Here, I share the results of John McKnight and Cormac Russell’s deliberation about what is distinctive about an Asset-Based Community Development process.
‘The primary goal of an Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) process is to enhance collective citizen visioning and production. This paper discusses each of four essential elements in detail in an effort to answer the following question: “what is distinctive about an Asset-Based Community Development process?”
The central question that we address in this paper is: what makes an ABCD process distinctive from other community support approaches? Our answer is: other forms of community work, often possess one or more, but not all four essential elements (described in detail in the paper we invite you to download and read). What makes an ABCD process distinctive then, is the combination of:
- Resources
- Methods
- Functions
- Evaluation
The diagram below illustrates the relationship between the four essential elements of an asset-based community development process, which is neither hierarchical or sequential. In other words, the elements exist in relation to each other simultaneously and dynamically, so you can start with any one or a combination of the four elements, as long as ultimately you engage with all four. Hence it is only when all four elements are a feature of your community building effort, that it can be said to be an Asset-based Community Development process.
The photograph above shows from left to right: John McKnight, the late Jody Kretzman and Cormac Russell.
