Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) is an approach to sustainable community-driven development. Beyond the mobilisation of a particular community, it is concerned with how to link micro-assets to the macro-environment. Asset Based Community Development’s premise is that communities can drive the development process themselves by identifying and mobilizing existing, but often unrecognised assets. Thereby responding to challenges and creating local social improvement and economic development. This page will describe ABCD through five key aspects.
ABCD stands for Asset-Based Community Development and it refers to a type of community development based on the work of Professors Jody Kretzmann and John McKnight. ABCD challenges the traditional deficit-based approach that tries to solve urban and rural development problems by focusing on the needs and deficiencies of individuals, neighbourhoods, towns, villages, etc.
Barnwood Trust’s vision is to create the best possible environment in Gloucestershire for disabled people and people with mental health problems to make the most of their lives.
Right in our neighborhood, we have the capacity to address our human needs in ways that systems, which see us only as interchangeable units, as problems to be solved, never can. We all have gifts to offer, even the most seemingly marginal among us. This book suggests how to nurture voluntary, self-organizing structures that will reveal these gifts and allow them to be shared to the greatest mutual benefit. Block and McKnight recommend roles we can assume and actions we can take to reweave the social fabric that has been unraveled by consumerism and its belief that however much we have, it is not enough.
The Asset-Based Community Development Institute (ABCD) is located at the Center for Civic Engagement at Northwestern University. ABCD has a staff of three individuals, including the founders, John McKnight and Jody Kretzmann.
The following is a collection of tools from ABCD faculty members as well as individuals and organizations that embody the principles of ABCD in their work. The addition of the toolkit was made possible by a generous grant from the Alumnae of Northwestern University, the institute's former home.
Related Processes
Community Circles work by following a step-by-step process that fosters creative, fun meetings that result in ideas and actions.
Diigo Tags: circles, community, collaboration
"Village In The City is a post-COVID initiative to help you build micro-local communications and communities where YOU live. Micro-local communities – ‘Villages In The City’ can build trust, provide mutual support and friendship, and create more resilience both to tackle current challenges and improve our lives right now. "
Timebanking is a time-based currency. Give one hour of service to another, and receive one time credit. You can use the credits in turn to receive services — or you can donate them to others. An hour of service is always one time credit regardless of the nature of the service performed.
Diigo Tags: ABCD, Asset Based Community Development, abundance, collaboration, community, community activists, community assets, community building, community development, community empowerment, governance, tool kit, resources, Timebanking, collaboration