Collaboration
Explore the possibility of linking and working in some way with other organisations in your community – not necessarily those within the arts sector.
There may be scope for those with established infrastructure to provide access to facilities or value add in some way in terms of service delivery by sharing facilities, staff, ideas, information.
Consider all the assets in your community: the service clubs, environmental groups, health groups, the open spaces and public buildings.
Look across the region and think about how you can network beyond the familiar boundaries of your local community.
This asset-based thinking is a positive process which can greatly assist your organisation. See the work of the Asset-Based Community Development Institute: http://www.abcdinstitute.org/
The Asset-Based Community Development Institute (ABCD), established in 1995 by the Community Development Program at Northwestern University's Institute for Policy Research, is built upon three decades of community development research by John Kretzmann and John L. McKnight.
The ABCD Institute spreads its findings on capacity-building community development in two ways: (1) through extensive and substantial interactions with community builders, and (2) by producing practical resources and tools for community builders to identify, nurture, and mobilize neighbourhood assets.
For further tips on these topics, refer to Help Sheets on www.ourcommunity.com.au