WHAT ARE COMMUNITY ASSETS?
Community assets are things that improve the community. These include items that community members want to keep, build upon and sustain for future generations. Assets can be a tangible aspect, such as a historic building, or assets can be intangible, such as community values or volunteer efforts. Identifying a snapshot of assets helps us to:
- Easily envision our strengths and possible gaps we can work on as a community.
- Continue discussions of possible actions and initiatives.
- Think about and promote the community.
ASSET CATEGORIES
- Values
- People
- Places
- Play
- Groups
- Economics
ASSET MAPPING PROCESS
Step 1: Community Workshop
- A meeting is scheduled with local community leaders.
- Each of the attending participants is asked to record what they feel are assets for each of the six categories on the bubble maps.
- Afterward, a discussion of what was recorded takes place.
Step 2: Online Community Asset Survey
- Bubble maps for each asset category are developed based on participant data from workshops.
- Community members and Extensionadvertise the online survey to encourage broader community participation.
- A paper hard copy (PDF version of the survey) is provided for those without online access to the survey.
Step 3: Data Analysis of Assets
- Survey data is analyzed for each asset category, including both existing and desired assets.
- Themes are developed for each of the asset categories based on data provided by participants, hence reducing each individual response and placing responses into themes.
- Assets are discussed and summarized in the NEAP Report.
For the complete report with explanations of values, people, places, play, groups and economics, use the link below to download the PDF version.
