Between January and May 2022, The ABCD Institute will host a series of virtual story sharing sessions on "ABCD in Higher Education." The series will showcase examples of how faculty, staff, and students at universities and colleges are intentionally doing - or trying to do - their work using an asset- or strengths-based approach, within their institutions or in their work with community partners.

Stories might include programs, initiatives, or short-term projects that illuminate successes and challenges. This is not limited to best practices and could include efforts that have been difficult or even, in the end, failed.

Stories - along with associated tools and resources - will then be compiled and shared through an ABCD Institute publication, edited by the ABCD in Higher Education Work Group. All story tellers and session participants will be invited to join the work group moving forward.

Call for Submissions for February through May
We invite faculty, staff, and students to submit stories for consideration - stories that you are particularly proud of or that you are trying to work through. Each story session will feature one or two stories and will last between one and two hours. Sessions will be facilitated by a member of the ABCD in Higher Education Work Group and will be recorded, if story tellers agree, so that links can be included in the publication.
These story presentations do not need to take the form of a traditional powerpoint. They can take the form of an interview, two or more of you can work together to form a panel. We can also pair you with an ABCD facilitator to work with you to aid you in telling your story. There is a place on the application form to indicate this.

DEADLINE for SUBMISSION: January 24, 2022

Accepted applicants will be notified by February 1, 2022.

The story series will be held via Zoom at 11:00 CST on the third Tuesday of each month through May 2022.

About the Asset-Based Community Development Institute
The ABCD Institute is a nonprofit organization located in Chicago at DePaul University’s Irwin W. Steans Center. The Institute's origins go back to the early 1990’s when John McKnight and Jody Kretzmann published their best selling community development book, Building Communities from the Inside Out: A Path Towards Finding and Mobilizing a Community's Assets. Their original research at Northwestern University in Evanston Illinois began a global movement to shift  the lens through which communities were often viewed - from broken places to places of possibility. The stories of local change they discovered was happening under the radar and their analysis of how it was happening changed the understanding of community building. The ABCD Institute is at the center of a large and growing movement that considers local assets as the primary building blocks of sustainable community development. Building on the skills of local residents, the power of local associations, and the supportive functions of local institutions, asset-based community development draws upon existing community strengths to build stronger, more sustainable communities for the future.

The ABCD Higher Ed working group is a work group of the ABCD Institute that focuses on promoting the use of ABCD principles within the context of higher education with particular emphasis on how universities can be assets to their local communities.

If you need help or assistance with this google form, please contact Kim Hopes at khopes@depaul.edu