Helping local people discover extraordinary community assets

HELPING LOCAL PEOPLE DO
EXTRAORDINARY THINGS.
Gary Loftus - Head of Community Building
A SHIFT IN FOCUS – START WITH WHAT YOU HAVE &
YOU’LL KNOW WHAT YOU WANT….
Introduction to Asset Based Community Development

Overview of the Session
• Welcome & Introductions
• Forever Manchester – What We Do
• What Excites You About Today?
• ‘We Can’ Game
• The ABCD Approach (Asset Based Community Development)
• Exercise – Gifts
• Community Builders Story
• The Neighbourhood Works
• Build your neighbourhood

Housekeeping
• Mobile phones on silent
• No Smoking
• Fire Alarm
• Toilets
• Breaks

Our Approach
Raising Money
Goal 1: Raise Endowment
Goal 2: Sustain Core Funding
Goal 3: Generate Un-restricted Grant Making
Knowing and Funding our Communities
Goal 4: Identify, Connect and Mobilise Assets and
Capacities throughout Greater Manchester
Goal 5: Competently Model Community Building at
Local Level
Goal 6: Contribute to Active Social Change and Community
Well Being
Organisational capacity
Goal 7: Improve our Business by Strengthening our Organisational
Capacity

Our Vision
•Discover, Connect and Fund Assets in every Greater
Manchester Neighbourhood
•Match our resources to residents talents, skills, time
and gifts
•Build a £50 million Endowment
•Measure our impact by the number of residents we
engage with in the neighbourhoods

Our Aspirations
Aspiration 1: We will make the name Forever Manchester synonymous with resident led
action and our approach will be defined as Charity the Mancunian Way
Aspiration 2: We will emphasise the importance of human relationship building over
institutional rules and programmatic responses to social and economic challenges
Aspiration 3: We will shift the conversation across Greater Manchester from ones that
focus on problems and scarcity to ones that focus on possibilities and abundance
Aspiration 4: We will focus our unrestricted resources more strategically, toward a set
of key results, to realise a vision of vibrant and connected communities
Aspiration 5: We will conduct all our operations with an emphasis on sustainability,
ensuring Forever Manchester continues to thrive and serve our communities effectively
into the future

5 Points
1. Laughter Yoga is a unique concept where anyone
can laugh for no reason, without relying on humour
2. We initiate laughter as an exercise in a group, but with eye
contact and childlike playfulness, it soon turns into real
and contagious laughter
3. The reason we call it Laughter Yoga is because it combines
laughter exercise with yoga breathing
4. The concept of Laughter Yoga is based on scientific fact that
the body cannot differentiate between fake laughter and
real laughter if done with willingness
5. It was stated by a medical doctor, Dr. Madan Kataria from
India with just five people from a Mumbai Park in 1995.
Today there are thousands of laughter clubs in more than
7,000 worldwide

You don’t need a sense of humour to laugh….

• Breathing
Intro Laughter – say name and laugh gently
Breathing
Clap – and add rhythm and sound - Ha, Ha, Ho, Ho, Ho
Stretch
Very, Good, Very Good Ya!!!
Handshake Laughter – move people around and encourage
eye contact
Stretch
Very Good, Very Good Ya!!!

Over to you…..
Skill-Interest
What Excites You About Today?

We Can Game

What did you discover in
your neighbourhood?

Asset Based Community Development
A Strength Based Approach to Community Building

“The purpose of ABCD is
to help people remember
what they alrPreofeassdor Jyoh nk McnKnoighwt ”

About Asset Based
Community Development?
Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) Institute
was founded in 1995 after 3 decades of community
development research
Founded by Professor John McKnight and Professor
Jodi Kretzman at Northwestern University Chicago
ABCD is asset based and relationship driven
ABCD demonstrates focuses on assets in a community
ABCD challenges traditional approaches to solving
urban problems

Asset Based Community Development
A Strengths Based Approach is a different way of
thinking about how to work for change – starting
from a place of possibilities, strengths and
capacities as opposed to problems and deficiencies.
A Strengths Based Approach helps residents and
organisations manage change by mobilising their
existing and potential capacities, resources and
assets.

Community Building
Six principals of Community Building
 Start with people’s strengths
 Start with relationship building
 Placed based work is vitally important since most
things come together in the neighbourhood
 Citizen-led action is more durable and sustainable
than professional intervention
 Social justice is at the heart of every community
building effort
 When the conversation shifts from ‘isn’t it awful’ to
what’s possible? Real community building begins

What
might be
possible if
people focused
their attention
on….
rather than problems
more than weaknesses
What can be done instead of what can’t be done

Is The Glass Half Full or Half Empty?
Individuals & Communities
have deficiencies & needs
Individuals & Communities
also have skills and talents
On which should Community Foundations focus most?

Needs to Strengths
Transaction Why not also have a model that…Transforms
Focus on Deficiencies Focus on Assets
Problem Response Identify Opportunities
Charity Orientation Investment Orientation
Grants to Agencies Grants, Loans, Investments, Leverage
More Services Fewer Services
High Emphasis on Agencies Emphasis on Associations
Focus on Individuals Focus on communities/neighbourhoods
Maintenance Development
See People as Clients See People as Citizens and
Co-producers
‘Fix People’ Develop Potential
Programmes are the Answer People are the Answer

Classic Needs Map
High levels of drug and
Alcohol use.
High
morbidity
Anti social
behaviour
Gender
inequality
Racial tension/hate crimes High crime rates. Significant
fear among older people
High levels of ADHD
Smoking
related
Heart disease
Respiratory
difficulties
Obesity across
The life course
High unemployment Poor educational attainment
Poor housing/environmental issues

Our Traditional Grant Making Approach
Find It,
Fund it &
Fix it….
Tell us what’s wrong not what’s strong
in your community….

Strength Based Approach
Residents in the
Driving Seat

Leaders, Connectors & Gift Givers
 Leaders – Those that will lead the process long after you are gone.
They are passionate about opening doors in their community and are
aware of the strengths as well as the challenges within their
community
 Connectors – Those that easily connect with large numbers of their
neighbours, they are serial relationship builders and seem to know
everyone. On average a connector will know 50 people by name in
their community.
 Gift Givers – Those who want to contribute a particular skill, gift or
knowledge set to the community building effort, but not well
connected themselves, or may not see themselves in a leadership
role.
 FM discover the fourth dimension ‘The Naturals’.....

WHAT does this picture SAY
to you about COMMUNITY?

Responses from Picture Survey
“Working together”, “Overcoming difficult situations”, “Many can achieve more than the
individual”, “People get more done together if working to the same goal”, “Do stuff rather
than talk it down”, “Ignore naysayers”, “Actions speak louder than words” “Resilient”,
Paving the way”, “Local resources”, “Recycling”, “No outside expert required to find the
solution” “If you have the same care in wanting to achieve a particular goal and are
happy
to play your part, brining different strengths together, the impossible can be achieved”
“Stay strong, stand strong”! “The only thing worse than those who give up and don’t try
are those who do nothing”
“This picture reminds me of the work going on in Alt, it should read the person who says it
cannot be done should look at Alt and the people who are doing it”! “It also reminds me of
teamwork and what can be achieved”!
“I think its fantastic, full of symbolism. Any group or community cannot fail to be
Inspired by ants, their ability to be so physically small yet solve huge and complex
Issues”. ”We may not appreciate the damage they can wreak on crops and buildings,
But their ability to battle the odds and win is clear in the picture”. ”Simple and powerful
too”.

Community = Institutional Assets
Schools
Colleges
Libraries
Hospitals
Universities
Local Authority
Foundations

Community = Local Economic Exchange

Assets
Community assets include:
• The skills of local residents
• The power of local associations
• The resources of public, private and not for profit
organisations
• The physical and local resources of local places
• The stories of our lives and evolving community

Neighbourhood Asset Map
Physical Space
Local Economy
Individuals
Associations
My
Community
Institutions Stories
Institutions
Schools
Universities
Community Colleges
Police Departments
Hospitals
Libraries
Social Service Agencies
Not for Profits
Museums
Fire Brigades
Media
Foundations
Individuals
Gifts, Skills, Knowledge,
and traits of:
Youth
Older Adults
Artists
Welfare Recipients
People with disabilities
Students
Parents
Entrepreneurs
Activists
Veterans
Ex-offenders
Local Economy
For-profit business
Consumer Expenditure
Merchants
Chamber of Commerce
Business Associations
Banks
Credit Unions
Foundations
Institutional - purchasing
power and personnel
Barter and Exchange
Micro-Business
Corporations and Branches
Physical Space
Gardens
Parks
Playgrounds
Bike Paths
Walking Paths
Forest/forest Preserves
Picnic Areas
Campsites
Fishing Spots
Duck Ponds
Zoos
Wildlife Centre
Natural Habitats
Housing
Vacant Land & Buildings
Streets
Associations
Animal Care Groups
Anti-Crime Groups
Business Organisations
Charitable Groups
Cultural groups
Disability Groups
Education Groups
Elderly Groups
Environmental Groups
Family Support Groups
Health Advocacy
Heritage Groups Hobby
Groups
Interest Groups
Men’s Groups
Mentoring Groups
Neighbourhood Groups
Political Organisations
Recreation Groups
Religious Groups
Service Clubs
Social Groups
Women’s Groups
Youth Groups
Stories From Manchester
Alt Community Challenge
Team
Lostock Men’s Shed
Cool 2 B Kind
Great Lever Idea Works
Lostock Allotment
The ALTernative News
Cash 4 Graft
From Needs to Strengths

Asset Role Call in Lostock (Trafford)
I just wanted to share some of the amazing gifts of the people of Lostock that we have already
discovered.
It is a long and interesting list and doesn’t include everything, remember this list has been
gathered in just under 4 Months, so here goes we’ve got:
Gardeners, Cleaners, Bee Keepers, Bakers, Skaters, Jewelers Makers, Carpenters, Builders,
Knitters, Radio Entrepreneurs, Fishermen, Chefs, Teachers, Card Makers, Jam Makers, Wine
Makers, Recyclers, Quiz Masters, Veg Growers, Plumbers, Zumba Instructors, Shop Keepers,
Party Organisers, Bike Riders, Child Minders, Computer Wizards, Cartoonists, Graffiti Artists,
Dancers, Actors, Talkers, Dog Walkers, Spiritual Leaders, Healthy Eaters, Readers, Roofers,
Hairdressers, Make Up Artists, Singers, Comedians, DJ’s, Support Workers, Carer’s, BMXer’s,
Footballers, Campers, Out Doors Explorers, Mountain Climbers, Hikers and Bikers…..
What happens next with this information is up to the Residents to decide, the list is growing
every day and people are beginning to gather around ideas which utilise the skills they have
that they can share with other people in engaging, practical and imaginative ways. The
possibilities seem endless as does the list of assets waiting to be found.
James Hampson - Asset Based Community Builder

ABCD Methodology
Discovering
Strengths
Organising
& Mapping
Linking &
Mobilising
Community
led
Initiatives
Sustaining
the Process

What’s the Alternative?
"If you keep on doing what you've always done, you'll
keep on getting what you've always got”.
W.L Bateman

The ‘Good Life’ Can Be Found in Every
Neighbourhood
Skills
Care
Assets
Gifts

In Summary ABCD is about
• Starting With What You Have
• Mobilising Assets
• Gifts
• Skills
• Talents of local people…….
• Connecting Assets
• Individuals
• Associations
• Institutions
• Creating Local Economic Opportunities
• Connecting Individuals and Associations
• Starts From A Place Of Possibility Rather Than ‘Needs’
Focused
• From Client to Citizen
• Everyone has gifts

Gypsy and community spokesperson Gloria Buckley MBE,
reflecting on the Coalition Government flagship policy
“EXTRAORDINARY THINGS. I don’t know entitled what the ‘Big ‘Big Society’
Society’ is, if,
as has been suggested, it is local
communities, neighbourhoods and
families looking after each other, the
Gypsies and Travellers have always
been members of a Bog Society, it has
been the only one we could rely on’
The Real Big Society
Andrew Ryder 2012

Exercise: What Are Your Gifts?
• Gifts of the Head
• Things I know something
about and would enjoy
talking about with others
• Gifts of the Heart
• Things I am passionate
about
• Gifts of the Hands
• Things or skills I know how
to do and could potentially
share with others

Gary Loftus
Community Builder – Where it all began – New Deal for Communities

Goole Street Residents
People Powered Change

Green Streets in East Manchester
Design Concept

Green Streets in East Manchester

Appreciative Inquiry
Can you tell us about a time when you came together
with neighbours/friends to do something positive in
your neighbourhood?

What key outcomes/sound bites were presented in the films?
Consider from:
Personal
Professional
Commissioners point of view

When People Care Enough To Act

1. What does a disconnected neighbourhood look like?
2. How do you start to connect it?
3. What does a thriving neighbourhood look like?

The Neighbourhood Works
• Community Building
• 2 Community Builders
• 2 Community Building Support Workers
• Cool 2B Kind
• Themed Award/Gift Initiatives – Call’s for Action,
Competitions and Sponsorship
• Match Awards
• The Idea Works
• Connectors Clubs
• Training Programme

Pathfinder:
• Pilot delivered to 1,600 year six pupils in Trafford
• Identified 2 pathfinder schools in Greater Manchester
• Alt Primary School – Oldham
• Stoneleigh Primary School – Oldham
• Introducing ‘Kindness’ in to the school curriculum
• Stages:
• 1 Dream, 2 Build, 3 Celebrate
• Asset Mapping
• Laughter workshops
• Cool 2B Kind Poem
• Cool 2B Kind Awards
• Fundraising for Forever Manchester
• Forever Manchester Festival
• Neighbourhood Vision

WHERE ARE THE…….
BUMPING SPACES?

Paul Fisher
Radio Presenter
Resident of Alt
http://www.heroesproject.org.uk/
http://www.ldok.net/
LDOK
Oldham College

Paul & Helen Presenting on
Oldham Community Radio

THE IDEA WORKS
Why have a meeting when you
can have a PARTY?

Great Lever - The Idea Works
“Why have a meeting when you can have a party”?

Matched Funds
Cash 4 Graft
• Awards from £50 to £250
• Matching Volunteer time, gifts and skills to a fiscal
match
• Volunteer time valued at £10 per hour
• Informal groups
• Formal groups with new ideas that attract more
people from the neighbourhood
• Advance Payment Solutions – Pre-paid Card
• 1st Community Foundation to use this method

What is the return on investment?
•Social return on investment
• Match assets, skills and time to fiscal awards
• £1 Fiscal Investment matched to £1 Assets + £1 Time = £3
minimum 1:2 return
•Forever Manchester believes the approach will be
attractive to:
• The Philanthropist
• The Mass Affluent
• Local Authorities
• Social Landlords
• Small donations – The Obama Strategy
• Public Health

All Natural Health
£250 =
PRICELESS!
“I’m very well thank you this group is keeping me out of mischief”.
“We’re getting lots more jobs as we are mobile”.
“You won’t believe it but we still haven’t used all the money from Cash4 Graft, even after
buying equipment , we are managing to self sustain and also offering one-2one sessions”.
Sheila Vora

Lostock Community Orchard & Garden
Discovering Local Hidden Treasures

Alison Hills Story
Off the train tracks on to the right tracks
The boring bit
24 years of depression is enough for anyone to
put up with. A load of different types of
medication, therapy, and everyone sticking their
nose in!! A new diagnosis of Cyclothymia 4 years
ago made me realise I wasn't mental, I was just ill.
For a while it beat me, to the point of constant
thoughts of suicide. Hence the "off the train
tracks" in the title.

LOSTOCK FAMILY TIME FUN CLUB
Tennis Academy

Alison Hill
Community Building Support Worker
Forever Manchester’s Community Building Team
Appointed September 2013

Message to Alison Hill
“I have to thank you and James both for the first step in
getting my life back – it was a major boost”
Cash4Graft recipient

What is the value of connections?

What were the key outcomes and
messages?
Consider from a professional, personal and
commissioners point of view….

Lyndsey Ashworth
Community Building Support Worker
Forever Manchester’s Community building Team
Appointed May 2013

Creating Positive Images of
Neighbourhoods

Hard2Reach
Thought I’d found
the perfect
solution….AGAIN!
"If you keep on doing what you've always done,
you'll keep on getting what you've always got”.

And by doing so perhaps we attract.....

Who’s ‘call’ is it anyway?
Build On The Usual Suspects Assets

Ermmm
Hello
Who you
gonna
call?

Shift our focus from what’s wrong to what’s strong

Create Space for Possibilities and
Opportunities will emerge…..

Become a Skilled at Spotting ‘The Light Bulb’ Moments

Why have a meeting when
you can have a party?

People Like Us
should live on
Benefits Street!
Right?
See it from a different Angel

The ALTernative?
Dreams do come true…..

It is more than a Green Route to School…….
It’s helped build a community from the inside out……

Lisa Brown - First Choice Homes Customer Involvement Officer ACCT Alters People
“As an officer, if you wanted anything doing on an estate you had to do it for
the community and handholdíng them through the entire process”!
“I felt that this old method had left the people of Alt amongst other estates
with the expectation that people would always come in and fix stuff for
them”.
“The strength based approach has completely turned my old ethos on its
head it’s left me completely blown away by this new style of working”.
“You can only hold a child’s hand for so long, there comes a point where you
have to let go and let them walk for themselves”.
Forever Manchester has made her look at the way she works and given her
the opportunity to meet more people on the estate who Lisa admits “would
never have given me the time of day without this project”!

Crucial Conversations
We changed Consultation to ‘Crucial Conversation’!

ALTogether…
Let’s Party…..

ACCT, FM Community Builder, FCHO CEO & Oldham’s Director of Public Health -
May 2013

THE ALTernative
• Hypernews Website
• Community House
• Jam and Preserve Club
• Coffee mornings moved to Refill at Alt Primary
• Knit & Natter
• Day’s Out – Blackpool Trip
• Culture Club
• Green Route to School
• £45K Budget
• 95 fruit trees
• 300 fruit bushes
• 10,000 bulbs
• Community Café
• Sewing Club
• Laughter Workshops

Men Sheds Australia • Started in Australia
• Over 500 Sheds
• Now Part of the Infrastructure that
supports programmes to improve
men’s health
• Social activity, utilising skills and
knowledge
Lostock Men’s Shed
• Established 2012 with Fair Share
Trust Funds £12K
• George retired business man
• Connected more than 25
retired/semi retired men in
Lostock
• Utilising classroom at Lostock
College

Lostock Handyman Service
Kids Café helps find solution
Connectors Club &

“It was great to attend The Neighbourhood Works
celebration event and to see all the really inspirational
stuff that has been happening locally.”
“There was every reason to celebrate and I am sure the
success is set to spread further”
Councillor Tom Ross
“The event really celebrated how Forever Manchester
has empowered local residents to become independent
and also support each other within their community. It
was lovely to be there and share in their success
stories”
Ryan Chrysler, Head of Barton Clough Primary School

What are you going to stop
doing?

What are you going to start doing?

What are you going to do on Monday morning?

What can we do with people power?

• Bullying People
• Egging Houses
• Spraying Walls
• Smashing Windows
• Respecting the Neighbourhood
• Show respect to the Community
• Getting involved in Community
Events
• Coach a Young Football team
• Clean the Wall of the Arc
Community Centre
• Design and paint a mural around
inclusion on the Arc Community
Centre
• Alt JFC to apply for Cash4Graft
award
• Alt JFC secured £250 Cash4Graft
for new football kit

• An exciting and innovative initiative from Forever
Manchester’s Community Building Team.
• Recognises women as Community Builders who
play a key role to bring about change in their
neighbourhoods
• Is the first specific training of it’s kind in the UK
• 3-5 Days Community Building Training.

1st WiN Network Launched in Great Lever

Michelle Obama
My time at Public Allies also gave me the opportunity to work with John McKnight
and Jody Kretzmann, who developed the Asset-Based Community Development
approach to neighborhood development, and that really influenced how we
worked with communities.

Build Your
Neighbourhood Vision
What would you like to see more of in your neighbourhood?

What does ABCD mean to you?
What would you like to see more of
in YOUR neighbourhood’s?

Build Your Neighbourhood
•Think about what you have – utilise the Assets that
exist within your group
•Think about what else you might need & who else
you know that would be willing to help you
•Think about who from the outside can help you get
what you need, by building on what you have (trade
your assets)

Introduction to Y-ed

What is Y-ed
Wikipedia says
“Y-ed is a free of charge general purpose diagramming
program with a multiple document interface”
Basically
“Y-ed is a computer program that you can use to draw
diagrams and save as different types of file”
The types of diagrams you can draw include flow charts,
mind maps, relationship diagrams and organisation
diagrams

What you will learn
How to open Y-ed
Common terms used in Y-ed
How to build a diagram
How to organise a diagram
Saving a diagram in different formats

Common Terms
Node – A node represents points or entities on your diagram, depending on
what your diagram is showing a node could be people, places, tasks etc
Edges – These are the lines that connect nodes and show relationships
Label – Labels are written information assigned to nodes and edges
Palette – Like and artists palette this is where all the graphics/images can be
found to create diagrams
Panes – panes are different windows in Y-Ed that show different information
Overview Pane – shows all of your diagram
Structure view – explained later
Neighbourhood view – explained later

Final exercise
10 nodes – labeled
16 edges
3 colours of node
2 edge colours
Organic lay out
Export as Jpeg

Helping local people discover extraordinary community assets

Recommandé

Recommandé

Contenu connexe

Tendances

Tendances (19)

En vedette

En vedette (18)

Similaire à Helping local people discover extraordinary community assets

Similaire à Helping local people discover extraordinary community assets (20)

Dernier

Dernier (20)

Helping local people discover extraordinary community assets

Notes de l'éditeur