WORDS, WORDS, WORDS
what these words mean to us in the Community Capacity Building & Asset Mapping© Context

• Agency - usually serves and there are clients (consumers) and producers (providers).
• Alliance - groups getting together to do something - a new buzz word for partnership.
• Assets - are skills and abilities that are of value to one's self and others.
• Asset-based initiative - is an initiative which evolves from individual abilities and capacities and nurtures interdependence.
• Asset-based Community Building (ABCB) - This is the term we prefer but is used interchangeably with Asset-based Community Development (ABCD). ABCB is a community development approach where people from across a community come together to dream, plan and act, building from the discovery of their rich skills, abilities, gifts and interests they have found together. The success of ABCB is through the friendships and relationships that develop.
• Asset-based Community Development (ABCD) - There is an Asset-based Community Development Institute (McKnight and Kretzmann) at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. ABCD means gifts and capacities of the community.
• Asset Mapping - A visual representation of the resources, assets, and gifts discovered within a community of individual citizens, businesses, and associations through Asset-based Community Building. The map illustrates the existing connections or the potential connections between groups and/or individuals.
• Association - is not-for-profit organization that can be either government or non-government.
• Business - is a "for profit" organization
• Capacity - is the potential for sharing assets, gifts and talents. To reach capacity, citizens recognize and are willing to share gifts, assets, and talents. This word is becoming a buzz word!!
• Capacity Building - may only mean "adding on", not utilizing what a person already has in terms of gifts/assets and talents, so this is an add on, not a building on AND resourcing from the gifts, assets and talents that a person has. This term may be used in the Human Resource and management areas, when they market new courses within health and social reform context (buying into the lingo). Be careful!! often the individual can be stereotyped and existing gifts/assets and talents are not acknowledged.
• Civic Entrepreneur - "Civic entrepreneurs provide collaborative leadership to bridge the economy and the community. When others see problems and gridlock, civic entrepreneurs see opportunity and mobilize their communities on a path forward. When others practice antagonistic tactics and produce gridlock, civic entrepreneurs build consensus and move diverse communities ahead, patiently and without formal authority or position" (Henton, Melville and Wales, 1997, Grassroot Leaders for a new economy).
• Collaborate - Individuals or groups working together in an atmosphere of sharing to accomplish common goals.
• Collective action - means combining resources and working together toward the attainment of a common goal.
• Community - is whatever one wishes it to be - but it is always:
  - more than one person
  - sharing
  - commonalities
• There is a continuum between these three:
  - Community connections are natural partnerships or linkages that exist or have the potential to exist among individuals and groups and may result in...
  - Community animation is the development of spirit and enthusiasm within individuals and groups and may result in....
  - Community action is shown when initiates are driven by community citizens (outside of government and agencies), they are driven by individuals having common interests.
• Community Assessment - New terminology; may mean all inclusive information gathering and sharing about the community - needs, resources, gaps, etc.
• Community Based - A former centralized organization has split up/decentralized and now is set up and delivers services in the community.
• Community Building - when people from across a community come together to dream, plan and act building from the discovery of the rich skills, abilities, gifts and interests that they have found together in their community (ABCD is Community Building, Community Capacity Building and Asset Mapping© is Community Building).
• Community Capacity Building & Asset Mapping© - means action that recognizes the gifts/assets/talents of each person within a community. Discovering and sharing these gifts with each other and reaching full capacity together - limitless possibilities. Community Capacity Building & Asset Mapping© - means building and growing from within the community and from within an individual. Citizens and the community are recognized for their strengths and abilities and the community building is based on where they are and who they are with their unique skills, abilities and gifts!! The Steps to Capacity Success© are often used in whole or in part as a starting point.
• Community Centred - means created and driven by individual citizens and community groups within their living context:
  - developed and implemented by community citizens
  - community citizens are the drivers and the doers (community driven)
• Community Development (or Community Development Process) - can mean many things to many people and is always changing . It in compasses the many ways, models, and paths communities, cities, and services use to develop geographic communities or communities of interest.
• Community focused - means community groups and some individuals have had some input into the initiative. (It is developed with some community consultation - usually focus groups, but implemented by service providers as the drivers and doers.) The initiative may answer some of what the community wants - the community probably is not directly involved in development and implementation.
• Community Group - people together who live/work in the heart of the community making things happen. They are not there to consume - they are there to produce.
• Community guide or leading light - These are people who are natural connectors and have natural and informal connections in the neighbourhood or community. They are people who know what has happened in the past and what is happening in the present in the community. Usually they have lived in the area a long time and are very excited about their neighbourhood/community. Most often these people are not seen to be leaders by those outside the community/neighbourhood, but those on the inside always suggest that if you want to know anything about the community/neighbourhood - go see them!!
• Community Health - reflects the responsibility and capacity of a community to create, promote and protect health and to support those whose health is threatened.
• Community Health Development (CHD) - CHD and Community Development can be the same; however CHD is more health-centred and is the term used right now by Public Health Services - Capital Health Authority. The CD model used in some cases may not be Community Capacity Building & Asset Mapping© however, you have to see how things are done and by whom.
• Community Health Status - Burdine and Felix have done a lot of work in this area with the Medical Outcomes Trust and the Short Form 36 and Short Form 12. The health status approach is also used as a community animator. It looks at measuring the health status of a total population in specific subgroups, and determining factors producing health/ill-health and developing interventions to improve health and understand problems and solutions. This group does go into the community and has focus groups etc., and uses the SF (administered to individuals) to see the now picture and how the results compare to the norm. The community then looks at the major issues in relation to the norm. The initiatives that this group has lead have usually been with public health, (Healthcare Forum, 1995).
• Community Outreach - means recruiting for government programs - using "the community's trust and then abusing the trust by programs being developed without community as a meaningful partner." (Molly Cooley-Portland, Oregon)
• Community Profile - A snapshot view of a community which usually includes demographic information and a summary of observations made during a walkabout/driveabout.
• Dependent - This is one way. The capacities of one person are fed by the deficiencies of another. This one way never changes - one is dependent and the other always independent. Capacities and control are from one person not between two. There is one powerful person.
• "The Doer" - of any community initiative must be the community itself, not an outside group, organization or individual. (Although, there may be an outside facilitator).
• Empowerment - may mean different things to different people. There are two predominant thoughts:
  - believing it is in your power to pass power to others. It is false power, however, because it was not initiated from within the individuals. It can be taken as easily as it was given.
  OR (the definition we believe is correct)
  - recognition of the power already existing in others - nurturing another's ability into a state of sustainable "power".
• Facilitator - is a person (or group) who supports a group of people, not by leading, but by assisting them in discovering, developing and realizing their own direction, goals and outcomes.
• Gifts - are skills, abilities, qualities or interests that are perceived as unique or special by the individual and those with whom the gift/s is/are shared.
• Government Association - is an arm or department of the government, not in the business to make money.
• Health Promotion - is setting better health as a goal and managing the process of change toward the goals are crucial elements of health promotion. (How do we make the school/workplace/city a healthier place, in order to support X in practising healthier behaviour?)
• Individual Citizen Action - is action which is initiated and driven by individual citizens. This action may be accomplished with service providers as resources.
• Interdependent - this means two way sharing. There is give and take on both sides, the capacities of each are shared and people and groups are working together. The group requires each others capacities to be effective they are interdependent. There is an ebb and flow to the exchange. Everyone has something to contribute and their time for contribution will arise as they share with others. All have power.
• Needs Assessment - means asking "what do you need?" The needs assessment approach can be modified to ask "what are issues for you?" which at least allows some action because an issue opens the door for discussion about solutions. Needs assessment identifies needs and gaps and does not engage people in the process. It is a dead end street that perpetuates the medical service provider model unless the starting point has been focused on the assets of the community and the citizens.
• Needs based initiative - is an initiative that is developed from deficits and inabilities and creates dependencies.
• Non-Government Association - is any other association which is not under government but may receive government funding and is not in the business to make money (agency, community group).
• Non-Visible Association - is usually an informal group that may not have a space of their own to meet and therefore is not easily located either visually or through a directory (community group).
• Partnership - is two or more groups or individuals joined in a shared and mutually beneficial relationship, working toward a common goal.
• Potentiate - to make more effective and to make full use of what you have.
• Public Health - The art and science of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through organized community effort.
• R.A.F.F. - relationships, action, food and fun - four foundations for Asset-based Community Building
• Reciprocity - means there is an exchange/interchange - today I give to you and tomorrow you give to me.
• Resource and Information Gathering Study - is information gathering about the resources, skills, and assets in place in the community. This is information gathering only and does not nurture community connecting, animation or action. There is information gathering from sources such as directories, phone books, and a walkabout.
• Service providers - are individuals who provide professional expertise to others as part of their jobs.
• Steps to Capacity Success© - are the steps that we learned through practise in Asset-based Community Building and share as part of the Community Capacity Building and Asset Mapping© workshop. The steps that nurture the discovery of resources, assets, and skills existing within a community. The steps encourage connecting and linking between citizens, between organizations and between citizens and organizations, to develop an animated and active community where community driven planning can take place. The steps suggest that the people talk to businesses, associations and individuals to gather information about their assets/skills/abilities and their interest in sharing these with the community and that friendships are nurtured. A written account/story and a newly created asset map are usually included in the steps.
• Talents - are skills or abilities that people are comfortable sharing.
• Visible Association - is usually a formal group that is easily located by walking around the neighbourhood or looking in directories.
• Walkabout/driveabout - Driving or walking around a neighbourhood observing things and uniqueness in the neighbourhood. These observations could range from the businesses and associations seen, playgrounds, security systems, lawn maintenance, house appearance, numbers of single family dwelling versus multiple dwellings, Neighbourhood Watch and Block Parents etc.