Members of the ABCD staff and faculty have engaged in extensive capacity building activities in communities in the United States and around the world. This work often takes the form of working directly with community groups to develop asset-oriented strategies and facilitate local asset-mapping and mobilizing activities. At other times it takes the form of introducing larger agencies and institutions to the concepts and ideas associated with ABCD, and providing the encouragement and support for these entities to transform the ways they work with communities.
At the core of the ABCD Institute is its mission to provide workshops and training to those who would like to learn more about Asset-Based Community Development. Over the past several years the Institute has run training workshops at DePaul University and is also committed to regional in person workshops in different parts of the country.
These training are dynamic 2.5-day workshops introducing the core principles and applications of Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) in the context of local communities and are led by experienced ABCD Institute Faculty members. Presentations and discussions occur in light of current conversations about equity and social justice and enable participants to think deeper about responses to these challenges. Whenever possible site visits to local community organizations using ABCD are included in the workshop.
People who seek an introduction to or refresher of ABCD in the context of local geographic communities will learn:
- How can my organization more actively support the concerns and efforts of local people?
- How does a community move toward a wider circle of people working together to realize goals?
- How do I make ABCD work in my neighborhood?
You can sign up on our event email list to be notified of upcoming ABCD Institute trainings. Or, visit our Events page to find ABCD Institute trainings as well as other upcoming workshops.
The Institute is also developing training and workshops based on particular topics such as faith based, aging, and higher education. At this point our faith-based working group has created a working curriculum and piloted a training in 2018.
An alternative choice to an official ABCD Institute training is to tap into the assets of our numerous ABCD Faculty members who conduct ABCD focused workshops on a regular basis. If you have an audience, a venue, and the ability to organize a workshop or would like someone for a key note address for a conference, the Institute can put you in touch with a range of Faculty members for you to work with in creating your own event. ABCD Faculty members have a range of expertise and are located across the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia.
For more information contact Kim Hopes at connect@abcdinstitute.org.