Mobilizing Assets for Community Driven Development

1. Mobilizing Assets for Community Driven Development Coady International Institute 2012

2. Influences onasset-based approaches to community development

3. At the core, an asset-based approach is: • A focus on assets • The power of positive thinking • A means to a sustainable livelihoods • About organizing for change

4. Asset-based approaches to community development: Influences • Community experience: What works? What helps? • Theory and practice: Sustainable Livelihoods Framework • Theory and practice: Community Economic Development • Theory and practice: Multi-stakeholder approaches • Theory and practice: Participation and Citizenship

5. Community experience: What helps? • McKnight & Kretzmann, ABCD Institute: • Learning from success: Community organizing through a focus on assets available to the community, especially relationships • Case Western University; Myrada: Positive psychology, Appreciative Inquiry • The power of positive thinking

7. Asset-based approaches to community development: Influences • Community experience: What works? What helps? • Theoretical frameworks: Sustainable Livelihoods Framework • Theory and practice: Community Economic Development • Theory and practice: Multi-stakeholder approaches • Theory and practice: Participation and Citizenship

8. 2.1 Sustainable Livelihoods Framework Coady International Institute 2010

9. Sustainable livelihoods and asset building A community or a household has different kinds of assets in different amounts social physical natural human financial

11. Sustainable livelihoods and asset building s p n h f

12. Sustainable livelihoods and asset building s p n h f

13. Sustainable livelihoods and asset building Use of assets is influenced by: Vulnerability context s p n Assets/ capital h f Asset building

14. 2. Sustainable Livelihoods Framework • Five types of assets: Human (skills, capacities), financial, physical, socia (associations, leaders, “gappers”), natural • Social capital provides access to assets • Asset-building may be required to diversify and sustain the livelihood “portfolio” • Sustainable livelihoods require an enabling policy and institutional environment • Policies • Institutions

15. Changing context, changing drivers Balance Out of balance?

16. Consequences

17. Opportunity for Active Citizens: Prosumers, co-producers, partners, co-creators CITIZENS

18. Social capital is a critical asset: It provides access to other assets Bonding social capital helps us to get by Bridging social capital helps us to get ahead Sustainable Livelihoods Framework: Social capital = the power of associations

19. 2.3 Studies show a relationship between: • Social capital and economic development • Social capital and community harmony • Social capital and democratic participation

20. 2.4 Studies also show: • How social capital changes over time as economies become more diversified • How it can be depleted in extreme situations • How it can be created

21. Asset-based approaches to community development: Influences • Community experience: What works? What helps? • Theoretical frameworks: Sustainable Livelihoods Framework • Theory and practice: Community Economic Development • Theory and practice: Multi-stakeholder approaches • Theory and practice: Participation and Citizenship

22. 3. Community economic development theory and practice • Community economic analysis • Social network analysis • Groups undertaking collective economic action • Peasant associations • Cooperatives and credit unions • Community based resource management

23. Asset-based approaches to community development: Influences • Community experience: What works? What helps? • Theoretical frameworks: Sustainable Livelihoods Framework • Theory and practice: Community Economic Development • Theory and practice: Multi-stakeholder approaches • Theory and practice: Participation and Citizenship

24. 4.Multi-stakeholder approaches • Collaboration between local government, the private sector, and non government organizations • Institutions “invest” in communities • NGO may be a broker, linking community with other external agencies • Private sector may be interested in “the triple bottom line”

25. Asset-based approaches to community development: Influences • Community experience: What works? What helps? • Theoretical frameworks: Sustainable Livelihoods Framework • Theory and practice: Community Economic Development • Theory and practice: Participation and Citizenship • Theory and practice: Multi-stakeholder approaches

26. 6. Democratization, participation and citizenship • Participatory development • Capacity building of community-based organizations • Citizen participation and democratization • Social movements • Citizen based advocacy • “Community-driven development”

27. An asset based approach to community driven development reflects these influences by: • As a starting point, recognizing and building on existing strengths and assets (as resources for livelihoods, sources of identity, and enablers of capacity to act) • Providing tools and strategies for mapping, making inventories, analysing the local economy, linking and mobilising assets for community initiative • Promoting community analysis and collective action for local development

28. Livelihoods, assets and agency

29. An asset based approach to community driven development reflects these influences by: • Recognizing and building on existing strengths and assets (as resources for livelihoods, sources of identity, and enablers of capacity to act) • Providing tools and strategies for mapping, making inventories, analysing the local economy, linking and mobilising assets for community initiative • Promoting community analysis and action for local economic development