PATRICIA A. SHARPE, PHD MPH U PETER R. LEE, MPH * SHERER W. MARY L. GREANEY, MPH ROYCE, MPH Assets-Oriented Community Assessment S Y N 0 P S I S Dr. Sharpe, Ms. Greaney, and Ms. Royce are with the Prevention Research Center at the University of South Carolina School of Public Health. Dr. Sharpe is Research Associate Professor. Ms. Greaney and Ms. Royce are Research Assistants with the Center and doctoral candidates in the Department of Health Promotion and Education, School of Public Health. Mr. Lee is Senior Associate for Healthy Communities at the Medical Foundation, Boston. Determining how to promote community health requires that community health workers first assess where the community stands. The authors maintain that Healthy Communities initiatives are better served by assets- oriented assessment methods than by standard "problem-focused" or "needs-based" approaches. An assets orientation allows community members to identify, support, and mobilize existing community resources to create a shared vision of change, and encourages greater creativity when community members do address problems and obstacles. Wlifith the growing interest in community participation and self- i/il determination-both central to Healthy Communities princi- VV ples-the standard "problem-focused" or "needs-based" approaches to community health have come under criticism. Problem- focused theories and planning models share a common focus on problem identification and have permeated government, the media, professional training of all sorts, as well as funding agencies and organizations.' Kretz- mann and McKnight contend that deficiency-based approaches can have negative effects even when positive change is intended because they force community leaders to highlight their communities' worst side in order to attract resources.' Needs-focused perspectives may also unintentionally create one-dimensional images that characterize communities and the individuals within them based on disease risk profiles or social problem categories, such as "low income," "welfare mom," "the handicapped," or "high crime neighborhood." In contrast, the movement toward promoting PUBLIC HEALTH REPORTS * FOCUS ON HEALTHY COMMUNITIES 205
Transcript
PATRICIA A. SHARPE, PHD MPH UPETER R. LEE, MPH * SHERER W.
MARY L. GREANEY, MPHROYCE, MPH
Assets-OrientedCommunity Assessment
S Y N 0 P S I S
Dr. Sharpe, Ms. Greaney, and Ms. Royce are
with the Prevention Research Center at the
University of South Carolina School of Public
Health. Dr. Sharpe is Research Associate
Professor. Ms. Greaney and Ms. Royce are
Research Assistants with the Center and
doctoral candidates in the Department of
Health Promotion and Education, School of
Public Health. Mr. Lee is Senior Associate
for Healthy Communities at the Medical
Foundation, Boston.
Determining how to promote community health requires that communityhealth workers first assess where the community stands. The authorsmaintain that Healthy Communities initiatives are better served by assets-oriented assessment methods than by standard "problem-focused" or"needs-based" approaches. An assets orientation allows communitymembers to identify, support, and mobilize existing community resourcesto create a shared vision of change, and encourages greater creativity whencommunity members do address problems and obstacles.
Wlifith the growing interest in community participation and self-i/il determination-both central to Healthy Communities princi-VV ples-the standard "problem-focused" or "needs-based"
approaches to community health have come under criticism. Problem-focused theories and planning models share a common focus on problemidentification and have permeated government, the media, professionaltraining of all sorts, as well as funding agencies and organizations.' Kretz-mann and McKnight contend that deficiency-based approaches can havenegative effects even when positive change is intended because they forcecommunity leaders to highlight their communities' worst side in order toattract resources.' Needs-focused perspectives may also unintentionallycreate one-dimensional images that characterize communities and theindividuals within them based on disease risk profiles or social problemcategories, such as "low income," "welfare mom," "the handicapped," or"high crime neighborhood." In contrast, the movement toward promoting
PUBLIC HEALTH REPORTS * FOCUS ON HEALTHY COMMUNITIES 205
greater community participation is grounded in theories,perspectives, and planning frameworks that focus oncommunities' strengths or give balanced attention tostrengths and needs.
Community asset assessment is a method for collect-ing information about a community. Assessing a commu-nity's assets means identifying, supporting, and mobiliz-ing existing community resources and capacities for thepurpose of creating and achieving ashared vision. In the process ofdoing a self-assessment, commu-nity members also identify prob- For colems and obstacles that must beaddressed in order to achieve their assessmentdream of a healthy community. Anassets orientation does not imply informa]ignoring problems and needs orthrowing out rational, strategic people inplanning; rather, a key distinctionbetween assets-based approaches and inforirand needs-based approaches is therallying point for bringing citizens r(together. In both needs-focusedand assets-focused approaches,hard realities must be faced. Byinvolving community members in visual, intuitive, andnon-linear processes of self-assessment and discovery,assets-oriented approaches invite more creativity inassessment and planning than collection and perusal ofstatistical data alone can engender.
HOW TO AsSESS A COMMUNITY'SASSETS
Community health workers' choices of techniques foridentifying community assets reflect multiple philosophi-cal and practical influences. The techniques describedbelow can be used to identify both needs and assets, eventhough the focus of this discussion is on assets as anemerging concept in community work. It should be notedthat no particular technique for collecting informationholds inherent power to build community capacities orcreate a participatory framework for action. The commu-nity assessment process can be ultimately empowering orexploitive regardless of technique; however, because thetechniques described below involve community membersin the assessment process, they can set the stage forfuture community-generated changes.
Windshield and walking tours of communities. Pro-fessional and lay researchers conduct driving and/or walk-
ing tours of a geographic area at varying times of day anddays of the week to observe and record information aboutcommunity characteristics. Preferably, these tours takeplace within community-designated boundaries ratherthan geopolitical boundaries; or if geopolitical boundariesare used, community self-designations are also noted.Observers can easily conduct windshield tours with anobservational guide or checklist. While this technique is
ideal for introducing outsiders to acommunity in which they will beworking, community members canbe actively involved in driving andwalking tours, both as tour guidesand as observers/auditors.
Working in pairs or smallgroups (one driver and one or moreobserver-recorders), observersmake notes, take photos, and makevideotapes (where appropriate)about community characteristics.These might include the locationand characteristics of recreationalareas, transportation and trafficpatterns, landmarks, housing, com-mons and informal gatheringgreenspaces, safety, businesses,
churches, and health and social services facilities. In addi-tion, Walters2 and Anderson and McFarlane3 haveincluded boundaries, signs of development/decay, religionand churches (including spiritual and folk healers), andart/media. Wilson and Mitrano4 have assessed communityvalues through attention to community symbols evident ingraffiti, billboards, T-shirt slogans, and lawn ornaments.
Windshield and walking tours can broadly documenta community's assets, resources, and concerns, or theycan focus on specific environmental and social factorsrelated to a particular objective. For example, in Sumter,South Carolina, coalition members conducted walkingtours using community survey tools to assess the "walka-bility" of their neighborhoods.5 6 Written narratives, tablesand diagrams, collages, slide shows, or maps (see also"Assets maps" below) summarize and display tour results.
Key informant/key leader interviews. The key infor-mant interview is a one-to-one interviewing technique forqualitative data collection with a long history of use inethnographic studies. The term key informant impliesthat an outsider is conducting the interview, which maybe the case for research. However, when communitycoalition members initiate the assessment or work withoutsiders to conduct it, many of the key informants or key
PUBLIC HEALTH REPORTS * MARCH/APRIL & MAY/JUNE 2000 * VOLUME I 15206
S HARP E ET AL.
leaders are, in fact, the coalition mem-bers themselves and their neighbors.For community assessment purposes,key informants include people in bothformal and informal leadership rolesrepresenting diverse stakeholder groups,amateur community historians, andcommunity caretakers4 -those trustedpeople who keep track of the everydayevents in a neighborhood and are oftenat the center of informal helping net-works.
Identification of key leaders usuallybegins with community coalition mem-bers generating a list. It is essential thatthis list contain more than the commu-nity members who hold political power.The list expands through a snowballingprocess of referral, with each key infor-mant naming others he or she thinksought to be interviewed. The goal is tocover the range of opinion in a commu-nity. Examples of potential topicsinclude:
* how the community has met chal-lenges or accomplished goals in thepast;
* sources of community pride;* who gets things done in the
community;* the nature of social connectedness,
cohesion and affiliation amongneighbors (social capital);7-9
* the level of trust between citi-zens and local government, busi-ness, financial, and social serviceinstitutions;
* the array of community values andinterest groups;
* and perspectives on what a healthycommunity is.
Responses are compiled in narrative form and/or insummary charts, along with a roster of names of commu-nity leaders.
Assets maps. An assets map is a geographic map onwhich physical assets such as schools, landmarks, play-grounds, public gathering places, churches, schools, air-ports, and recreation areas may be designated. When the
community has already determined a focus for its initia-tives, more than one map might be created: a global oneand one highlighting characteristics of special relevance(for example, all the factors of special significance to chil-dren's health and safety). Wilson also suggests identifyinghuman activity settings, locations within the communityin which people carry out day-to-day activities of living,such as where they work, play, shop, go to school, congre-
PUBLIC HEALTH REPORTS * FOCUS ON HEALTHY CONMMIUNITIES 207
gate, worship, get health care and services, and so forth.4These features are observed and assessed in terms of themeanings the community assigns them and the partici-pants' values, roles, and purposes in everyday humaninteraction.'"'1 For example, assets mapping in a Colum-bia, South Carolina,'2 neighborhood revealed that almostnone of the members of a particular church (a potentialasset) lived in the surrounding neighborhood, and resi-dents did not feel any connection to the church. Prior toassets mapping, outsiders' assumptions about thechurch's significance as a venue for community gather-ings would have been in error.
An advantage of creating anassets map is that community An advantamembers can be directly involvedin the map's creation and interpre- an assetstation, can identify desirable andundesirable patterns, and can use communitythe map as a springboard for creat-ing a healthier vision in dialogue be directlFwith city planners and officials.Sources of input for an assets map the map'sinclude key informant interviews;coalition meetings and other com- interpremunity forums; windshield andwalking tours; archival data from identify dcity, county or state government;existing community directories undesirableand inventories; and research.Community groups can create can use t]assets maps with simple materials.Land use maps are often available springboarnfrom city or county government,and coalition members can use a healthisimple adhesive symbols or pushpins to designate community char- dialogu4acteristics and assets. Recentlydeveloped community planning planners cand evaluation software toolsinclude the capability to import orscan maps and save bitmapped images for assets map-ping. The user adds icons to the map to represent com-munity assets.'3
For communities that wish to undertake a detailedgeographic study of community assets, Geographic Infor-mation Systems (GIS) software provides a powerful toolfor working with spatial data.'4"15 GIS technology allowsthe user to examine the locations and distribution of spe-cific features of a geographic area and to display data inmap form. Data layers may include features such as pop-ulation distribution, road networks, school district bound-
aries, and the locations of health care facilities. Commu-nities can use this technology to examine where peoplelive in relation to where community resources arelocated, to look at patterns in the distribution ofresources and services throughout the community, or toanswer questions about the relationships between spe-cific features and community attributes.
Data for creating data layers are available through govern-ment or private agencies or can be developed. Remote Sens-ing and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) are tools used increating data layers.'6 Airplane and satellite remote sensing
ge of creatingmap is thatmembers cany involved increation andtation, canlesirable andpatterns, andhe map as ad for creatingier vision in
e with cityand officials.
systems are commonly used to obtaininformation about an object, feature,or area by abstracting data collectedwith a device not in contact with thefeature being studied. For example, auser may take a handheld device andwalk the boundaries of a park oralong a trail or sidewalk to collectdata on the geographic location.Remote Sensing and GPS data canbe imported into the GIS system foranalysis and mapping. Although GIS,Remote Sensing, and GPS involvespecialized expertise and someexpense, their use is becoming com-mon enough that community organi-zations could partner with govern-ment or academic institutions foraccess to this technology.
Focus groups and dialoguegroups. The focus group hasbecome a widely used method incommunity assessment and evalua-tion. A skilled moderator uses open-ended questions to lead a group offive to 12 people in a discussion ofabout an hour to an hour and ahalf's duration. Questions for use in
a general discussion of community assets might include:
* What would you say are some of this community'sstrengths?
* What are some of the gifts and talents of the peoplehere?
* What is the community's greatest source of pride?* Who are the people in the community who take care
of others when it is not part of their jobs? For exam-ple, who makes sure that children are safe; whomakes sure that families have food?
PUBLIC HEALTH REPORTS * MARCH/APRIL & MAY/JUNE 2000 * VOLUME 11 5208
* What groups, clubs, or associations in the communitymake a difference in the well-being of the community?
* To what extent do people in this community knowtheir neighbors?
A number of guides to conducting focus groups areavailable.17-21 In community settings, groups should takeplace among a wide variety of constituencies so that theentire domain of ideas and viewpoints is tapped. Becauseeffective focus group discussions require a degree of skillon the part of the moderator, this technique has beenunder the purview of professionals; however, Krueger andKing have written a guide to developing focus group skillsamong community members.22 Focus group discussionsare usually tape-recorded and tran-scribed, although careful note-taking during the discussion may In visionbe adequate for some purposes.Researchers often use qualitative facilitatorsdata analysis packages to examinethe transcripts and identify impor- together fo:tant themes. Reports include nar-rative summaries with illustrative more and pquotes and summary tables ordiagrams. to guide pz
Discussion groups need notstrictly conform to the guidelines visualizingfor focus groups research. For theHealthy Communities Agenda proj- desires fcect, Norris and Howell suggest hav-ing a team convene community dia- commun:logue events with groups of five to500 participants in a variety of set- some yectings.23 A hybrid event that com-bines elements of focus groups, funominal group process,24 or com-munity forums, may be appropriatein some communities.
Inventories. Assets and capacities inventories are docu-ments that catalogue and describe individual and organi-zational capacities. With adequate mechanisms in placefor connecting capacities to opportunities for action,inventories can be the first step in putting untappedpotential to work. Capacities inventories of individualcommunity members assess talents, skills, and experi-ences that might lead to employment, volunteering, com-munity activism, bartering systems, or microenterpriseopportunities.' This process draws attention to the oftenoverlooked talents of children, older residents, andlabeled or stigmatized people.25 People may have diffi-
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culty identifying their own range of talents and assets.Wilson leads community groups in an exercise called anassets auction, in which participants identify assets theyown or skills they possess, and then involves them in bar-tering with their neighbors.4 Families can benefit fromdoing inventories to identify their strengths and sourcesof mutual support and connection within thecommunity. 12
Useful inventories of associations and organizationsinclude information about a group's goals and mission,membership, impact on community health, projects inprogress, and potential for partnering with others in pro-moting community health. ' Inventories stretch tradi-tional definitions of who can be a partner in community
health enhancement projects. Aninventory can be a tool for creating
g, skilled new links among diverse groupsthat may not have traditionally
^ing people worked together or consideredtheir work, hobbies, or pastimes as
full day or having the potential to positivelyaffect community health. The
e questions information for the inventorycomes from key informant inter-
icipants in views; windshield tours; printedsources such as community direc-
eir greatest tories, Yellow Pages, and locallibraries' reference sections; and
how their telephone interviews with associa-tions' contact people." 26
will lookVisioning. Visioning is a process
into the whereby a group of communitystakeholders collectively define a
re. shared dream of what their com-munity can become. The degree offormality for conducting visioning
varies; a retreat or workshop format has been used insome communities.27,28 In general, skilled facilitatorsbring people together for a full day or more and posequestions to guide participants in visualizing their great-est desires for how their community will look some yearsinto the future, how people will interact, what daily lifewill be like, and how all sectors of the community willoperate to contribute to a healthy community environ-ment. Working in small groups, participants illustrate anddescribe their vision creatively with words, drawings, orcollages. The groups reconvene and discuss their imagesand categorize or summarize the elements in the images.A smaller core group may follow up on the retreat by cre-ating a document to return to the participants. Follow-up
PUBLIC HEALTH REPORTS * FOCUS ON HEALTHY COMMUNITIES 209
SHARPETLAL.
meetings may be held to refine the collective vision andto develop plans for incorporating it into a planningprocess. Because the visioning process puts no limits onparticipants' dreams, it can be powerfully motivating.
Wilson has used a visioning process called communitybuildout. In developing countries, community membershave used modeling materials (clay, for example) to buildmodels of their community visions. In Columbia, SouthCarolina, children have used craft materials to build ahealthy community model (Personal communication, KWilson, Institute for Families in Society, University ofSouth Carolina, September 1996).
Creative assessment. Creative assessment refers to theuse of techniques for documenting community members'perceptions of their community, its assets and its prob-lems. Community groups use photography, film, theater,music, dance, murals, puppet shows, storytelling, ordrawings for multiple purposes: to portray a problem andits solutions; to enact a community vision; to celebratecultural and civic pride; to protest; and to grieve. Creativetechniques provide an acceptable forum of expression forcommunity emotions and a mode for reaching diversegroups of community members who may be uncomfort-able with structured assessment methods. For example,Wang and Burris29'30 put cameras into the hands ofwomen in rural China to create a participatory process ofassessment, analysis, and action. Wallerstein involvedNew Mexico adolescents in visits to, and interviews at,emergency rooms and jails to observe and explore theexperiences of people involved with alcohol and drugs.3'Creative assessment activities stimulate conversation andmay provide triggers that can be incorporated into aprocess of dialogue, reflection, and action.
THE CHALLENGES OFCONDUCTING ASSETS-ORIENTEDCOMMUNITY ASSESSMENT
Even though the language of assets and capacities isspreading, the question of whether community participa-tion is real or represents tokenism in most initiativesremains.32 Giving attention to assets is not the same asfostering community participation. Numerous examplesof token community advisory boards or outright exploita-tion of community assets for furthering agencies' agen-das exist.32 Many, if not most, funding sources remaincategorical in focus and require a problem-focused grantapplication. Additionally, giving attention to assets is notthe same as ignoring problems, but there is the potentialfor misappropriating an assets orientation to justify fund-ing cuts by using the argument that assets-rich commu-nities must have no need for dollars and resources fromthe outside. While communities may have tired of con-stantly having their problems highlighted,33 they mayalso look with suspicion on the rhetoric of assets orienta-tion unless a groundwork of mutual respect and trust hasbeen established. As new perspectives emerge and rapidchanges occur in public health, health care, and civic'life, articulation of unspoken assumptions and valuesin research and service projects and constant self-reflection32 will be necessary.
The authors thank Regina Fields, CHES, Dwayne Porter, PhD, NancyWhittle, MSW, and Linda Neff, MSPH, for their assistance in thepreparation of the manuscript. This work was supported in part byPrevention Research Center grant number U48/CCU409664 from theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention. Its contents are solely theresponsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the officialviews of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
References
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