Every community and partnership will be different. However, we generally anticipate that learning and development programmes will be committed:
Nurture Development Associates, Sarah Frost and Jennine Bailey, deliver a story capturing session with Connectors at the Redwell Centre in Matson, part of our Gloucestershire Learning Site. Click on the image for more information.
1. To use an ABCD approach to release the inventiveness of communities to create stronger, safer, healthier, happier and more inclusive communities.
2. To reduce institutionalisation by increasing interdependency in community life.
3. To playfully integrate ABCD perspectives, methods and approaches into their day- to-day practice in a way that respects the realities of the local context.
To assist this process Nurture Development and partners have developed a number of practical supports, but our primary offer is to walk with and share in the journey with people through an extended training and mentoring support offer. This includes online and Peer-to-Peer support.
We use training and mentoring to transfer our practical know-how, and affirm existing practices that promote inclusive citizen-led action.
4. To build and strengthen connections between individuals and across associations and institutions.
5. To support local commissioners and partners to discover and enter into relationships with local residents that are prepared to work with Community Builders, and or who want to build community themselves.
Phase 1 – Building & maintaining consensus
Torbay Learning Site
We focus on supporting you in developing and strengthening relationships and building consensus amongst key partners. Some ways to achieve this include:
1. Individual & group Learning Conversations with key partners & local stakeholders to map out the most context relevant direction for the ABCD Learning & Development effort.
2. Support current leaders working directly in local neighbourhoods and any other constituencies where interest emerges.
3. Facilitate listening and learning spaces where people can speak openly about the dilemmas they encounter.
Phase 2 – Learning & Development
While throughout we focus on Asset-Based Community Development, it is nonetheless no more than a lens through which we can support citizens and practitioners to effect more community driven development and to validate and celebrate that which is already happening.
This includes rolling workshops/seminar series, one day events, more intense immersion training, development of resource materials and facilitated events; but more importantly, what we provide is intentional listening and support in taking conceptual ideas into applied contexts.
Phase 3 – Learning Site development
Wirral Learning Site
The nature of this kind of process is that there are no truly distinct phases. The work focuses on supporting you in the practical development of Learning Sites across communities and within neighbourhoods, and that work is emergent and iterative.
A Nurture Development supported Learning Site is a neighbourhood where local residents are energised by the idea of weaving their community together. It is a visible and intentional process of community building.
A Learning Site will involve someone or some group of people taking on a community building function and some local people prepared to direct the process and engage in the community building effort.
Learning Sites are neighbourhoods where intentional action is taken to develop citizen led approaches to building communities of hospitality. They also show that wellbeing is determined by how well strengths are expressed, not by how well needs are addressed.
Nurture Development will work with partners through training and mentoring to support them in:
· Identifying potential Neighbourhood Learning Sites
· Identifying local residents
· Working with partners and Stewardship Groups to recruit Community Builders
Phase 4 – Learning/evaluation & sustainability planning
We will work closely with partners at the outset of work together to support them in developing an Evaluation Strategy and Learning Framework that is genuinely participatory and inclusive of citizens.
We are also in a position to offer evaluation/ learning frameworks that run alongside our work, which emphasises citizen-led learning and evaluation.
How long does a Nurture Development ABCD Training & Development Process last?
On average Nurture Development learning and development programmes offer support to local Learning Sites over 2 to 3 years. Of course some areas may require a shorter or longer learning journey.
How does Nurture Development support these efforts?
Every learning and development effort will have a dedicated Nurture Development ABCD Guide (trainer and mentor) who will be drawn from our unique team of multi- disciplinary practitioners, and whom each also bring specific areas of experience and know-how in a wide range of fields.
These areas include health, social care, housing, inclusion, as well as most centrally ABCD Community Building. More information on our team.
ABCD Guides
Kirklees Learning Site
Some of what ABCD Guides do: Provide bespoke training and mentoring ranging from 12 to 24 days a year
- In essence the ABCD Guide is constantly asking: “what’s possible, and who cares?“.
- Support to Stewardship Groups, i.e. local residents who want to weave their community together.
- Support to Community Builders, on tools, techniques, etc, as required including the development of tools if not available.
- Support Connectors to develop asset mapping methodology and sharing of learning is a way that makes sense local and enables local people to shape the learning process.
- Dedicated ongoing mentoring and coaching alongside ad hoc mentoring and coaching as required (off site and onsite).
- Support to host organisations to explore how they can use their supportive functions, assets and resources to support and enable community building.
What ABCD Guides do NOT do
- Nurture Development ABCD Guides are not the Project Managers for these efforts but instead support the local residents, Community Builders and partner practitioners in supporting local invention to become more visible.
- ABCD Guides do not do the community building themselves but support partners to work through the process set out, provide training and mentoring support to local Community Builders, and work with local partners to ensure genuine community inclusion and the transfer of authority to citizens.
- ABCD Guides do not line manage Community Builders. This is the role of Stewardship Groups.
Face to Face Mentoring
As part of over our training offer we provide ongoing mentoring, which we wrap around our training inputs to ensure people receive individualised support when required.
Online Mentoring
To keep cost manageable and to create more an immediacy between ND Guides and practitioners we also provide online mentoring support.
We are aware that many places are very far down the road in terms of Asset-Based Community Development, and simply want a trustworthy; experienced sounding board. Online mentoring is ideal in this regard.
As well as direct contact time through training and mentoring we facilitate an online platform for open learning, including Peer-to-Peer; themed webinars, inter-country case studies, resource sharing, online courses and in 2016 we hope to introduce online course.
Our Learning Sites
