Asset Based Community Development.

What is ABCD?

´ABCD is a methodology for the sustainable development of communities based on there strengths and potentials.

´This approach was developed by John L.McKnight & John P.Kretzmann

It involves :

- assessing the resources,skills & experience available in a community,
-organizing the community around issues that move its members in to action,
-then determining taking appropriate action

Guiding Principles

´ABCD differs from needs-based community development.

´It focuses primarily on honing & leveraging existing strengths with in a community rather than bolstering community deficiencies related to tenets of empowerment., it postulates that solutions to community problems already exists within a community’s assets

Principles that guide ABCD include

 ´Everyone has gifts: Each person in a community has something to contribute.

´Relationships build a community: People must be connected in order for sustainable community development to take place.

´Citizens at the center: Citizens should be viewed act as actors not recipients in development.

´Leaders involve others: Community development is strongest when it involves a broad base of community action. ´People care: Challenge notions of “apathy "by listening to people’s interests.

´Listening: Decisions should come from conversations  where people heard.

´Ask: Asking for ideas is more sustainable than giving solutions.

The capacity inventory

´1.Skills information: Lists the many skills that a person has gained at home, work ,in the community or else where.(Ex: internet knowledge ,hair cutting,listening,wall papering,carpentary,sewing,baby sitting..etc..)

´2.Community Skills: Lists the community work in which a person has participated to determine future work they may be interested in.

´3.Enterprising interests and experience: Lists past experiences in businesses and determine interest in starting a business.

´4.Personal information: Lists minimum information for follow up.

Asset Mapping

´There are five key assets in any given community:

                                                             1.individuals

                                                             2.Assosiation

                                                             3.Institutions

                                                             4.Physical assets

                                                             5.Connections

´These assets are broken down in to three categories.

´Gifts of individuals, citizens’ association, and local institutions .

´Assets maps are used in lieu of needs maps which focus solely on negative aspects of communities. Assets maps on the other hand ,focus on community assets, abilities, skills and strengths in order to build its future.

Time banks

´Time banks are example of using community assets to connect individuals’ assets to one another.

´Neighbors share skills with one another and earn “credits” in the process, allowing and hour of child care to equal an hour of home repair or tax preparation.

Ethics

´Because ABCD relies on existing community assets to create change, it has been criticized for implying that disadvantage communities have all the resources they need to solve community problems.