APS L&D Community of Practice

Contents

The APS L&D Community of Practice (CoP) is a structured network where practitioners come together to share learning design approaches, tools, and real-world experiences. It creates a collaborative environment where knowledge is exchanged and applied across agencies, rather than developed in isolation.

This CoP has formal (e.g. facilitated sessions) or informal (e.g. peer groups, GovTeams channels) arrangements. It supports learning through discussion, reflection and shared problem-solving, aligned to the APS continuous learning model where learning occurs through people and networks.

This community is managed by the APS Academy out of the Australian Public Service Commission. Access requires an active GovTEAMS account.

Why is this CoP important?

This CoP helps strengthen consistency while still allowing adaptation to agency context. By connecting practitioners, this CoP accelerates the spread of good practice, support innovation, and enable continuous improvement in learning design and delivery.

Benefits of joining this CoP?

Help build greater consistency and quality in APS learning and development by connecting people who are working on similar challenges and priorities.
Share practical tools, templates, lessons learned, and exchange ideas.
Gain diverse perspectives from across agencies and build networks.
Test ideas in a safe environment before implementation and strengthen capability through peer feedback.

Who is this CoP suitable for

L&D practitioners (designers, facilitators, learning leads) and L&D team members.
HR and capability teams.
Program owners and subject matter experts who are trying to uplift capability.
Managers responsible for workforce capability.

General Practices

Good Practice
Facilitate regular, structured sessions with a clear purpose. Encourage sharing of real examples (what worked and what didn’t). Capture and reuse insights (e.g. templates, case studies). Align discussions to APS frameworks and priorities. Actively seek feedback to shape future sessions.

Practices to avoid
Irregular or ad hoc engagement with no clear outcomes. Passive attendance without contribution. No documentation or sharing of insights. Overly theoretical discussions without practical application. Limited cross-agency representation.