Why Communities of Practice endure in an AI world

At Buro Happold Engineers, Communities of Practice are thriving, even as AI transforms how explicit knowledge is managed.

At the KMWorld Europe conference, Rory Huston, Global Director of Knowledge; Baran Tanriverdi, Knowledge and Innovation Manager; and Crystal Bridge, Global Knowledge Coordinator, posed the question of “If AI can connect and assimilate all our knowledge, do we still need communities?” The answer was an unequivocal “yes.” In the corporate world, it’s not just about processes, it’s about culture.

Construction, they said, is a team sport. The client selects its team; architects, engineers, cost consultants, and whatever else they need, depending on the project. Internally, the company assembles a team for the size and scope of the project. Much of Buro Happold’s communities work is about extracting information from the team, where it is created, and sharing it amongst the rest, as codified best practice. Documents scale information, while communities scale judgement.

Communities of Practice operate at multiple scales and levels of formality, reflecting the diversity of technical disciplines and ways of working. These could be:

Discipline-led CoPs – MEP, structures, facades, sustainability, digital, acoustics

Theme-based CoPs – net zero, regenerative design, building performance, MMC

Role-based or capability CoPs – project leaders, technical authorities, early-career engineers

Grassroots communities – organically formed around shared interests or emerging needs

Strategic / sponsored communities – aligned to business priorities, supported by leadership and KMEngagement is driven more by culture than tools. Technical forums succeed due to a strong, engineer-led community connecting across technical disciplines; high engagement across grades, offices, and disciplines; a practical, project-led knowledge sharing with recorded, reusable content; and a trusted space for learning, problem-solving and technical dialogue. Intentionality is an important component.

Their takeaways:

Start with one real problem

Communities grow faster around live issues than around abstract “knowledge sharing”.

Name the roles early

Leader, sponsor, connector and curator do not need to be the same person.

Make participation lightweight

Give people several ways to engage: observe, comment, contribute and lead.

Measure signs of movement

Track participation, questions answered, outputs reused and sponsor attention

The KMWorld Europe and Taxonomy Boot Camp London held 14-15 April 2026 in London UK, brings KMWorld to London for the first time and returns the in-person Taxonomy Boot Camp to the city.

The KMWorld conference returns to the JW Marriott in Washington D.C. on November 17-20, 2026  https://www.kmworld.com/Conference/2026.

KMWorld 2026 is a part of a unique program of five co-located conferences, which also includes Enterprise Search & Discovery, Enterprise AI World, Taxonomy Boot Camp, and Text Analytics Forum.