Is the tide with you or against you? Picking your time in Asset Based Community Development

Ask any sailor and they’ll tell you that the state of the tide is very important.  Pick the right moment to set out, and the tide will help you along the way. Pick the wrong moment, and everything gets much harder.  This is not a matter of setting out or not, it’s just that it’s much easier at certain times than others.

I think that the same applies to our work as micro-local community builders with Village In The City.  It’s not just a matter of having good ideas and the Skills to connect with people and make things happen. There are clearly times which are more (or less) opportune to get something going.

We discussed this at the February 2022 Village Builders call on Village In The City.  People from Austria, Bulgaria, Portugal and the UK came together online for our monthly learn, share and support session.  This topic was on the agenda (which we put together at the start of the call so everyone has the opportunity to bring a topic), and it led to a lively discussion.  Everyone thought that timing was a factor, and we shared things which might be signs that the tide is favourable or not for community building work.

Times in the year

The seasons of the year bring natural opportunities.  Here in Scotland, it’s no use trying to get people’s attention around Christmas with something new – they are all thoroughly taken up with family and other events.  (Of course, you can use Christmas time as a good reason to have a community event/get-together – but you have to organise it well in advance!) Where I am in  Edinburgh, August brings the Edinburgh Festival, the world’s biggest arts festival.  Our neighbours are either spoilt for choice about things to do, or have left town for the month to avoid the rush. Not a great time to be proposing new initiatives.

Academic timetables

One participant was a TEDx organiser who said that the academic year had a similar pull/push factor.  A lot of his volunteers were students, and so doing things within term time (and avoiding exam periods) was important.

National days and festivals

This is another factor which can work in both directions. National days and other holidays can be a good reason to get together – or they can take up peoples’ attention with other things.  Again, probably best to get things moving well before hand.

Crises and emergencies

We have all just seen how the COVID pandemic has brought about changes in the ways we interact in our neighbourhoods.  There can be other emergencies too – a flood, loss of electric power, catastrophic storm damage – any of which can be a good spark for community action.  Rallying round our neighbours in a crisis is an excellent way to make progress, and it needs to happen quickly. Or maybe if there’s an emergency somewhere else, you can rally your community to go and support (like this Sikh community from the Midlands went to the South West of England to help following huge floods in 2014).

Generational factors

Different age groups can be engaged and energised at different times.  School students may be more open to things when they are on holiday.  New parents can be in need of support and connection when their babies are on the way.  Older people may want to come together to remember events from the past.  And of course there can be cross-overs between these things (like the partnerships between Care homes and nursery schools) which seem to benefit everyone.

One of our members related this idea of timing to farming. “There are times to plant, and times to let the land lie fallow.” Another related it to the 16^th century Protestant reformer Martin Luther, who said “where your attention is, there is your strength”.

What do you see as good (or bad) signs that the time is right to get new things going in your community?  Please comment below!

Village In The City offers a free online community on the Mighty Networks platform, open to all who or engaged or interested to create better micro-local community in your own area. It’s free, we hold events and calls, there are short courses, and it’s a great way to be part of a bigger group of skilled and enthusiastic Village-Builders all over the world. Please join us now.