Table 1.

The Conceptual Framework of Value Creation for e-mpodera vCoP¹

Conceptual framework of value creation for a virtual Community of Practice (vCoP)
Indicators	Measures/Metrics	Codes	Definition
Cycle 1- Immediate value: Activities and interactions
Level of participation	Members recruited. Logins per user, mean (SD) Users ≥ 2 logins (returning users)
Level of activity	Users ≥ 1 comment Comments per user, mean (SD) Comments per week, mean (SD) Responses in surveys, mean (SD) Questions asked	Agreement Identification	Agreement expression and or identification with other users’ thoughts. Similar opinion.
		Asking for help or an opinion	Queries/support asked about an area of interest (explicit question) a. Ask for help or concrete query (open-ended questions). b. Question asked (closed-ended), reflective or rhetorical questions. c. Questions related platform and navigation
Level of engagement	Comments per forum (length of threads), mean (SD) Comments in goals Comments in other contents Forum threads opened by users. Users ≥ 1 point Users ≥ 1 goal (n = 147) Badges per user, mean (SD)
Quality of interactions	Nested chats: First comments (level 1) Nested chats: Replicates (levels + 2)	Practice experience	Members bring experiences and problems of daily practice into the learning space. Discussion on important issues: reflections of practice, barriers, and difficulties in general. a. Problems and causes. b. Solutions applied to main barriers. c. Impact on professionals and/or patients
		Quality of response	Feedback on the quality of responses to queries. Reasons reported of the value of answers or resources shared.
		Assertive disagreement	Respectful participation when disagreement
Value of Participation		Back Reengaging	Evidence of people coming back to the community or re-engaging with the network and reasons reported.
		Fun	Evidence of fun
Networking2		Naming	Name someone or answer directly to his/her comment.
Collaboration	Number of writers in collaborative documents, mean (SD)
		Collaborative initiative	Joining projects or co-authorship
		Resources and tools shared	Shared tools /resources… Shared solutions or new ways to use tools and/or resources…
Reflection		Feeling of community	References to the community itself: being a group (meta-conversations) with a common mission (learning/ empowerment)
Cycle 2. Potential value: Knowledge capital
Information received	Total Products exchanged by users (images, docs, links, etc.).	Information received	New information received and reported by users
		Solution offered / Answers to questions	Answers to questions asked. New practices to solve problems (explicit).
Skills acquired		Skills, ideas, or resources to be applied	Self-reported comments related to skills acquired or resources to be used. a. Likely to be used. b. Reported to be applied
Change in perspective		Professional change expectations	Self-reported change or reflection regarding own behavior/ Getting inspired. Discussion on professional role
Confidence		Risks taken, or initiatives taken	An initiative started or risk taken by members
Level of trust		Circumstance, mistake, or failure in own practice	Self-reported difficulties, problems, or mistakes/failures from practices by members (bringing up difficult problems and failures from practice). Personal cases, not general issues.
New views of learning		Learning and leadership	Interest in learning and leadership activities
Cycle 3. Applied Value
Implementation of advice, solutions, insights	Documents reported used.	Implementation	Self-reported comments on implementation of solutions, advice, insight. Ideas commented previously on the community.
Innovation in practice		Innovation insight	New ways of doing things. New perspectives. New concepts and language
Use of tools and documents to inform practice		Results	Self-reported feedback value on tools or documents used or applied. Self-reported reuse.
Use of social connections		Social Connections	Collaborative arrangements and problem-solving. Leveraging connections in the accomplishment of tasks
Innovation in systems		New Systems	Evidence of new processes and/or policies.
Transferring learning practices		Transferring practices	Use of the community or peer-to-peer processes and tools for learning in other contexts
Cycle 4. Realized value: Performance improvement
Personal performance	Members with certifications (20 goals and 1000 points obtained) Members with more than 10 goals obtained
Organizational reputation		Patient feedback3	Client feedback regarding empowerment reported.
Knowledge products as performances		Client outcomes	Direct delivery of knowledge products to clients (applied tools, resources to clients and outcomes)
Organizational performance		Organization satisfaction	If reported in final comments or feedback, satisfaction to organization
Cycle 5. Reframing value: redefinition of success
Community aspirations		Reported new vision or learning objectives	New learning agenda. New discourse about value. New vision. Community aspirations for future
Assessment		New metrics	New metrics, assessment, or ways to evaluate. Criteria change.
Relationships with stakeholders		Relations with stakeholders	Involvement of new stakeholders. New sets of expectations Different conversation with stakeholders reported
Institutional changes		Organizational change	New strategic directions that reflect new understanding
New frameworks		New framework	New social, institutional, legal, or political systems (emerging or created)

¹Adapted from Wegner E, Trayner B, de Laat M. Promoting and assessing value creation in communities and networks: a conceptual framework. 2011

²The platform doesn’t register the connections between participants, such us a user’s lists, or followers

³Patients were not asked directly about satisfaction or professional change