Listen and Learn II - July 1998

Summary
Listen and Learn II is reflective research in asset-based community building that is a follow-up to "From model to reality - Community Capacity Building and Asset Mapping©, Listen and learn... the answers are with communities." Breaking out of the traditional research mold, Listen and Learn II has been planned, developed, and implemented by six industrious community builders - the 'Do-ers' over a period of six months in 1998.

Listen and Learn II has been an incredible learning experience for everyone involved. The results highlight the key elements essential to asset-based community building. Talking and reflecting together has helped to distill and illuminate the elements that make community building initiatives successful.

The 'do-er' group met regularly over a period of two months to plan the research, and they designed a unique method that was open to participation at any stage, encouraged the exchange and flow of information and learning between communities, and fostered continued growth through reflection.

Nine Key Questions emerged and were used to guide the development of the questionnaire, including:

1. What are you doing?
2. How and where did the initiative start?
3. How did you find the community assets and mobilize them? Be specific.
4. What were the challenges of Community Building?
5. What determined sustainability?
6. Was there a role for a Community Builder?
7. Was there funding?
8. How has it evolved?
9. How did you define success?

Eight groups were interviewed, including Beverly Towne, Celebrate Parkallen, Grandin Community Group, Jasper Place Gateway Foundation, Mapping Inglewood Assets, Norwood Community Action Project, Queen Alexandra Community Knowledge and Skill Sharing, and Swan Hills Rolling Thunder.

The data was interpreted in three phases. The first interpretation took place on May 1 and 2, 1998, in Swan Hills, Alberta, during Community Building Gathering II. A second interpretation was undertaken by the doer group following the Swan Hills gathering. The doers used the whole data set to answer five of the nine Key Questions, including questions 3, 4, 5, 6, 9.

As a third stage of interpretation, the results of each 'do-er's' interpretation were shared and discussed with the doer group as a whole, and the doer interpretations were compared to the Swan Hills interpretations. Also, a brief retrospective interpretation was completed to augment Key Question 4.

Four main conclusions can be drawn from this reflection:

1. Three key underpinnings for asset-based community building emerged in this reflection and affirm the findings of Listen and Learn I. They include engaging others, relationship building, and action. Engaging others and relationship building both arose as essential elements for discovering and mobilizing community gifts, and were also seen as important determinants for the sustainability and success of the community building initiative. These two underpinnings also assisted the groups in moving to action, the third key underpinning. All of the groups who participated in this reflection planned and accomplished community actions or events. These actions were seen as important determinants of sustainability and success.
2. The interviews and the interpretations clearly indicate that the optimal group structure in community building is one which fosters an environment where the three key underpinnings, engaging others, relationship building, and action, can happen. This structure provides social opportunities for the development of friendships, and ensures that the group has action and accomplishments.
3. The results of Listen and Learn II clearly affirm the elements of R.A.F.F. (Relationships, Action, Food and Fun) that emerged from Listen and Learn I and the Community Building Gathering in November 1997.
4. The Listen and Learn II method nurtured Community Building. The interviews helped the community groups see their accomplishments, feel good about what they had done, and for some groups, renewed their energy. Those who interviewed another group were able to glean information for their own group through the exchange of ideas.

For copies of Listen and Learn II in its entirety, please contact us.

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