What is asset mapping and why is it time to rethink it?
In the opening episode, host Dr. Katie Blair is joined by Professor Amanda Howard to explore the origins of asset mapping and the ideas that shaped the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) movement.
Amanda traces the history of ABCD back to the pioneering work of John McKnight and John Kretzmann, who challenged the dominant deficit-based approach to community development by arguing that every community already possesses the knowledge, relationships, skills and resources needed to create change. Amanda explores how this simple shift - from asking "What's wrong?" to "What's strong?" - fundamentally changed the way many practitioners think about community development.
The conversation also examines how asset mapping has evolved over the past three decades. While the approach has become widely used across community development, health, planning and research, its original intent has often been diluted. Rather than empowering communities to identify and mobilise their own strengths, asset mapping can become a technical exercise focused on collecting data instead of building relationships, participation and community-led action.
This episode sets the foundation for the series by asking an important question: How can we return to the original intent of asset mapping while reimagining it for today's communities?
Whether you're working in community development, research, local government, health, education or social impact, this episode offers a fresh perspective on what it means to begin with strengths - and why that shift still matters.
Voices
Katie Blair, PhD is Manager, Research and Evaluation at the Centre for Social Justice and Inclusion at the University of Technology Sydney. Her work focuses on community-engaged research, participatory evaluation and strengthening community voice to support meaningful social change.
Professor Amanda Howard is Professor of Social Work at the University of Sydney. Amanda's research focuses on community development, community-led change and participatory practice. She has extensive experience working alongside communities to understand how local knowledge, relationships and collective strengths can be mobilised to create lasting social change.
Credits
Written by Mitra Gusheh, Tshinta Morris, Anusha Muller and Katie Blair. Recorded and edited by Jane Curtis and Lachlan A'Court. Executive producer: Sarah Gilbert. Mapping What Matters is made by UTS Impact Studios, in collaboration with the UTS Centre for Social Justice and Inclusion and Glebe Youth Service. This project was also supported by the Paul Ramsey Foundation.Mapping What Matters is made by UTS Impact Studios, in collaboration with the UTS Centre for Social Justice and Inclusion and Glebe Youth Service. This project was also supported by the Paul Ramsey Foundation
