Coady International Institute

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Coady International Institute

• Operationalizing an asset-based approach at the
  community level

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Asset Based Community Development as a
methodology

• Grew out of the findings of a nationwide (US)
  study of communities that had spontaneously and
  dramatically improved their economies and social
  conditions over a period of several years
  (McKnight and Kretzmann)
• Has been influenced by participatory
  methodological traditions
• Embraces the concept of asset-building, as well
  as asset-mobilization, for sustainable
  community-driven development

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McKnight and Kretzmann found that local economic
development is successful when communities

• are able to identify and mobilize their own
  assets before drawing on resources from outside
• have citizens rather than NGOs or government
  agencies at the center of the development
  activity

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The Coady Institute has identified more than a
hundred cases of spontaneous asset-based and
community-driven development internationally

• Examples
• Coady is currently developing 10 in-depth case
  studies in Egypt

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The question is how do you stimulate this kind
of a process in communities where it is not
occurring?

• ABCD has been designed as a methodology to help
  organizations that work at the community level
  (either in a geographic sense or with target
  groups) stimulate an asset-based and
  community-driven development process

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ABCD is being used as a methodology by NGOs in
several countries

• Ethiopia
• India
• Kenya
• Philippines

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ABCD as a methodology is context specific. Among
other factors, its application depends on

• the historic relationship between the
  intermediary organization and the community
• power dynamics within communities
• the capacity of formal and informal leadership in
  the community
• cultural factors
• the relationship between communities and local
  and state governments (especially regarding
  access to assets)

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An Asset Based Methodology for working at the
community level

• Purposeful reconnaissance
• Building a relationship with community members
• Motivating community members
• Identifying assets
• Linking and mobilizing assets for initial
  community activity
• Sustaining social and economic development over
  the longer term

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Tools and methods 1Purposeful Reconnaissance

• Identifying communities interested in applying an
  ABCD approach
• Completing background research using simple
  template

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Tools and Methods 2Motivating community
members

• Appreciative interviewing to recognize existing
  strengths and assets Tell me about a time when
  this community worked together to achieve
  positive change
• Multiple cause analysis (the inverse of a problem
  tree) to analyze success.

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Appreciative Interviewing Hundee, Ethiopia
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Tools and Methods 3Identifying assets and
opportunities

• Skills inventories, asset maps, Venn diagrams,
  transects
• Associations (social capital)
• Individual skills (human capital)
• Institutions (physical capital, social capital,
  opportunities in the policy environment)
• Natural Resources (natural capital and land
  use/ownership policy environment)

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Identifying Assets SEWA, India
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Identifying Assets SEWA, India
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Tools and Methods 4Identifying economic
opportunities

• Leaky Bucket tool for Community Economic
  Analysis

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Example of Leaky Bucket
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Tools and Methods 5Linking and mobilising
assets.

• Asset wheel to show potential linkages among
  different assets
• Identifying initial activity
• Micro-planning with interested community members

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Asset Wheel Midkiwan, Philippines
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Tools and Methods 6Sustaining the process

• Demonstrating success as leverage for further
  investment
• Mobilizing additional resources through
  partnerships with outside agencies
• Strengthening associational capacity
• Association of associations?
• Community Foundations?

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Illustrative Example India

• Jeevika SEWAs approach in Kutch, Patan and
  Surendranagar districts of Gujarat State (40,000
  households)
• Village selection
• Whole village meeting (Gramsabha)
• Formation of organizing committee
• Asset mapping
• Analysis of opportunities
• Linking assets to opportunities
• Micro-planning

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Illustrative Example Ethiopia

• Collaborative partnership with Oxfam Canada and
  three regionally based local NGOs REST (Tigray),
  Hundee (Oromo), and KMG (Kembatta).
• Objectives
• Pilot ABCD in one community in each region over 3
  years.
• Document process and results throughout the 3
  year period
• Progress so far
• Purposeful reconnaissance (using template for
  background research)
• Appreciative Inquiry and asset identification and
  mapping now underway.

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Illustrative Example Egypt

• Collaborative partnership with Center for
  Development Services, supported by Ford
  Foundation
• Objectives
• to document successful community development
• to analyze success through an ABCD lens
• Progress Initial selection of case studies
  underway field work for one case study completed

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Illustrative Examples Philippines

• Tongantongan (population 8,000)
• Background research
• Appreciative Interviewing, analysing success
• Visioning
• Compiling Inventories with sample households
• Asset wheel shows linkages required for past
  successes
• Asset wheel prompts ideas for other linkages
• Initial activity (organic agriculture)
• Sustained activity in organic agriculture through
  connections with private sector, local government
  and local university

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Illustrative Example Kenya

• Collaborative partnership
• CREADIS in Bungoma District, Western Kenya
• 2 communities one rural, one urban.
• Objectives
• Pilot ABCD in one community in each region over 3
  years.
• Document process and results throughout the 3
  year period
• Progress
• Establishing rapport with rural community
• Sensitizing local government
• Appreciative Inquiry. Analysis of success
• Asset Mapping, skills inventories underway
• Further training of local government pending
  NEPAD funding

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Implications for agency practice

• Shifting from problem solving to responsive
  investment in community-driven initiatives
• Rethinking accountability mechanisms
• Encouraging conducive policy environment that
  provides opportunities (i.e. access to assets or
  relaxation of bureaucratic procedure)

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Expected Results Short term

• Functionally effective relationships between
  communities and local government, private sector,
  NGOs
• Within communities, the assets of even the
  poorest are recognized and mobilized, and
  increased through the resultant development
  activities
• Improved access to information and other assets
  required for local economic development
• Collaborative activity at the community level
  that has positive economic outcomes or the
  potential for local poverty reduction

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Expected Results Long term

• Sensitivity of outside agencies to factors that
  determine community-driven development
• An improved policy environment that provides
  opportunities for communities to access assets
  and respond to economic opportunities
• Improved capacity of communities to mobilize
  assets and respond to economic opportunity

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Rationale for Coadys investment in ABCD

• In keeping with our traditions in the Antigonish
  Movement Use what you have to secure what you
  have not
• Consistent with our commitment to active
  citizenship
• Collaborative action research feeds directly into
  educational programs in Community Based
  Development for developing country practitioners

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Individual Skills
Conflict resolution Veterinary Construction (roads/buildings)
Leadership Animal husbandry (camel, horse, mule) Carpentry
Organizational Animal breeding Masonry
Civic Livestock management Plastering
Military/security Castrating Roofing
Knowledge of customary/ traditional laws Fattening Mining (sand/stone)
Traditional healing Trading Weaving
Midwifery Skin processing/tanning Basket making
Treating broken bones Blacksmith Bamboo crafts
Storytelling (parables and proverbs) Honey and Tedge production Embroidery
Playing musical instruments Cactus processing Spinning
Making musical instruments Cereal crop production Tailoring
Traditional games/making gadgets Water conservation techniques Plating hair/barbery
Caring and nurturing Hand dug well construction Food processing
Weather forecasting Making silos Baking
Grain millling Farm implement making/milking utensils Shoe making
Woodcutting Butchery Home-based liquor/beer
Goldsmith Hunting Vending/petty trade Singing/dancing/composing
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• Active Associations
• Peasant association
• Farmers cooperative
• Burial society
• Rotating savings and credit group
• Handicraft association
• Church group
• Youth club
• Local Institutions
• Local government administration (education,
• agriculture, health, water, roads)
• REST (NGO)
• Dedebit (microfinance institution)
• Tigray Development Association

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Remittances Pensions
Export Income
State
Export Oriented Informal Bamboo
crafts Timber Agric. products Fire wood and
charcoal Formal Mining (sand and
stone) Construction
Households
State Administration (local) Education Agriculture
Health Water supply Road Farm co-ops ------------
-------------- REST/TDA
Local Oriented Firms Informal Petty trade Local
liquor house Black smith Carpentry Masonry Wood
cutters Formal Small shops Grocery Gold
smith Bakery Grinding mill Butchery
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Linking and Mobilizing Assets Tigray, Ethiopia
Govt. extension
Producers cooperative
Savings
Farmers groups
Peasants association
Govt. mining department
Crops Livestock Land/soil Water
Savings
Farming skills
Community owned mining venture
Private investors
Organizational skills
Sand Stone Road access
Individual skills
Mining skills