Skip to content

Asset-Based Community Development Applications

EPAR RESEARCH BRIEF #143

Mon, 04/18/2011

AUTHORS: Jacob Lipson, C. Leigh Anderson

ABSTRACT: 

Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) is a development framework which focuses on the capacities, skills and social resources of people and their communities, rather than initially focusing on the needs, deficiencies, constraints and problems of a community.1 This document contains three sections. The first section summarizes several papers which either (1) apply ABCD or similar asset-focused development frameworks in a rural/agricultural context and to development in Sub-Saharan Africa, or (2) provide general guidance on the implementation of ABCD approaches to development. The second section provides more detail on how Oxfam and the Coady International Institute have applied ABCD in Ethiopian communities.
Finally, in order to provide an example of how ABCD might be applied to a Foundation project, the third section briefly notes how an ABCD strategy might differ from the Foundation’s proposed constraints-based Bihar strategy.

TYPE OF RESEARCH: Literature Review

RESEARCH TOPIC CATEGORY: Development Finance & Policy; Aid & Other Development Finance

GEOGRAPHIC FOCUS: Sub-Saharan Africa

Downloadable Documents

Literature Review