Asset Based Approaches ― Their Rise, Role and Reality

While this study pays special attention to Scotland, information comes from research around the UK. The study looks at asset-based approaches from the perspectives of public health, community development, and social services, drawing on the authors’ own interviews and surveys of practitioners, as well as analysis of existing case studies. The rationale and empirical evidence for asset-based approaches are reviewed, and the place of asset-based approaches in political and economic contexts is explored. Examples are given of asset-based approaches at the individual, group, community, and population levels. Types of evidence and measurements used in asset-based approaches are explained, and related workforce issues are also discussed. The book’s audience includes policy makers, practitioners, and researchers in public services. Distributed in the US by ISBS. Annotation ©2016 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)

Fiona Garven is Director of the Scottish Community Development Centre (SCDC), which incorporates the Community Health Exchange (CHEX) and the Scottish Co-Production Network (SCN). She is the Chair of Community Development AllianceScotland (CDAS), a trustee of Irvine Housing Association and a non-executive director of North Ayrshire Women’s Aid. Fiona has specialist expertise in community development. Her main areas of focus are community engagement, building community capacity and community-led approaches to health. She has a background in community learning and development (CLD) and has many years’ experience of implementing community development approaches across several sectors. Fiona’s current work includes action research into asset-based approaches, support for community-led regeneration, democratic renewal and policy advice on community development approaches to public service reform. Her main interest lies in evidencing and profiling the benefits of community development methodology in order to create strong, healthy and equal communities.Dr Jennifer McLean is a public health programme manager at the Glasgow Centre for Population Health (GCPH), where she coleads a research programme exploring asset-based approaches andresilience for public health, with strong interest in the theory and evidence base underpinning the approach and asset-based working in community and healthcare settings. Jennifer is also the leadmanager for the pSoBid study, which explores the social, biological and psychological determinants of ill health in Glasgow, and also contributes to GoWell, a study of housing, health and regeneration in the city. Prior to taking up this post Jennifer worked at NHS Health Scotland in a national research management role and with NHS Ayrshire and Arran as a public health research officer followingthe completion of her academic career. She is also an honorary lecturer at the University of Glasgow.Lisa Pattoni is the Head of Innovation and Improvement at IRISS (Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Services). She has a wide range of interests around collaborative and co-produced methods of working and at IRISS her work involves supporting people to learn and reflect together, take risks and improve outcomes through the adoption or adaptation of new approaches. Lisa also currently serves on the Children’s Panel, which is a role she finds challenging and rewarding in equal measure. Her work often crosses the boundaries between academia, policy and practice, and prior to working at IRISS Lisa held and enjoyed roles in or influencing all these areas, mainly from within the not-for-profit sector. Communicating and interpreting ideas, policy and research have always been at the heart of her work.