TF{EASSCL

regC

oA***unt*hiSity am*

**rnrc r": *:ty **w*i*p*'revtt**r'r ff*Egp ["inl**k *r:

Ahu g'ldarc** *f ffies*L*r*es

ffiy ffi. ***{m{s **n*:xn

,'&q

W rru

ffiqq

B=,qsilli$m'* ' * qr

20 puBLrc MANAGEMENT I NoveMeER 20i2 icma.orglpm

ocal governments can createeffective community change.How? By becoming commu-nity engagement organizationsand bringing the communitytogether-residents, associa-

tions, nonprofits, the business community, andgovernment-to act collectively as coproducersof their community's well-being.

Using results-based accountability (RBA),coupled with asset-based community develop-ment (ABCD), local governments can drivethe promise of measurable change throughcommunity engagement.

How Gan RBA Help?The RBA structure, as developed by MarkFriedman, author and director of theFiscal Poliry Studies Institute, allows localgovemments to strategically focus their workon substantial community issues and, at thesame time, build a culture of measurement and

TAI{f,AWAYS) How to enhance community engagementstrategies to achieve greater results.

) How to look at a community through theIens of gifts and assets, not just needs andproblems.

) Strategies for engaging residents as copro-ducers and partners in achieving commoncommunity goals.

) Concepts and power of asset-based com-munity development and results-basedaccountability.

shared accountability. RBA identifies quallty-of-life conditions (population results) and thecorresponding measures or indicators requiredto track their achievement, as well as theoperational measures to track and improve theperformance of programs and agencies.

RBA introduces the concept of "turning thecurve" to drive long-term action by focus-ing on improving a quality-of-life indicatorover time and not setting arbitrary numericalgoals. "Turning the curve" recognizes that tocreate measurable change requires a varietyof strategies beyond the delivery of services.Strategies must include resident action, mediaengagement, and public policy work to createsustainable long-term change.

The RBA framework allows local govern-ments to develop effective community-basedstrategies and enhance their service-deliveryactivities through the adoption of performancemeasures that more effectively track andimprove the activities of local programs, agen-cies, and service systems. The performancemeasures answer these three ouestions:

How much did we do?How well did we do it?Is anyone better off?

The RBA framework also helps governmentby engaging residents as partners and advo-cates rather than adversaries. Together, they setcommunit),'wide strategies and share account,ability. This shared population accountabilitybecomes the catalyst for sustainable long-termchange because together government andresidents systematically ask and answer thefollowing questions.

a

a

a

icma.orglpm NOVEMBER 2012 I PUBLIC MANAGEMENT 21

What are the quality-of{ife conditions(population results) we want for the

children, adults, and families who live

in our community?What would these conditions look like

if we could see them?How can we measure these condi

tions?How are we doing on the most impor-

tant of these measures?Who are the partners that have a role

to play in doing better?

What works to do better, including

no-cost and low-cost ideas?

What do we propose to do?

RBA provides a framework for localgoverrments to identify the criticalquality-ollife issues they want to address

for residents as well as the indicators to

track their progress. ABCD can provide

the framework necessary to work

collectively with the community-othergovernmental entities, nonprofit agen-

cies, businesses, neighborhoods, and

residents-to develop and implement the

wide range of strategies necessary to tum

the curve and create measurable impact.

Power ot ABCDAsset-based community development(ABCD) can help enhance community

engagement strategies and provide an

effective framework to answer the RBAquestions 5, 6, and 7 through imple-

mentation of the wide range of strate-gies necessary to improve the results

identified for action. Through the power

of ABCD, many of the most effective

strategies can be implemented with little

or no additional financial resources.

ABCD is a place-based frameworkpioneered by John McKnight and Jody

Kretzmann of the ABCD Institute at

Northwestern University. Its foundation

rests on a few simple truths: 1) everyone

has gifts, 2) everyone has something to

contribute, and 3J everyone cares about

something and that passion is his or her

motivation to act.Strong, safe, and healthy neighbor-

hoods and communities are built on the

strengths and capacities of their residents

and associations that call the community

home. We cannot build strong caring

neighborhoods without unlocking thepotential of residents.

The traditional approach to commu-

nity development is focused on providing

services to address the community's and

its residents'needs and deficits. The

ABCD approach starts with discovering

the assets and gifts already present in the

community. This is followed by asking

residents to share their gifts and connect-

ing people with the same passions to act

collectively and provide care.

The most successful community

efforts include resident engagement

and action (no-cost/low-cost solu-

tions) working together with existing

institutions and programs. We cannot

achieve the results required without the

sfong engagement of the resources and

efforts of residents as well as the work

of institutions. To be truly effective,

residents must join the effort as copro-

ducers/cocreators of their own and their

community's well-being.

Role lor Residentsflue resident engagement requires govern-

ment and institutions to lead by stepplngback and creating space for residents to

be involved as producers. Initially, it isimperative to determine three roles: 1)

what are the things that only residents can

do; 2) what are the things that residents

and institutions or government can ac-

complish together, as coproducers; and 3)

what are the things that only institutionsor govemment can do.

Traditionally, individuals have beenrelegated to one role, that of a recipient

of service--a client, customer, or patient.

As clients, individuals are objects of ser-

vice, dependent on the professionals and

institutions for their overall well-being.

To unlock the power of community,we need to rethink how to view indi

vidual residents. We must acknowledgeresidents' skills and identify their

efsting resources. We must expand their

roles beyond that of a client to include

serving as advisers and helping institu-

tions provide more useful services.But their greatest value is that of

coproducers of their own and their

community's well-being. Rather thanjust asking people what do you need, we

need to ask "What can you contribute?How can you use your existing skills and

resources to achieve what you need?"

Residents in the most successful

and effective systems participate in all

three roles. If a person breaks his leg,

for example, he is rightfully identified

as a client and patient. If an individual

has particular knowledge about her

neighborhood and its residents, she may

advise an agency on how to most ef-

fectively serve the neighborhood and to

define what services the neighborhood

actually wants/needs.As coproducers, residents become

part of the solution. If we want to make

sure that every household with young

children has age-appropriate books to

help them learn to read, neighborhoodparents who have a passion for reading

can organize a book drive. This activity

does not require institutional or govern-

ment resources.

22 puBlrc MANAGEMENT I NovEMBER 2012 icma.orglpm

There is a difference between care andseryice, and both concepts are needed totum the cuwe. Care is what residents of-fer through their engagement. They sharetheir assets, skills, and talents workingcollectively for the common good.

Service is what institutions andprofessionals provide as a means ofaddressing the problems of an individualor community. Both care and service arerequired to build a healthier, safer, andmore prosperous community for all.

Tucson lleighborc Look Outfor SeniorcIn Tircson, Arizona, the Neighbor'sCare Alliance is an extremely successfulexample of using care to help turn thecurve. Using RBA, the quality-of-lifeindicator identified to be tracked overtime was the increase or decrease in thenumber of public skilled nursing homeadmissions as a percent of the totalsenior population in Tircson.

The goal of the Neighbor's Care Alli-ance is to help seniors living alone remainin their own homes longer, thereby avoid-ing higher service costs and potentialinstitutionalization. It is based on theconcept of neighbors caring for seniorsliving alone in their neighborhood.

PRO Neighborhoods, a partnershipbetween Tucson, Pirna County, Commu-nity Foundation, and United Way helpedlaulch and support this effort to trainneighborhood residents to:

Identify seniors living alone in theirneighborhood.Identify neighboring residents whohave a passion for caring for seniors.Ask these people to care for neighbor-hood seniors who live alone.

Through this process, residents inthe neighborhood provide care to seniorsIiving alone by checking on them daily,bringing an occasional meal, shoppingfor them or taking them shopping, takingthem to their doctor's appointments, ordoing minor repairs for them.

This simple act of caring does notrequire professional services; it is a

icma.orglpm

low-cost and potentially no-cost solutionthat enables seniors to live in their ownhomes longer ald to thrive.

Neighbors caring for one anotheralso stretches institutional resources byenabling agencies to focus their limitedresources on the critical services thatonly institutions can provide (i.e., medi-cally required services).

Without the care provided byneighbors, the potential exists thatseniors would not receive the care theyneed because of high-service costs, and,conversely, local institutions may not beable to provide needed services due toinadequate funding and lack of servicefees. In either event, seniors'quality oflife would be negatively impacted.

Role of local GovernmentsGovemments can achieve their long-termgoals by: 1) encouraging the work ofneighborhood grass-roots leaders; 2) sup-porting neighborhood organizing to unlockthe gifts ofresidents; and 3) collaborat-ing with local institutions to recognizeand more effectively use the power andresources of resident engagement.

To unlock the gifts in a neighbor-hood and encourage residents to sharetheir gifts, local governments shouldsupport the work of grass-roots leadersand organizers to mobilize the residentsof a neighborhood or community toshare their individual gifts through thethree acts of ABCD: discovering, asking,and connecting.

The role of neighborhood leaders andorganizers is to:

l. Discover the skills (gifts) of theindividuals who call a neighborhoodor community home.

2. Ask them to share their individualgifts.'

3. Encourage them to connect withother individuals who have the samepassions to work collectively for thecommon good.

To be effective in this effort, govem-ments and institutions must abide bythe beliefs that support effective resident

engagement and institutional action,which will ensure the successful achieve-ment of the governments' real long-termresults in their communities:

. Everyone has gifts.o Relationships build stronger

communities.o A citizen-centered organization is

the key to community engagement.r Every resident cares about something

and this passion is his or hermotivation to act.

o Listening discovers passions and gifts.

To be effective in today's world,institutional and government leadersmust recognize they need the resourcesof the community and its residents toachieve quality results.

Worthwhile lourneyThe combined use of RBA and ABCDhas the potential to assist large and smallcommunities achieve measurable results.RBA provides a simple understandableframework to identify quality-of{ifeconditions and their related indicators todrive collective action and the perfor-mance measures to track and improveindividual programs and strategies.ABCD unlocks the resources of individual residents in communities whileproviding direction for more effectiveinstitutional action.

If your community has begun thejoumey to align resources aroundspecific outcomes, you may want toexplore-as a growing number ofcommunities have--the power ofincreased community engagementthrough the combined application ofRBA and ABCD. These complementaryprocesses have the potential to unlock anabundance of resources to truly make adifference and change communityconditions for the better. p-Ul

H. DANIETS DUNCAN is a consultantand faculty member, Asset BasedCommunity Development lnstirure,Northwestern University, Chicago,lllinois (dan@hdanielsduncanconsult-

ing.org). Author retains article copyright.

NOVEMBER 2012 I PUBLIC MANAGEMENT 23