Identifying Community Assets

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Identifying Community Assets
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What is a community asset?

• A physical structure or place
• A business
• You
• Everyone living in the community

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Why should you identify community assets?

• A physical structure or place
• A business
• You
• Everyone living in the community

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When should you identify community assets?

• When you don't know what those assets are
• When talent is underutilized
• When you are unable to provide traditional
  services
• When you want to encourage pride among residents
• When you want to strengthen or build relationships

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How do you identify community assets?

• Answer the following
• How big is the community?
• Who can do the work?
• How much time do you have?
• How much money do you have?
• What will you do with the results?

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Why should you identify community assets?

• A physical structure or place
• A business
• You
• Everyone living in the community

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How do you identify the group's assets?

• Get out a pad and start writing what you know
• Add other sources of information to your list
• Check for other information sources
• Refine and revise your list

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How do you identify individual assets?

1. Answer the starting questions
2. Decide on the geographic area you want to cover
3. Decide how many people you will ask
4. Draft some questions you want to ask
5. Design a method by which these questions can be
   asked
6. Try out questions on a sample group
7. Collect your data

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How can you use the assets you have identified?

• Publish the assets
• Target a particular area for development
• Tackle a new project
• Find new ways to bring groups together
• Create a school curriculum

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How can you use the assets you have identified?
(cont.)

• Consider creating a "community coordinator"
• Keep records
• Set up a structured program for asset exchange
• Establish a review process for assets