Communities of Practice (CoP) could make to enhancing the process of knowledge transfer in a construction setting. While, at face value, the CoP model offers several possibilities for more effective transfer of learning within and between project environments, applications of the CoP as a learning strategy may be subject to a range of constraints, depending upon the type and complexity of the project. Issues of trust and security, especially in contractually bound or politically sensitive project environments. the diverse nature and inherent instability of project teams, special needs of SMEs and distributed teams, all challenge accepted models of CoP. Bounded CoP, with restricted membership, confined along organizational or discipline lines, might provide part of the answer, but the rules of engagement would need to be carefully defined for optimal exchange of information and learning to take place. However the bounded CoP is less likely to produce the richer forms of learning that can occur when access is entirely free. Transfer of learning from one project context to another remains a challenge for organizations and for the industry as a whole