A community of action (CoA), unlike a community of practice (CoP), exists in a situation that is structurally more open, where actors have the possibility of bringing about change. These more open situations might, for example, correspond to collective design teams in professional environments.

CoAs possess some of the characteristics of communities, such as the development of a common language and mutual learning in the course of action. However, they also possess some of the characteristics typical of more associative social relationships, such as the “voluntary” nature of association and the importance of “common goals” in directing collective activity. Some argue that this makes CoAs more “rational” groups than CoPs.

[edit] Related to

• Community of circumstance
• Community of inquiry
• Community of interest
• Community of position
• Community of place
• Community of practice
• Community of purpose

[edit] External links

• Communities of action: a cognitive and social approach to the design of CSCW systems
• Socio-Semantic Web applications: towards a methodology based on the Theory of the Communities of Action
• Distributed Design Teams as Communities of Practice