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John McKnight has conducted research for over four decades on social service delivery systems, health policy, community organizations, neighborhood policy, and institutional racism. After almost 20 years of working in and with neighborhoods in Chicago, McKnight returned to his Alma Mater, Northwestern University, to join the “academics” - as he puts it - and give a practitioner’s angle to their research. From his continued work and interest in local communities and neighborhoods, the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) Institute was born.

 

Celebrating, connecting, and building on valuable qualities from within – that’s really what Asset- based Community Development is all about. Instead of looking from the outside and seeing what’s wrong with a community (or lack of partnership) and trying to “fix” it, John McKnight and the ABCD Institute suggest identifying and encouraging each community members’ skills and interests (assets) in order to enhance the community (or partnership).

 

John’s relaxed delivery will reassure you that if you approach individuals in your community the right way, creating and maintaining partnerships is not only possible, but also enjoyable! His tried-and-true approach to community building may shift your perspective and give you another tool to help build partnerships that are in our lakes’ best interest.

 

Visit The Asset-Based Community Development Institute's web site:  http://www.abcdinstitute.org/

 

You may be interested in some of John McKnight's written works:

 

 

 

  

 

The Careless Society: Community And Its Counterfeits (1995)                   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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