CONNECTING PEOPLE, IDEAS AND RESOURCES 137
sectors, fields, and countries. 301) Pollinating networks. Some networks deliberately try to crosspollinate ideas, sharing emerging practice to stimulate creativity. A good contemporary example is the Doors of Perception network founded by John Thackara, initially for designers but widely followed by nondesigners. 302) Collaborative networks including international collaborative action networks such as the C40 network of cities, the Clinton Global Initiative, and action research collaboratives such as the Young Foundation’s work with local authorities on neighbourhoods and wellbeing. 303) Service collaboratives such as the UK’s Primary Care Collaborative, combining face-to-face events, research provision, online support, and funding to develop innovations. 304) Communities of practice are a group of people who share a common concern, set of problems, or a passion about a topic, who deepen their knowledge and expertise by interacting on an ongoing basis. Communities of Practice follow a particular methodology which is based on theories of learning in action – ‘learning while doing’. They have proved an effective tool for practitioners in local government in the UK, where the IDeA’s Communities of Practice have brought together thousands of practitioners in fields as diverse as education, adult social care, and community engagement. At the European level, The Community of Practice on Inclusive Entrepreneurship (COPIE) brings together a wide variety of stakeholders to discuss issues relating to inclusive entrepreneurship, local development, and social entrepreneurship. 305) Action learning sets are groups of between four and seven people who come together on a regular basis to reflect on their work, support each other, and learn from formal evidence as an aid to both innovation and improvement. This approach is used by the School for Social Entrepreneurs, where students are divided into action learning sets for the duration of the one year course. 306) Membership organisations like the Royal Society for the Encouragement of the Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) in the UK which has a network of 27,000 Fellows, all of them leaders and experts in their respective fields.