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Asset Based Community Development
- 1. ASSET BASED COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
- 2. LEARNING OUTCOMES After this workshop you will: Understand how to differentiate needs and asset based approaches How to ask questions that unwrap the individual, neighborhood, and institutional gifts of the community How to shift an organization towards an asset-based lens
- 3. ASSET BASED COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT (ABCD) Identifies and mobilizes the assets of individuals, especially those who are clients of social services Builds relationships among community members, especially those that are mutually supportive Gives community members more roles and power in local institutions such that citizens lead efforts Fosters Social Capital by recognizing that all people have gifts
- 4. SERVICE AND VOLUNTEERISM CAN: Help address individuals and communities directly Address public issues and provide public benefit Build relationships among people across various lines of difference Increase the civic capacity of the individuals performing service (knowledge of community and community groups, social capital, interest in public issues, political involvement)
- 5. BUT SERVICE AND VOLUNTEERISM CAN ALSO: Place people in positions of privileged and needy Place the interests of the server over the interests of those being served Focus on immediate needs versus long term impacts Charity is not the answer to poverty. It only helps poverty to continue. It creates dependency, takes away the individuals initiatives to break through the wall of poverty. Muhammad Yunus
- 6. SOCIAL CAPITAL Social Capital refers to connections among individuals. These are networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them. The more relationships someone has in their community, the more likely they are to: Be employed Volunteer Participate in political and civic activities Join clubs Participate in their childs school life Be honest and trusting
- 7. NEEDS SURVEY Do you lack: Adequate housing? Appropriate job skills? A good work history? A high school diploma? raining for a career goal? Do you have: A history of drug or alcohol abuse? a felony record? Will you: Lose benefits such as food stamps or Medicare if you get a job?
- 8. GIFT SURVEY Gifts Gifts are abilities that we are born with. We may develop them, but no one has to teach them to us. What positive qualities do people say you have? Who are the people in your life that you give to? How did you give it to them? When was the last time you shared with someone else? What was it? What do you give that makes you feel good? Skills Sometimes we have talents such as cooking and fixing things. What do you enjoy doing? If you could start a business, what would it be? What do you like to do that people would pay you to do? Have you ever made anything? Have you ever fixed anything? Dreams Before you go, I want to hear about your dreams, goals you hope to accomplish. What are your dreams? If you could snap your fingers and be doing anything, what would it be?
- 9. HOW CAN WE TRANSFORM OUR INSTITUTION AND COMMUNITYS LENS FROM NEEDS TO ASSETS? Focus on deficits Focus on assets Problem response Opportunity identification Individual responses Collective responses Focus: Individual Focus: community Fix people Develop potential See people as clients See people as citizens Programs are the answer People are the answer
- 10. STEPS TO TRANSFORMATION Rediscover and mobilize the capacities of individuals and associations Put decision making power in the hands of those affected Develop leadership inside and outside your organization Be a team player inside and outside your organization Learn about and build relationships with other community stakeholders Start not with the answer, but with learning conversation Do not recruit people to implement the answer, discover what people care about, how they see the situation, & what they have to offer Mobilize assets to action instead of looking for why people lack of motivation
- 11. TOOLS FOR ACTION Asset Mapping: Associations Institutions Neighborhoods Individuals
- 12. NEIGHBORHOOD LEARNING INTERVIEWS Examples of Learning Interview Questions: Tell us about something good that happened in the community recently What gifts, capacities & skills can you share? What relationships do you have with others? What are the 3 best things about your community? What are 3 things that need working on? What issues and concerns are you willing to work on? Further contacts you would suggest (other people-name, phone, address) Who are the connectors in this community/institution?
- 13. SOCIAL CAPITAL QUESTIONS FOR YOUR INSTITUTION How does your work foster communication and relationship-building among the people you serve and residents in your community? What is your organizations relationship to community residents? How accountable is your organization to the people and community it serves? How does your service define and engage constituents? What power do they have? Who do you do business with from the neighborhood? What neighborhood groups do you belong to or meet with regularly? Are neighborhood people on your board of directors, advisory groups, or committees?
- 14. ABCD AND YOUR WORK PLAN On a piece of paper, write: One way that you can link the resources of people, organizations & the community to accomplish your goals as a VISTA The first 4 steps to get it done Share your answers with the person next to you.
- 15. THE GIFTS OF THE CORPS What skills or talents can you share with the corps? How can we unwrap these gifts this year?
- 16. FINAL QUESTIONS?
Editor's Notes
- #8: These questions are paraphrased from an actual welfare interview People hoping to leave welfare were asked a series of questions, which focused solely on what they were lacking Also included: tell me about your bad eyes, your poor work history, and all of the failures you have experienced At the end of the interview, there was one open ended question: do you have anything else to add?
- #11: Who do you hire from the neighborhood? Who do you do business with from the neighborhood? What neighborhood groups do you belong to or meet with regularly? How do you relate to schools, churches, and CBOs in your neighborhood? What do you feel you contribute to the neighborhood and what else might you contribute? Are neighborhood people on your board of directors, advisory groups, or committees?
- #12: Recognize your physical assets & economic ones Look with new eyes Build partnerships Asset mapping -physical-eyeball Mapping associations, institutions Learning Interviews: Individuals - gifts to share, want to learn (in congregation, in community) Neighborhood Learning Interviews: Putting it all together to move into action-1) get back to people, businesses 2) connect people, institutions around ideas, issues;