Question

identify a methodology that can be used in a community needs and asset-based assessment (community survey, key information interview, focus group, etc). Discuss strengths and weaknesses. how would this methodology support your community needs project? describe how community culture would influence your implementation of the needs assessment.

Answer 1

Asset-based community development (ABCD) is a methodology for the sustainable development of communities based on their strengths and potentials. It involves assessing the resources, skills, and experience available in a community; organizing the community around issues that move its members into action; and then determining and taking appropriate action. This method uses the community's own assets and resources as the basis for development; it empowers the people of the community by encouraging them to utilize what they already possess.

Tools used to assess are:-

1. Skills Information: lists the many skills that a person has gained at home, work, in the community, or elsewhere. Examples of these skills can include internet knowledge, hair-cutting, listening, wallpapering, carpentry, sewing, babysitting, etc.^[6]
2. Community Skills: lists the community work in which a person has participated to determine future work they may be interested in.
3. Enterprising Interests and Experience: lists past experience in business and determines interest in starting a business.
4. Personal Information: lists minimum information for follow-up.

Strengths of asset based assessment are:-

1. Identify, affirm, and call upon the gifts, resources, skills, and knowledge that already exist in the community.
2. Contribute to a community's sense of pride and empowerment.
3. Call for broad participation from community members, inviting people to contribute their talents, resources, and skills.
4. Recognize that power, privilege, and influence are related to relationships and connections
5. Focus on leadership and collaboration, including forming partnerships to achieve specific goals.
6. Shift the locale of power and control for community work from the outside expert to a blended situation where the outside expert and the community resident both have ideas to contribute.
7. Help people realize their own potential beyond the contributions of outside developers.
8. Find ways to sustain long term community change by building capacity and strengthening individuals and communities.

Weakness of asset based community development:-

1. A mobilised and empowered community will not necessarily choose to act on the same issues that health services or councils see as the priorities. This remains the biggest weakness of the system as it is difficult to mobilize the community to do a single task as stipulated.

2. Communities looking for funding and support come from the starting point of identifying their problems and needs, instead of what is good about the community and that can be built on.

3. Particular concerns are for the opportunities for women and the opportunities for lower caste or class groups

A community culture emphasizing on the needs of the community rather than the needs of the individual will be successful in implementation of asset based assessment. For example there is a particular area which has a difficult terrain with limited access to health services. Assests then should be developed according to the situation that the community will find to their benefit like creating a primary health care centre in the area or spending more money on medications for the health concerns in those particular area.