Communities don’t become stronger simply because they receive more resources. They become stronger when they have greater power to shape how those resources are created, shared and used.

One of the themes that emerged from the discussion on my last post was the relationship between Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD), community organising and economic development.

Some people seem to see these as separate approaches. I’ve never experienced them that way.

John McKnight and Jody Kretzmann, who co-founded ABCD, deeply influenced generations of community organisers. They understood that communities need more than services and programs. They need relationships, local leadership, collective action, economic opportunity and the ability to shape their own future.

For example:

• Community organising helps people build collective voice and influence.
• Economic development helps create opportunities and resources that support community wellbeing.
• ABCD helps communities recognise and mobilise the gifts, strengths, relationships and assets that already exist.

For me, these approaches are not competing agendas, they are different pathways toward the same goal: communities having greater agency over the decisions and conditions that affect their lives.

I’ve seen communities with significant investment but little local ownership and I’ve seen communities with strong local leadership but limited economic opportunities.

And I’ve seen communities achieve extraordinary outcomes when relationships, organising, participation and economic opportunity come together.

The question isn’t whether community organising, economic development or ABCD is most important but how we bring them together in ways that strengthen both community life and community power.

So, I ask, what have you seen work in your own community?

The Community Power Framework

The framework is not intended to suggest that community development, community organising and economic development are separate activities. In practice, they often overlap. The purpose of the model is to illustrate the distinct contributions each can make, and to highlight that lasting community power emerges when relationships, collective action and economic opportunity are intentionally connected.