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20 puBLrc MANAGEMENT I NoveMeER 20i2 icma.orglpm
ocal governments can createeffective community change.How? By becoming commu-nity engagement organizationsand bringing the communitytogether-residents, associa-
tions, nonprofits, the business community, andgovernment-to act collectively as coproducersof their community's well-being.
Using results-based accountability (RBA),coupled with asset-based community develop-ment (ABCD), local governments can drivethe promise of measurable change throughcommunity engagement.
How Gan RBA Help?The RBA structure, as developed by MarkFriedman, author and director of theFiscal Poliry Studies Institute, allows localgovemments to strategically focus their workon substantial community issues and, at thesame time, build a culture of measurement and
TAI{f,AWAYS) How to enhance community engagementstrategies to achieve greater results.
) How to look at a community through theIens of gifts and assets, not just needs andproblems.
) Strategies for engaging residents as copro-ducers and partners in achieving commoncommunity goals.
) Concepts and power of asset-based com-munity development and results-basedaccountability.
shared accountability. RBA identifies quallty-of-life conditions (population results) and thecorresponding measures or indicators requiredto track their achievement, as well as theoperational measures to track and improve theperformance of programs and agencies.
RBA introduces the concept of "turning thecurve" to drive long-term action by focus-ing on improving a quality-of-life indicatorover time and not setting arbitrary numericalgoals. "Turning the curve" recognizes that tocreate measurable change requires a varietyof strategies beyond the delivery of services.Strategies must include resident action, mediaengagement, and public policy work to createsustainable long-term change.
The RBA framework allows local govern-ments to develop effective community-basedstrategies and enhance their service-deliveryactivities through the adoption of performancemeasures that more effectively track andimprove the activities of local programs, agen-cies, and service systems. The performancemeasures answer these three ouestions:
How much did we do?How well did we do it?Is anyone better off?
The RBA framework also helps governmentby engaging residents as partners and advo-cates rather than adversaries. Together, they setcommunit),'wide strategies and share account,ability. This shared population accountabilitybecomes the catalyst for sustainable long-termchange because together government andresidents systematically ask and answer thefollowing questions.
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a
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What are the quality-of{ife conditions(population results) we want for the
children, adults, and families who live
in our community?What would these conditions look like
if we could see them?How can we measure these condi
tions?How are we doing on the most impor-
tant of these measures?Who are the partners that have a role
to play in doing better?
What works to do better, including
no-cost and low-cost ideas?
What do we propose to do?
RBA provides a framework for localgoverrments to identify the criticalquality-ollife issues they want to address
for residents as well as the indicators to
track their progress. ABCD can provide
the framework necessary to work
collectively with the community-othergovernmental entities, nonprofit agen-
cies, businesses, neighborhoods, and
residents-to develop and implement the
wide range of strategies necessary to tum
the curve and create measurable impact.
Power ot ABCDAsset-based community development(ABCD) can help enhance community
engagement strategies and provide an
effective framework to answer the RBAquestions 5, 6, and 7 through imple-
mentation of the wide range of strate-gies necessary to improve the results
identified for action. Through the power
of ABCD, many of the most effective
strategies can be implemented with little
or no additional financial resources.
ABCD is a place-based frameworkpioneered by John McKnight and Jody
Kretzmann of the ABCD Institute at
Northwestern University. Its foundation
rests on a few simple truths: 1) everyone
has gifts, 2) everyone has something to
contribute, and 3J everyone cares about
something and that passion is his or her
motivation to act.Strong, safe, and healthy neighbor-
hoods and communities are built on the
strengths and capacities of their residents
and associations that call the community
home. We cannot build strong caring
neighborhoods without unlocking thepotential of residents.
The traditional approach to commu-
nity development is focused on providing
services to address the community's and
its residents'needs and deficits. The
ABCD approach starts with discovering
the assets and gifts already present in the
community. This is followed by asking
residents to share their gifts and connect-
ing people with the same passions to act
collectively and provide care.
The most successful community
efforts include resident engagement
and action (no-cost/low-cost solu-
tions) working together with existing
institutions and programs. We cannot
achieve the results required without the
sfong engagement of the resources and
efforts of residents as well as the work
of institutions. To be truly effective,
residents must join the effort as copro-
ducers/cocreators of their own and their
community's well-being.
Role lor Residentsflue resident engagement requires govern-
ment and institutions to lead by stepplngback and creating space for residents to
be involved as producers. Initially, it isimperative to determine three roles: 1)
what are the things that only residents can
do; 2) what are the things that residents
and institutions or government can ac-
complish together, as coproducers; and 3)
what are the things that only institutionsor govemment can do.
Traditionally, individuals have beenrelegated to one role, that of a recipient
of service--a client, customer, or patient.
As clients, individuals are objects of ser-
vice, dependent on the professionals and
institutions for their overall well-being.
To unlock the power of community,we need to rethink how to view indi
vidual residents. We must acknowledgeresidents' skills and identify their
efsting resources. We must expand their
roles beyond that of a client to include
serving as advisers and helping institu-
tions provide more useful services.But their greatest value is that of
coproducers of their own and their
community's well-being. Rather thanjust asking people what do you need, we
need to ask "What can you contribute?How can you use your existing skills and
resources to achieve what you need?"
Residents in the most successful
and effective systems participate in all
three roles. If a person breaks his leg,
for example, he is rightfully identified
as a client and patient. If an individual
has particular knowledge about her
neighborhood and its residents, she may
advise an agency on how to most ef-
fectively serve the neighborhood and to
define what services the neighborhood
actually wants/needs.As coproducers, residents become
part of the solution. If we want to make
sure that every household with young
children has age-appropriate books to
help them learn to read, neighborhoodparents who have a passion for reading
can organize a book drive. This activity
does not require institutional or govern-
ment resources.
22 puBlrc MANAGEMENT I NovEMBER 2012 icma.orglpm
There is a difference between care andseryice, and both concepts are needed totum the cuwe. Care is what residents of-fer through their engagement. They sharetheir assets, skills, and talents workingcollectively for the common good.
Service is what institutions andprofessionals provide as a means ofaddressing the problems of an individualor community. Both care and service arerequired to build a healthier, safer, andmore prosperous community for all.
Tucson lleighborc Look Outfor SeniorcIn Tircson, Arizona, the Neighbor'sCare Alliance is an extremely successfulexample of using care to help turn thecurve. Using RBA, the quality-of-lifeindicator identified to be tracked overtime was the increase or decrease in thenumber of public skilled nursing homeadmissions as a percent of the totalsenior population in Tircson.
The goal of the Neighbor's Care Alli-ance is to help seniors living alone remainin their own homes longer, thereby avoid-ing higher service costs and potentialinstitutionalization. It is based on theconcept of neighbors caring for seniorsliving alone in their neighborhood.
PRO Neighborhoods, a partnershipbetween Tucson, Pirna County, Commu-nity Foundation, and United Way helpedlaulch and support this effort to trainneighborhood residents to:
Identify seniors living alone in theirneighborhood.Identify neighboring residents whohave a passion for caring for seniors.Ask these people to care for neighbor-hood seniors who live alone.
Through this process, residents inthe neighborhood provide care to seniorsIiving alone by checking on them daily,bringing an occasional meal, shoppingfor them or taking them shopping, takingthem to their doctor's appointments, ordoing minor repairs for them.
This simple act of caring does notrequire professional services; it is a
icma.orglpm
low-cost and potentially no-cost solutionthat enables seniors to live in their ownhomes longer ald to thrive.
Neighbors caring for one anotheralso stretches institutional resources byenabling agencies to focus their limitedresources on the critical services thatonly institutions can provide (i.e., medi-cally required services).
Without the care provided byneighbors, the potential exists thatseniors would not receive the care theyneed because of high-service costs, and,conversely, local institutions may not beable to provide needed services due toinadequate funding and lack of servicefees. In either event, seniors'quality oflife would be negatively impacted.
Role of local GovernmentsGovemments can achieve their long-termgoals by: 1) encouraging the work ofneighborhood grass-roots leaders; 2) sup-porting neighborhood organizing to unlockthe gifts ofresidents; and 3) collaborat-ing with local institutions to recognizeand more effectively use the power andresources of resident engagement.
To unlock the gifts in a neighbor-hood and encourage residents to sharetheir gifts, local governments shouldsupport the work of grass-roots leadersand organizers to mobilize the residentsof a neighborhood or community toshare their individual gifts through thethree acts of ABCD: discovering, asking,and connecting.
The role of neighborhood leaders andorganizers is to:
l. Discover the skills (gifts) of theindividuals who call a neighborhoodor community home.
2. Ask them to share their individualgifts.'
3. Encourage them to connect withother individuals who have the samepassions to work collectively for thecommon good.
To be effective in this effort, govem-ments and institutions must abide bythe beliefs that support effective resident
engagement and institutional action,which will ensure the successful achieve-ment of the governments' real long-termresults in their communities:
. Everyone has gifts.o Relationships build stronger
communities.o A citizen-centered organization is
the key to community engagement.r Every resident cares about something
and this passion is his or hermotivation to act.
o Listening discovers passions and gifts.
To be effective in today's world,institutional and government leadersmust recognize they need the resourcesof the community and its residents toachieve quality results.
Worthwhile lourneyThe combined use of RBA and ABCDhas the potential to assist large and smallcommunities achieve measurable results.RBA provides a simple understandableframework to identify quality-of{ifeconditions and their related indicators todrive collective action and the perfor-mance measures to track and improveindividual programs and strategies.ABCD unlocks the resources of individual residents in communities whileproviding direction for more effectiveinstitutional action.
If your community has begun thejoumey to align resources aroundspecific outcomes, you may want toexplore-as a growing number ofcommunities have--the power ofincreased community engagementthrough the combined application ofRBA and ABCD. These complementaryprocesses have the potential to unlock anabundance of resources to truly make adifference and change communityconditions for the better. p-Ul
H. DANIETS DUNCAN is a consultantand faculty member, Asset BasedCommunity Development lnstirure,Northwestern University, Chicago,lllinois (dan@hdanielsduncanconsult-
ing.org). Author retains article copyright.
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