Rural/Small Community CBSM

It's obvious that there are so many more resources available for development and projects in metropolitan areas in the U.S. than in smaller rural communities and, it seems to me, those of us in rural areas don't have the resources necessary to do the steps involved in cbsm well. That is why it is so important for white papers to be developed that we can use to develop successful projects in our communities. As a relatively new rural dweller, I've gotten quite interested in looking at small communities that are thriving and see why they are. The small rural communities in Minnesota I've looked at that seem to be thriving have been visited by the Minnesota Design Team or an organization practicing ABCD. I've gotten quite interested in Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) -- and in looking at how cbsm can fit in with it. The following paragraphs are taken from my notes -- hope they aren't too disjointed..

The basis of ABC Development is that the ultimate wisdom for development is within our communities, not with outside experts. Past models of sustainable development focused on identifying the problems, deficiencies, and needs of communities. The ABCD methodology focuses on identifying the assets and capabilities of communities and connecting as many community assets with each other AND assets of other organizations. McKnight and Kretzmann (co-founders of ABCD and the ABCD Institute associated with Northwestern University in Evanston, IL) gathered over 3,000 stories of effective community initiatives and summarized what made the projects effective and then defined what made communities vibrant and successful. The website of the ABCD Institute is www.northwestern.edu/ipr/abcd.html. They have numerous publications available for sale listed on the web site, including "Building Communities from the Inside Out - A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing a Community's Assets". The Institute is having an ABCD intensive three-day workshop in Evanston June 27-29 for $450. For more info call 912-236-1220. A core part of ABCD is identifying 5 Assets or ingredients that all communities have: 1. "Local residents; 2. Local voluntary associations, clubs, and networks; 3. Local institutions; 4. Physical assets; and 5. Economic assets Mr. McKnight spent a great deal of time talking about the importance of "connections" and "connectors". He said the best indicator of the future viability of a community was the number of groups and institutions focused on connecting assets. He said leaders were important, but not as important as connectors, who were not necessarily paid professionals or community leaders. ... The "success of a community" could be evaluated on where the citizens were on a "citizenship" seven-rung ladder that enabled people to climb out of victomhood. The first rung was victim ; the second was client (needy, deficient neighborhood filled with "help" organizations); the third was advice - people have a role advising groups set up to help; the fourth was advocate - community groups were organized to advocate with agencies for better service; the fifth was producer (citizens produce the future they have envisioned:; the sixth was vision (citizens set the vision for the future); and the seventh was citizenship where citizens produce the vision and then act to create it. In the last three stages, citizens create a vision and work together to make it happen - which is the ultimate act of citizenship and citizen based communities. Mr. McKnight said that Associations are a community's most important asset; and it is necessary to identify and map them. They can decide what needs to be done, decide how to do it and mobilize people to do it -- all of which leads to stronger communities. Associations of associations are the most powerful of all - because they have the ability to mobilize the entire assets of a community to become builders, not just visionaries. You can engage different associations around single initiatives. The process is to connect assets. If you don't, your town will die. You need to re-energize people's commitments, reinvest time and energy, and renew the American Dream. Mr. McKnight said they would probably call ABCD something different - Citizen Central Community Development or something like that.