The Latest

Contribute. We love to hear your thoughts, your musings and your latest work. Please share with us!
Write a post

Three Benefits of Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) for Communities (and Governments)

Posted by Scott MacAfee on May 24, 2023

In this article, Scott MacAfee discusses harnessing the Power of ABCD: Building communities, strengthening democracy, and empowering change. Discover how Asset Based Community Development transforms lives. To learn more, join Tamarack's ABCD event: When Community and Municipalities Meet in the Middle. 

 

Read More

The Power of Connection and Collaboration: Reflections from Celebrating Neighbours – Measuring the Impact of ABCD

Posted by Connor Judge on July 20, 2022

Last month, the Deepening Community team hosted Tamarack's first in-person event in over two years. This blog post is a reflection of the most significant learning I took away from the event. 

Read More

The Gifts of Strangers: Understanding the Benefits of Diversity

Posted by John McKnight on July 20, 2022

One argument for diversity is that it ensures participation and creates the power of being heard. It is expressed by the popular maxim, “Nothing about us without us.” Implicit in this idea is the concept that those outside must come inside in order to ensure that their self-interest is served.

Read More

How my service club can put youth at the center of our work

Posted by Penny Collins on January 4, 2021

As a long-time volunteer with my local Optimist Club, I have been trying to find out how we can shift the way we include more voices in deciding our programing. On Dec 3rd 2020, I attended a workshop that was hosted by the Cities Deepening Community team at Tamarack Institute called A Professional’s Guide to Working with Young People in Citizen Space. This workshop was facilitated by Cormac Russell and used Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) as a way to put youth at the centre of our work. I went to this workshop with the perspective of an elected President of our local Optimist Club. We work closely with youth in our community and try to build events and donate to existing sports/service clubs that are for the youth in Baden.

Read More

Making the Shift to Citizen-centered Community Development Approaches

Posted by Rebecca Byers on January 4, 2021

On December 2nd, Cormac Russell returned to Tamarack to lead an interactive online learning experience that explored how professionals and organizations can work in citizen space. A familiar voice around Tamarack, Cormac is Managing Director of Nurture Development, a faculty member of the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) Institute and an internationally-renowned thought leader, trainer and speaker. The Asset-Based Community Development Virtual Workshop led participants through a journey to reflect upon and discover ways we can shift to citizen-centred community development approaches from top-down institution-centered ones.

Read More

It takes a mindshift to put citizens at the center of your work

Posted by Heather Keam on November 12, 2020

Have you ever thought about whose role is it to build community? Whose role is it to fix the problems? Is it government, maybe social service programs? Is it groups and associations? Sometimes, I think that communities are looking for a superhero to swoop in and fix all their problems. But this superhero does not exist. What we need is a group of superheroes such as Marvel's Avengers, with each hero bringing their own gift and knowledge, and when its used as a group big changes can happen.

Read More