Hi all,

There's so much research out there on community development -- but I want to just check what other people use to make a case for doing ABCD work to folks? We're in the beginning (year 1) phase of a neighborhoods project, when we don't have big 'results' to report but rather groundwork completed (people spoken to, assets identified, relationships strengthened, lessons learned)


For instance, what statistics do you draw upon to illustrate that though this work takes time and is sometimes incredibly sticky and unpredictable, it is worthwhile? I often like to use statistics about connection and social capital - ie...

(Joining one group cuts your odds of dying over the next year in half. Communities with higher levels of social capital produce children with higher SAT scores and performance on broad-range testing as well as lower drop out rates, higher retention, less violence; representative government is more responsive in communities with more social capital; road rage is rarer where citizens are more involved in civic life.)

and I like the statistics about health having less than 10% to do with access to health care and more to do with our social, physical environment and our personal decisions.

What else is out there? What do you use?



I'm also seeking powerful case studies that demonstrate in hard numbers how things have changed as a result of ABCD being used. What cases do you bring up often, or have you done a project and produced a convincing evaluation?


This would be super helpful for me.


Thanks!

updated by @april-doner: 10/24/16 04:47:22PM

I second April's request. We too have started a neighborhoods project (in West Oakland CA), and it would be nice to show hard evidence that building on the skills of local residents, the power of local associations, and the supportive functions of local institutions really does have a measurable impact (e.g on education, crime, health). We're moving along without the numbers, of course, but it will be good to have them.

Thanks Leo! Hm... I wonder what's out there? Or if everybody else has the same question but no leads... ! Have you come across anything?

I did find some good case studies in "From Clients to Citizens" the book.

-A

Tamara Leech at Indiana University/Purdue University in Indianapolis is both doing some work in this area and aware of a lot of the work that has been done in this area. She is writing now on what she calls "pro-social involvement" - and has data that she is both using and developing. You can reach her at tleech@iupui.edu

very cool! Thank you Mike. Don't you guys have some reports you make for fundie-type-people that have some 'data' (broad definition) demonstrating the power of your neighborhood connecting work? I think I was in exchange with someone at Broadway a year ago about it but we lost touch...

I found something -- a good starting point at least. Coady Institute has a vast library of materials, including Case Studies. I want to look more into it -- if someone beats me to it and finds something stellar, please post it here!

Thanks for reaching out April. Glad you're reading "Everyone Leads"... you'll find us mentioned on page 225. In terms of other data you can find me talking about ABCD and the impact at Eagle Rock School in Small Schools, Big Ideas: The Essential Guide to Successful School Transformation

Would love folks to contribute any ABCD stories related to schools here -http://abcdschools.tumblr.com/submit

With apologies for my poor APA style skills... attached is a partial reference list of scholarly articles that relate to ABCD.

Great! Thank you so much Dan, I will look into it. Sorry I'm a bit late in replying!

Wow, thank you so much Allison. I look forward to looking through them. Are there any in that list you feel have a particularly 'convincing' statistical story within?

This is so important, I'm glad it's being discussed. I suggest also taking a look at Paul Farmer's work. Partners in Health is definitely a huge example of an asset-based approach to healthcare. My colleague Alaka Wali knows his work well and has suggested the following:

Farmer, Paul, Pathologies of Power, 2005, University of California Press. Especially, Chapter 5, pp 139-159.
Here, Farmer discusses how he uses "pragmatic solidarity"-- which he describes as solidarity combined with a concrete program of action. Farmer discusses the importance of "elicit[ing] the experiences and views of poor people and to incorporate these views into all observations, judgements, and actions". In this chapter he discusses the difference his approach makes to standard procedures of community outreach. Farmer's methods, reflected in his organization, Partners for Health, has been highly effective in getting Haitians, Rwandans, Russians among others to adhere to treatment regimens for tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.

Also our own community work at The Field Museum provides some nice case studies of how an asset-based approach has led to involvement in climate action of organizations that in the past have not worked on environmental issues--but using the asset-based approach become engaged in them because they see that the work benefits them as well and helps them achieve their goals. Our most recent work is the Chicago Community Climate Action Toolkit. Take a look particularly at theABOUT page to read about our approach. You'll see that as anthropologists, we focus a lot on intangible cultural assets, like heritage traditions, in addition to community assets like local organizations/institutions.

Finally someone asked if there are case studies we regularly refer to. I often refer to Mercado Central, which you probably all know because Jody highlights it regularly too. It's highlighted right now on the ABCD Institute homepage:http://www.abcdinstitute.org/. Another example that I think is really cool--though I haven't been able to find out about how successful it has/n't been--is the Mali CultureBank.

Another site I just discovered that has some great case studies is Positive Deviance Initiative.