Rik Martin, CEO of Community Action Norfolk, looks into Asset Based Community Development (ABCD)…

I had planned on a very different comment piece for this Newsletter but mid-way through writing about our work on energy advice for community assets and consumers I attended yet another meeting where I was asked to explain Asset Based Community Development (ABCD), to a project which had clearly not understood the key principles.  In this instance they wanted to gather information from the community to inform the activities their project could deliver in the area. Time to clarify for anyone thinking about using the ADCD model.

ABCD is an approach which creates sustainable, community-driven development. Its main premise is that communities can drive the development process themselves by identifying and mobilizing existing, but often unrecognised, assets such as:

• Skills of local residents
• The power of local associations
• Resources of public, private and non-profit institutions
• Physical resources and ecology of local places
• Economic resources of local places
• The stories and heritage of local places

thereby responding to challenges and creating local social improvement and economic development.

On a small scale many community initiatives follow this model instinctively.  Good Neighbour Schemes are an excellent example of a community developing its own solutions and consequently they remain for the most part sustainable and successful. ABCD seeks to support communities to replicate this again and again.

What makes ABCD different?

ABCD offers a radical shift of perspective: it emphasises the community’s strengths, and builds on the capacities and assets of individuals, communities and institutions as the foundation for sustainable development and community enhancement.  Unlike traditional approaches that focus on deficits and needs, the ABCD model seeks to identify and mobilise existing resources to drive positive change from within the community. This approach takes patience and understanding of what brings people together – and more importantly it requires the discipline to know when not to intervene but let the community run with something; accepting failure and learning from it is part of the process.

Working with ABCD principles also brings its own set of challenges – it is not a quick fix, nor is it suitable if you have a predetermined solution in mind. The community should be deciding which agendas and solutions best fit. It is more difficult to measure success if you are used to rigid KPI’s, and instead concentrates on community connections made and opportunities created.  It is not always clear where activities will lead you – storytelling can build connections and provide clues about aspirations and potential but also fosters trust, mutual understanding, and the recognition of common goals and values.  Since it is very much about sustainable changes, results may not be obvious until long after the project has finished.

For more information about ABCD, contact Community Action Norfolk for an informal discussion or explore the main source of resources in the UK –  Nurture Development.