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.