IDENTIFICATION AND VALORIZATION OF COMMUNITY ASSETS

1. Community assets

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What is a community asset?
Community assets are the collective resources
which individuals and communities have at their
disposal; those which can be leveraged to develop
effective solutions to promote social inclusion and
improve the health and well-being of citizens.
Assets include organizations, associations and
individuals.

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Community
Assets
Economic Assets
The drivers of the local community, such as
businesses offering goods, workforce and services,
level of employment, prosperity of the community
Physical Assets
The quality of buildings, abundance of housing
options, the infrastructure, transportation options,
parks and recreation areas nearby natural resources
Human Assets
Their skills, experiences, passions, creative
capacities, willingness to engage and the degree
they contribute to that sense of community.
Aesthetics Assets
The attractiveness of the overall community from the
general to the specific that include a sense of
welcomes to new people and encourage participation.
Institutional Assets
The public institutions such as government
schools, and libraries, police and fire department,
along with community associations, clubs, and
networks; athletic, cultural, social, faith-based, non-
profits groups powered by volunteer members

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Why should you identify community assets?
✔ To improve the community
✔ Resources for change come from the community itself
✔ Citizens manage and control their own resources
✔ People have more control over their lives
✔ Changes in the community are more lasting
✔ Greater understanding of the needs of the community and
better planning in their approach
✔ Greater positivity of citizens and confidence in success
✔ Reinforcement of community identity and collective
collaboration

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How do you identify community assets?
It is important to answer some important questions
before conducting community asset identification!
How much time
do you have for
the task or how
much time can
you allow?
What is the size
of the community
you're concerned
with?
What people are
available to do
the work?
What financial
resources, if any,
can you count on
to support the
work?
What do you
want to do with
the results?

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Methodology for the identification of community assets
Preparation and contextualization: It is the key stage in which the objective and purpose of the work, the population and the scope
are decided, the subject on which assets will be identified and the theoretical model on which it is based.
Information gathering: methodologies to be used to identify assets: At this stage, the fieldwork team performs the asset identification
with participatory research techniques.
Analysis, interpretation and presentation of the information: The analysis of the information may be descriptive or interpretive,
following a specific theoretical model on the chosen topic and generating an emerging model.
Dissemination and visibility of health assets: Dissemination must be planned taking into account the perspective of equity and that it
be accessible to the community with which it works, avoiding generating inequalities.
Connections and dynamization of assets: It is at this stage when the deficit approach is integrated with that of assets, taking into
account the initial objective of the work.
Evaluation: It consists of evaluating the entire process and the actions generated in the revitalization of assets that have been carried
out.

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Cultural assets as community asset

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All communities develop shared cultures — stories, symbols, art forms, knowledge, norms,
and practices that hold the community together and shape its identity.
What is a cultural asset?
A cultural asset is something that has value because of its contribution to the creativity,
knowledge, traditions, culture, meaning and vitality of a community.
Tangible assets:
include arts and natural heritage resources on public
and private land -- including urban design and public
art, cultural facilities, cultural industries, artist
networks, cultural festivals and events, cultural trades,
cultural organizations, etc.
Intangible assets:
include stories, traditions, and relationships that
contribute to defining a community's unique identity
and sense of place.

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Cultural asset mapping
Cultural asset mapping is a method. It is "a
process of collecting, recording, analyzing,
and synthesizing information in order to
describe the cultural resources, networks,
links, and patterns of usage of a given
community or group (CNC, 2010)." It
identifies a community's strengths and
resources through the process of inventorying
tangible and intangible cultural assets (see
infographic).

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Handicraft as cultural asset

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Handicraft is an economic-cultural activity that forms
distinctive features of our identity, as individuals and as a
group.
This process is determined by the environment and the cultural,
social and economic reality of each area. The beliefs, arts,
values, practices and traditions that are transmitted from
generation to generation suggest a memory that lives in the
present while putting in value the ancestral experiences in the
daily life of their work.
Crafts can be conceived from three
dimensions:
The artisan: as a creator and builder of
culture.
Artisanal activity: as a process in which
traditional and contemporary artisan techniques
and practices are applied and as a productive
process.
The handicraft product:
expression of identity and of the national,
regional and local autochthonous culture.

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References
Berkowitz, B., & Wadud, E. (chapter 3). Identifying Community Assets and Resources. Community
Tool Box. Retrieved October, 2020, from:
https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/assessment/assessing-community-needs-and-
resources/identify-community-assets/main
Kansas University Work Group on Health. Promotion and Community Development (2000). Chapter
3, Section 1: Developing a Plan for Identifying Local Needs and Resources. Lawrence, KS:
University of Kansas. Retrieved October, 2020 from:
http://ctb.ku.edu/tools/en/sub_section_main_1043.htm
WHAT IS CULTURAL ASSET MAPPING? Arts toolkit and planet. Retrieved October, 2020 from:
https://www.communityscience.com/knowledge4equity/AssetMappingToolkit.pdf
McKnight, J. (1992). Mapping community capacity. Chicago, IL: Northwestern University: Center
for Urban Affairs and Policy Research.