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Connecting Communities in Asset-based Community Recovery

Bob Bertsch Bob BertschAlumni Network
 

In the spring of 2021, Jessica Beckendorf (UW-Madison Extension), Brigitte Scott (OneOp) and I facilitated a series of workshops designed to surface the community-building opportunities that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The workshops were part of our work as the OneOp Network Literacy team. We brought together professionals serving communities and military families. Our conversations were guided by four questions selected from or inspired by the many powerful questions included in the Asset-based Community Recovery (ABCR) Framework developed by Jonathan Massimi and Heather Keam.

  • Do you have a story that comes out of this experience that inspires hope?
  • Which unknown assets have come to light?
  • What has happened that you don’t want to lose?
  • What did you need or wish for during the pandemic that your community can now provide?

The stories of community recovery were shared in the workshops were beautifully captured by graphic recorder Sherrill Knezel of Meaningful Marks.

A graphic created by graphic recorder by Sherrill Knezel capturing some of the examples of “Community coming together/supporting each other” that were shared in a series of Connecting Communities workshops.
A graphic created by graphic recorder by Sherrill Knezel capturing some of the examples of “Community coming together/supporting each other” that were shared in a series of Connecting Communities workshops.


Eight distinct themes emerged from our analysis of the stories shared in the Asset-based Community Recovery Workshops.

  • Ground yourself in your strengths and values.
  • Make deep connections.
  • Adapt, flex, and be resilient.
  • Apply technology to community, and community to technology.
  • Invest time in leisure, in learning, and in yourself.
  • Share the work (and love).
  • Watch for opportunities to think big.
  • Come back better.

We explore those eight themes, and offer some action steps and additional resources for each theme in the Connection Communities in Asset-based Community Recovery Guide. This free guide also features more of Sherrill's  graphic recordings. You can download the complete 44-page guide at https://oneop.org/network-literacy/connecting-communities-in-asset-based-community-recovery/.

We have also created a short booklet keenly focused on the actions you can take to start building the community connections necessary for community recovery.  You can get your free copy of 8 Ways to Cultivate Community in Times of Change at https://oneop.aweb.page/practi...onnection-newsletter.

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About the Extension Foundation

The Extension Foundation was formed in 2006 by Extension Directors and Administrators. Today, the Foundation partners with Cooperative Extension through liaison roles and a formal plan of work with the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP) to increase system capacity while providing programmatic services, and helping Extension programs scale and investigate new methods and models for implementing programs. The Foundation provides professional development to Cooperative Extension professionals and offers exclusive services to its members. In 2020 and 2021, the Extension Foundation has awarded 85% of its direct funding back to the Cooperative Extension System, 100% of funds are used to support Cooperative Extension initiatives. 

This technology is supported in part by New Technologies for Ag Extension (funding opportunity no. USDA-NIFA-OP-010186), grant no. 2023-41595-41325 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or the Extension Foundation. For more information, please visit extension.org. You can view the terms of useat extension.org/terms.

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