The principles and actions that underpin our asset-based community development and participatory leadership engagement and development work
Community engagement: discovering purpose
Embrace broad inclusion & diversity
- Invite a myriad of community voices into early discussions
Use clear language
- Speak your truth, even if your voice trembles
Intrinsically believe that everyone has something to offer
- Discover the strengths, passions and assets of individuals
Go slow, to go fast
- Take the time to have conversations; small is the new big
Community development: intentionally co-creating purpose
Build capacity transparently & effectively
- Openly share professional knowledge and skills for the long term
Build and honour authentic partnerships and relationships
- Leave competition and ego at the door in pursuing the common good
Leave the building
- People are place-based, go there
Look for what’s strong, not what’s wrong
- Identify community strengths and assets instead of needs and deficits
Participatory community building: aligning and mobilising purpose
Lead by stepping back
- Dance with the ebb and flow of a community
Be purpose-driven and say no to easy fixes/money
- Develop an allergy to drive-by community engagement
Encourage ownership and high participation
- Discover what people care about, enough to act on
Do no harm, above all else
- Be mindful of the impact of the work on people’s everyday lives
