Sharing Strengths Society – Measuring
Community Capacity Resource Kit
With funding support from Health Canada’s Population Health Fund,
the Sharing Strengths Society and Horizons worked with five diverse community
groups in southwest Nova Scotia to develop a process for community groups
to define their own capacity, and assess whether it is increasing over
time. Measuring Community Capacity draws on the work of the Centre for
Disease Control and Prevention in the US, which convened a symposium in
1995 to develop consensus on integral dimensions of community capacity.
The heart of Measuring Community Capacity is a facilitated group-survey for collecting information about the various ways groups build, develop, and sustain their capacity to address community issues. The Resource Kit contains the supports necessary for facilitators to use the survey with their groups, and the supports to work with the information once it is gathered. The Resource Kit has six sections, with supports and tools for each section:
- Deciding to Use the Survey;
- Preparing to Use the Survey;
- Using the Survey;
- Analyzing the Group’s Responses;
- Moving Forward: Using the Information; and
- Feedback.
Measuring Community Capacity is a user-friendly tool for communities to assess their capacity over time. It is not an evaluation, a judgment, or a report card critiquing how community groups work. Rather, it is a tool to assist groups in self-reflection. It is completely up to each group to decide whether and how to use the tool, as well as whether and how to use the information that is gathered in the group’s responses.
For more information on Measuring Community Capacity, please see the Horizons Resource Page.
