Asset-based places: A model for development – Key messages

Asset-based approaches can:

• enhance health, wellbeing and resilience
• reduce long-term pressures on higher-cost health, care and support services
• enable people to participate in and benefit from community resources and activities.

To develop an asset-based approach, areas could:

• reframe the narrative from needs to assets
• build a dynamic picture of personal and community assets
• connect people to each other and to wider community assets
• grow and mobilise community assets
• monitor impact and learn from evidence.

Local leaders within central and local government and the NHS, have a key role to play. Key areas include:

• Leadership to develop and implement the vision of asset-based approaches including representation from voluntary and community sector at strategic and governance levels.
• Co-production and partnerships to develop services, plans and strategies with local people.
• Training and development to enable frontline staff and residents to work together.
• Devolution of more power to neighbourhoods so that community groups can offer places to meet or provide community development support.
• Investment in the voluntary, community and social enterprise sectors.
• Inclusive commissioning that draws on the expertise of communities to prioritise outcomes that are important to them.
• Participatory budgeting to give local people a say on priority-setting and spending.