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Asset-based Community Development
This document was created for the CultivateNC program by Dr. Susan Jakes and Jacqueline Murphy Miller
Asset-based community development is an updated version of a time honored concept for building community capacity. The premise is similar to an old fashion barn raising. On the day of the barn raising the community would join together to share the work. But, they didn’t just share work, they would share their knowledge, their resources, and they would build friendships and collaborations. More importantly, they understood that together they were stronger and could accomplish larger goals than any one individual.
The Asset-Based Community Development Institute (ABCD) considers local assets as the primary building blocks of sustainable community development. For nearly three decades, Institute founders John Kretzmann and John McKnight gathered the stories of residents who built stronger neighborhoods in much the same way as the early pioneers, by focusing on their community strengths. ( The Asset-Based Community Development Institute: http://www.abcdinstitute.org/)
Why are assets important?
When we hear the term asset, we often think about financial assets or houses and cars, but for community development, we will be looking at seven distinct assets that make up a community profile. Those are financial, political, human, cultural, built/infrastructure, natural/environmental and social. “Assets can be physical things like a building, a local swimming pool or a 150-year-old tree in the town square; assets can also be intangible, like the work that volunteer groups do to beautify the main street or raise funds for the food bank.” (Asset Mapping a Handbook) http://rural.gc.ca/conference/documents/mapping_e.phtml
By discovering on their strengths, community members:
develop a renewed sense of pride in their community grow more confident in their own abilities are more willing to invest themselves and their resources into capacity building
Community
Asset Inventory
Natural Assets
Special geographic features (mountains, rivers, lakes, trees etc.) Outdoor recreation opportunities (hunting, fishing, biking, hiking, canoeing, camping…) Parks Farms and Ranches
Social
Networks
Civic organizations Agricultural organizations Choirs Book clubs Youth groups
Human
Assets
Organizations that enrich the community Schools, Government agencies, Healthcare providers, Economic developers
Financial Assets
Sources of funding Incentive programs Banks Private foundations Not for profit organizations
Political Assets
Elected and appointed officials Representatives of political groups
Cultural
Assets
Museums Historical places Annual festivals Studio Arts Spiritual groups Performing Arts Culinary Arts
Built
Infrastructure
Assets
Utilities Telecommunications Healthcare facilities Industrial parks Main Street Farmers market Recreation center
This is why Asset Mapping has become an important tool in the field of community development. See the diagram.
EXAMPLE OF A COMMUNITY ASSET INVENTORY: (A real inventory list will include many pages of data.)
This framework, developed by Cornelia and Jan Flora along with Susan Fey, provides a tool for analyzing how communities work. “These researchers found that the communities that were most successful in supporting healthy, sustainable community and economic development were considering seven types of assets, which they designated as natural, cultural, human, social, political, financial, and built. In addition to identifying the assets and the role each plays in community economic development, this approach also focuses on the interaction among these seven assets as well as how investments in one asset can build assets in another. (Flora, J.L., Flora, C. B. (2008). Community Capitals. Iowa State University, Department of Sociology. [http://www.soc.iastate.edu/staff/cflora/ncrcrd/capitals.html)
Asset category
Name of business, organization, institution or association
Name of Owner, Director or Manager
Mailing Address or P.O. Box
Email Address for Owner or Manager
Phone for Owner or Manager
Description of Asset Source
Human High School Principal John Doe
123 Main St., NC, 00000 Email for John Doe 999 - 999 - 9999 Education School Website
Built Farmers Market
Market manager John Doe
123 Main St., NC 00000 Email for manager 999 - 999 - 9999 Food or retail
Community website
Financial Community Bank
John Doe, Branch Manager
123 Main St., NC 00000 Email for manager 999 - 999 - 9999
Financial planning
Business Directory
Natural Park Biking Trails
Park Director, John Doe
123 Main Rd, NC 00000 Email for director 999 - 999 - 9999
Outdoor recreation Visitors center
Cultural Strawberry Festival Ms. Jane Doe
123 Main St. , NC 00000 Email for Ms. Doe 999 - 999 - 9999
Local food, arts and crafts Newspaper
Social Network Community Choir Director Jane Doe
123 Main St., NC 00000 Email for Jane Doe 999 - 999 - 9999
Music and entertainment
Church bulletin board
Political (^) Community Mayor Mayor Doe
123 Main St., NC 00000 Email for Mayor 999 - 999 - 9999 Political affiliate
Chamber of Commerce
Examples of how community asset mapping can be used for building community capacity.
Developing an Unusual Asset in Cummins, South Australia
Cummins, South Australia (population 600) was a town in crisis in the mid to late 1990s, as young people were leaving the area to find jobs, and the rural downtown was diminishing. They had little to no social capital in town, and negativity was at an all time high. They were categorized as “dying” by the state newspaper, The Advertiser. Banks and shops had closed their doors and the future was looking bleak.
Two local leaders decided that their town needed a future; they were not willing to give up the fight. They also knew they had to get the locals to believe in the cause as well. Cummins had to look into their local assets which were not clear at the beginning. An Enterprise Committee formed and soon recognized something in town that could be developed further: the old Kalamazoo Railway that ran through town and was no longer used. A local campaign was initiated by the committee: “Cummins on Track.”
Activities planned by the committee were funded in part by a pledge campaign. Through this campaign, the committee suggested the event “The Kalamazoo” to get local pride going, now called “The Kalamazoo Classic.” This running race event is held on and around the Kalamazoo Railway with several different types of races and tests of strength. This event has generated a lot of attention and interest inside and outside the town because of its “wackiness.”
The campaign made townspeople excited about Cummins again, and people began working together for the town’s future. Now, there is a new bank in town, shops have opened up, and the school is doing well again, with graduating students either going on to college or finding employment locally. Cummins found that the key to their redevelopment was to first look at possible assets in the community, get local people enthused and organized, and then work on activities and economic development together.
(Flora, C. B., Fey, S., Bregendahl, C., Friel, J. Using Community Capitals to Develop Assets for Positive Community Change, PDF format (1,081 kb) http://www.ag.iastate.edu/centers/rdev/projects/benedum/casestudysummaries.pdf)
In some community projects, the researchers or community development specialists will create a map which identifies the community assets and where they are located. This can be helpful in building collaborations and future partnerships to work on community issues. A map can be created in GIS or it can be made with poster paper, markers and sticky dots.
Once you have developed your inventory spreadsheet, the next step will involve some creative thinking. Assets are only “assets” if they are being used. In the story above, they converted an old unused railroad line into an entertainment venue which in turn stimulated growth to other parts of the community. The next example illustrates how another community development specialist used asset mapping to build economic and community capacity.
[http://www.soc.iastate.edu/staff/cflora/ncrcrd/capitals.html
(Flora, C. B., Fey, S., Bregendahl, C., Friel, J. Using Community Capitals to Develop Assets for Positive
Community Change, PDF format (1,081 kb). Iowa State University, Department of Sociology.
Retrieved November 2012 from [http://www.soc.iastate.edu/staff/cflora/ncrcrd/capitals.html
Block, P., Mcknight, J., (2013, February 22). Meet Mary Nelson, Embracing Gods Vision for Community
[Web Blog] Retrieved February 2013 from
http://www.abundantcommunity.com/home/stories/parms/1/story/20130222_meet_mary_nelson.html
Canadian Rural Partnership, Asset Mapping: A Handbook,
http://rural.gc.ca/conference/documents/mapping_e.phtml
