Rfc Prsntn Abrcd 2

De vel oping an As set- Bas ed appr oac h to Rur al Com muni ty De vel opment in the UK. Dr. Rhys Evans, Integrate Consulting www.integrateconsulting.co.uk

Su st ain able Live li hoods approach  Early Int’l Development practice.  UNDP and Diffid (UK) – early 90s

 Canada – New Rural Economy (NRE)  US – Sustainable Livelihoods

Su st ain able Live li hoods  Focus upon livelihoods, not projects  Focus upon what happens after project ends.  Focus upon local people as the nexus of development -- local skills, practices, knowledges and enterprise

Th e Five Ca pit als Mo del

 Jonathon Porritt, The UK Commission for Sustainability  Forum for the Future

Five Ca pita ls Natural Human Social Manufactured

Financial

5 Ca pit als Natural       

Biodiversity Landscape character Soils Water Air and climate Minerals and other non-renewables

5 Ca pit als Human  Employment and Skills base  Education and training  Health and well-being

5 Ca pit als Social  Leadership and trust  Community cohesion and sense of place  Stakeholder networks and processes  Institutions conserving the land

5 Ca pit als Manufactured Archaeology Buildings and built heritage Transport infrastructure, traffic and access networks  Processes and waste products  Energy production and Consumption  IT and telecommunications   

5 Ca pit als Financial.  Public funding, e.g. for CAP or rural regeneration.  Local authority expenditure.  Conservation funding.  Other (such as match funding).

As set Based Communi ty Deve lopm ent (ABC D)   

focus on the act of development focus on communities gaining assets focus on communities using assets as part of the development process.

 advocates trusting communities to develop themselves

Asse ts Tangible Buildings and Land Transport Community Energy Companies

Asse ts Intangible Cultural Assets Language & Customs

Social Assets Networks of social capital

As set- Based Communi ty Deve lopm ent (ABC D)  Coady Institute  St. Francis Xavier University, Nova Scotia, Canada.  http://www.coady.stfx.ca/

Tr oubles in Para dis e  Difficulties with ABCD -dangers of abandonment (give them assets and if they don’t develop them, it is their fault.) -can put blame, rather than responsibility, on community. -assets appear fully fledged with no consideration of how they are developed.

Ad ding So cial J ust ice  Definition of ‘asset’ needs to be expanded to include existing intangible assets which can be developed.  Developing intangible assets is as important as providing tangible assets.  Respect for non-traditional assets as these lie at heart of new consumption economy.

Asse t-Ba se d Ru ral Co mmunity De ve lo pme nt

 Specifically considers rural experience in the UK  Takes into account the history and situation of rural spaces and places  Offers complimentary roles for policy makers in the centre and communities in the peripheries

Co nstrain ts a nd En ablers  Barriers to community self-development need to be identified and countered.  Often barriers are process-structured, not intentional or deliberate.  Need to understand ‘constraints’ to community self-development and provide ‘enablers’ to allow access to development process.

Ru ral Re-Sourcin g Carnegie UK Trust/Carnegie Commission for Rural Community Development.

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Rural Action Research Fund Five themes      

Involving rural residents in Community Planning Community led Service Delivery in rural areas Sustainable Management of Community Buildings Rebuilding fractured Rural Communities Training and development needs of those involved in rural community development Remote and Peripheral Areas

ABRC D  Begins by offering respect to rural communities by supporting and developing their existing assets – tangible and intangible.  Acknowledges that capital investment in Community Buildings and other material Assets must first take into account the community – it’s assets and desires.

ABRC D  Acknowledges that Rural Community Development is a process  Can be intervened in at multiple levels  Proposes definite roles and responsibilities  Needs to consider the ‘middle’ – bureaucracies and complex Regulation – and ease access and passage

ABRC D  Requires communities to define what is valued and what is an asset.

 Puts communities in the driving seat with opportunities, rights and responsibilities.