1. Asset Mapping: Locating the Gifts in Your Community
Holly DeBlois
Nicole LaPointe
Empowering Communities Through Access to Information and Training
Module #4
September 2003

2. Overview Definition Importance “How to” Littleton case study
Sources and resources

3. Definition Asset Mapping The process of cataloging
the resources of a community.
Asset Mapping Pioneers:
John Kretzmann and John McKnight
(Asset-Based Community Development Institute)

4. Individual Resources Every single individual Individual skills
Computer, child care, painting, home repair
Community skills
Scout troop, church supper, political campaign
Enterprising skills and interests
Teaching, sales and marketing

5. Association Resources
Formal or informal group of community members working together
Church Women’s or Men’s Club
PTA
SCORE (Senior Core of Retired Executives)
Assets
Activities/services/funding provided to comm.
Communication channel
Future opportunities

6. Institutional Resources
Formal, structured organization that typically does not rely on volunteers
School
Hospital
Assets
Employees (pd time to do community svc.)
Facilities/services (space, copying)
Volunteer/learning opportunities (school to work program)

7. Economic Resources Dollars generated by local and regional activity
# and/or % employees hired locally
% and/or $ of supplies & service bought locally

8. How These Assets Fit Together

9. Importance of Asset Mapping

10. Importance of Asset Mapping (cont)
Create awareness of local resources
Use resources in health improvement activities
Recognize and value the gifts within a community

11. How to Map Community Assets
Step 1: Define your community
Specific population: elderly, disabled, youth
Geographic boundary
Faith, ethnic, racial community

12. How to Map Community Assets (cont)
Step 2: Define what you want to do with the information collected.
Examples:
Create community resource guide
Create a searchable database of community resources to tap for a health initiative
Link individuals with paid/volunteer opportunities

13. How to Map Community Assets (cont)
Step 3: Select what assets you want to identify.
What skills do you need to identify?
Start with pre-existing asset inventory tool
Add and delete skills
Keep focused on what you will do with this information.

14. How to Map Community Assets (cont)
Step 4: Identify if an asset mapping activity has been done previously in your community (ex. United Way Assessment).
How recent is it?
Will it provide the information you are looking for?
What did or did not work well?

15. Asset Mapping: Previous Efforts

16. Individual Asset Inventory Tool

17. Association Asset Inventory Tool

18. Institutional Asset Inventory Tool

19. Economic Asset Inventory Tool

20. How to Map Community Assets (cont)
Step 5: Develop plan to collect the information.
When do you need the data?
What methods will you use to collect the info?
What resources (people, copying, database creation and entry, facilitators) do you need to collect the info?
Who is going to do what and by when?

21. Sample Activity Tracker

22. Existing Information Resources in Your Community
Chamber of Commerce
Phone Book
The Internet
Local Newspaper
Previous Inventories (ex. United Way)

23. Information Collection Tips
Ask advise of target population
Think outside the box
Web / Surveys
Newspaper inserts
PDA / Laptops
Church Supper
Think Ahead
If your goal is to build a data base, use a method whereby information is entered and collected simultaneously. Ex: access data base

24. How to Map Community Assets (cont)
Step 6: Map the assets of your community
Use town map & color-coded push pins
Use GIS Mapping software to create a map
Example: mapping recreational assets
Get community map and use push pins or color-code available recreation facilities, such as: play grounds, parks, ice rink, skate board parks, etc.
Create a booklet of community recreational facilities.

25. How to Map Community Assets (cont)
Step 7: Evaluate your process and results
Process: what worked well and what did not
How many completed?
Did you reach your target population?
Outcome:
Able to create final product?
Benefits derived?
Number of individuals mapped
Grant money received

26. Littleton Model Community Project
Nicole LaPointe, Project Director
Funded Through UNH Institute on Disability and the NH Department of Health and Human Services

27. Partners in Planning
Identified efforts that dovetail with LMCP interests
Identified associations for networking
Found the ‘experts’ in the community
Littleton Model Community took advantage of the assets available in its community from the very earliest stages of the planning process. We identified what else was happening in the community, and how Model Community could support and gain from those successes.
Model Community linked with concurrent efforts to address transportation issues, efforts to coordinate health services, to improve access to technology, projects underway to beautify Main Street and the surrounding community, and agencies that serve older adults and people with disabilities.
The group also thought about how to build relationships with the community businesses, who would need to be active participants in order to create the change we wanted to see. The Chamber of commerce, Rotary, and a diverse association called Littleton 2005 were all drawn into the map of assets as conduits for sharing information, education, and networking.
The project also built relationships with individuals who were ‘in the know’ about issues facing older adults and people with disabilities, and asked all their partners “who else should be in on this discussion?” and “Who might be interested in this effort?”
When you know what the players interests are, and the resources that exist, then you can leverage your own resources, and make the most for everyone.

28. Project Goals Improve access to town and public facilities
Improve access to services and assistive technology
Increase Employment Opportunities
Increase Leadership and Volunteer Opportunities
Includes access to information, and encouraging civic participation. Also includes access to places of commerce, benefiting the entire community by drawing tourism and encouraging new business to come.
Requires and inventory of services and assistive technologies, especially for the use of area business who want to increase universal access to their facility, market to people with disabilities, or accommodate employees with disabilities.
& 4. Requires identifying people who want to work or volunteers, and identifying the organizations and business who want to hire and who need more volunteer.

29. Improving access Identify town resources
Inventory business that are accessible
Work to create accessible public places
Increase access to services and assistive technology.
An inventory of the facilities, services, and materials that are available to the public must be conducted, as well as the ways that the public participates in local government in order to ensure that all of these things are available in a universal format, if requested and as necessary. This gives us the opportunity to encourage additional participation in the community by showcasing improvements or accommodations already in place.
An inventory of businesses, and their level of accessibility, gives us multiple opportunities: to build relationships with business owners, to identify and support new accommodations in public places, to educate about the universal accessibility, to provide technical assistance on the issue, to discuss accessibility and universal design as a good marketing practice, to invite businesses to participate in other activities or in levels of decision-making, and to advertise the town’s assets to residents and visitors.
The Town of Littleton is engaged with several projects, directed by community associations and area businesses: Littleton Main Street Initiative, TCSP (Transportation and Community Systems Preservation), and Walking Trails development, aimed at improving community public spaces. These projects are themselves assets, but also map out the places that are valuable to the community, and build social capital by engaging a broad diversity of people in planning and implementation.
One of the ideas for this project is to compile a resource directory for older adults and people with disabilities, to connect them with information and services that provide medical care, health and social services, education, and other supports. Information and technical assistance on assistive technology will mostly be targeted to town facilities, businesses that want to accommodate customers and employees, and other associations’ (churches, clubs, etc.)

30. Increase Employment and Volunteerism
Identify businesses that employ or would like to employ older adults or people with disabilities
Identify organizations that rely on volunteers
Identify people who want to work, their skills, and interests
Again, by identifying these businesses, we are simultaneously mapping our assets and building those assets, because we also have the opportunity to: provide technical assistance, education, training, and to invite participation in Model Community in other ways.
Many non-profit agencies have citizens on their Boards, or citizen advisory councils, and these seats are often unfilled. Other associations are entirely volunteer directed. There are lots of opportunities in a community to volunteer, but often there are not the means to connect interested individuals with these opportunities. Model Community is interested in identifying both the organizations that rely on volunteers, and the people in the community who would like to participate. This builds assets, to, beyond the matches that are made, because Model Community will be providing leadership training to any folks who are interested.
The latter is true for matching folks with employment opportunities, also. More important than if a person can do a particular job is if a person wants to. A person’s skills and interests must be a good fit with a job to make it work.

31. Sources and Resources Community tool box website
Chapter Three, Section 8
assessing community needs and resources
Asset-Based Community Development Institute
Institute started by John Kretzmann and John McKnight contains publications and workbooks about asset mapping and the larger concept of asset-based community development.

32. Sources and Resources Center for Applied Rural Innovation
(University of Nebraska)
Vitalizing Community: Building on Assets and Mobilizing for Collective Action
Facilitation Guide
Workbook presents step-by-step guide to preparing for and hosting an asset mapping effort.
Community Guide
Workbook for community participants in an asset mapping effort.

33. Summary Communities have lots of assets to capitalize on
individual, associational, institutional, economic
Asset Mapping is a helpful technique to identifying and USING a community’s existing resources to cause change.

34. Questions or Comments?

35. NH Institute for Health Policy & Practice 103 Pettee Hall
Holly DeBlois
Research Associate
NH Institute for Health Policy & Practice
103 Pettee Hall
University of New Hampshire
Durham, NH 03820
Ph: (603)
Fax (603)
Emp. Comm. Website:
Nicole LaPointe
Project Director
Littleton Model Communities Project
North Country Health Consortium
646 Union St., Suite 400
Littleton, NH 03561
Ph: (603) ext 27