In this presentation, we will discuss a multi year project to develop and evaluate an online Community of Practice for Speech Pathologists with an interest in Clinical (Practice) Education (SPICE). The multisite project was initiated by speech pathology (SP) academics and clinicians with a passion for practice education in recognition of the growing numbers of speech pathology students requiring practice education. The CoP concept was inspired by the success of similar practice communities already operating in other areas of professional practice. To ensure that the CoP was sustainable and consumer-driven, online surveys were distributed via snowball sampling to SPs across Australasia. Reponses were overwhelmingly positive and indicated that SPs were highly motivated to engage in an online forum about clinical education. Informed by survey responses, an online platform was created and launched in January 2021. Since launching, SPICE has grown to over 500 members across a variety of clinical and academic settings. Over 65 topics have been discussed and various formats for engagement have been utilised including webinars, discussion forums, and Padlets. Members are surveyed on admission to the group and periodically (e.g. yearly) to understand their experience, satisfaction, learning, and perceptions of SPICE to guide ongoing implementation.

1. Online forums are a valuable method of linking and engaging clinicians with similar interests or learning goals and supporting networking across geographically varied locations
2. Communities of practice are effective when developed in consultation and collaboration with their intended audience
3. There is an opportunity for innovative solutions to address gaps in speech pathology practice areas where demand is growing (e.g. practice education) or where there may be a lack of centralised information available to a range of practice contexts. The methodologies and learnings used in this project could be applied to numerous practice settings/clinical areas.