Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) Training with
Cormac Russell – Co-director of ABCD Europe, Nurture Development

Hosted by:

Cynefin RCT and the ‘Working With Not To’ Co-Production Project

Dates:

10.00am – 4.00pm, on 11 and 12 February 2015. Venue TBD in Pontypridd/RCT

Fees:

Thanks to funding support and sponsorship of this course, we are able to provide a limited number of places FREE OF CHARGE for individuals from Rhondda Cynon Taff. The cost is £50.00+vat for 1 day and £100.00+vat for 2 days for public, private or third sector organisations and anyone else who is interested in attending. You can attend 1 or both days. Please contact us to request a booking form.

A 1 or 2 day ABCD training course in RCT

On 25.11.14 we co-hosted a 1 day ABCD training workshop with Cormac Russell with a group of 30+ people from a range of sectors and backgrounds. It was an inspiring and energised day, with Cormac personalising the training to the group in the room, and providing ideas, solutions and real life stories for many of the challenges we are currently facing. The feedback to the event was very positive, with the group suggesting that many more people would have liked to attend, and that they would recommend it to colleagues if we ran it again. In response to this, Cormac has kindly agreed to run another training workshop:

• Day 1 on 11.02.15 would be the 1st day of the ABCD 2 day training workshop, and a repeat of the training held on 25.11.14.
• Day 2 02.15 would be the 2nd day of the ABCD 2 day training workshop.
• Our aim is for a new group of people to attend the first day and they, together with people who have previously attended day 1, attend day 2.

Sustainable Communities – “Build on what’s strong not what’s wrong”

ABCD is an approach that promotes citizen-led action in the first instance, and then leverages outside support to match community assets when needed: co-production. It has a history of success in building on existing community strengths to support stronger, more sustainable communities for the future.

The ABCD process helps to identify, connect and mobilise local assets, and supports the development of a community wide vision. The training is being led by Cormac Russell, and will provide practical tools and present successful community building experiences from around the world and provide tips on increasing engagement in the process.

The challenges on public services and communities in Wales are clear and there is a forecast of increasing pressure in the future. How can we work together to improve community life and service provision despite these challenges?

The recent Commission on Public Service Governance and Delivery report suggests the only viable way to respond to the challenges is to, “shift the emphasis of public service towards co-production and prevention: designing and implementing solutions which sustain long-term wellbeing and which prevent rather than respond to critical situations. This in turn can only be done in a spirit of partnership with citizens and communities themselves”.

Asset Based Community Development considers local assets as the primary building blocks of sustainable community development. It offers a robust evidence-based framework for social change, challenging us to consider the following questions:

1. What is it that communities can do best?
2. What do communities require help with?
3. What do communities need outside agencies to do for them?

Whole community transformation shifts the focus from separate target groups, such as the frail elderly or youth at risk, to one that connects people positively regardless of age or label. Using the Six Stepping Stones© a community builder can identify, connect and mobilise local assets, and support the development of a community wide vision for transformation that looks 20 years into the future.

This workshop will:

• Help you identify where and how ABCD can change communities and peoples’ lives using the 12 Domains of Change©
• Show you how to bring ABCD to life in a neighbourhood using the Six Stepping Stones©
• Use stories/case studies of ABCD in action from learning sites in the UK, and around the world with video input from citizens, community builders and commissioners.
• Involve you in activities and exercises, e.g. Asset Mapping and Learning Conversations that you can then use to introduce ABCD to the neighbourhoods where you live and/or work.
• Show you how to spread the approach across an entire county.
• Help to make the strategic links to strengths-based commissioning, strengths-based organisational management, and unpack policy implications in relation to health, community safety, criminal justice, ageing well in place, and environmental and economic sustainability.
• Show you how to evaluate the outcomes of ABCD.

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For more information about ABCD and Nurture Development please see this PDF  RCT_ABCD_Training_2day_11_12_Feb_2015 or visit: http://www.nurturedevelopment.org

FEEDBACK FROM 25.11.2014 RCT 1 DAY ABCD TRAINING:

“Inspiring trainer, brilliant informative stories, humorous”.

“Fantastic techniques and stories to use again to make/keep it real”.

“An excellent course that transformed what seems like complex theory into everyday life”.

“Lots to think about, it will influence my work significantly”.

“Interactive sessions, plenty of group work and sharing ideas”.

“There are ways in which we can support communities to develop locally”. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………
To book please contact: Fran O’Hara, ‘Working With Not To’ Co-Production Project,
email: workingwithnotto@gmail.com or Tel: 07780 675352.