Building Community Assets to Support Positive Change
Capable Communities is a website created by MSU’s Office of University Outreach & Engagement. The name of this website, “Capable Communities,” is inspired by our vision of what a vibrant and strong community should be.

A capable community applies the strengths (assets) of its members to improve the overall wellbeing of the community. It mobilizes community members and groups to begin an informed and purposeful journey from at-risk, to safe, and ultimately to thriving.
At University Outreach & Engagement (UO&E), we offer practical support to local groups and organizations who are working to improve their own communities and the lives of their residents. These partnerships are based on a model, the Outcome-Asset Impact Model (O-AIM), developed by the work of Brown and Reed and elaborated by UO&E, to increase local capacity for building positive change.
This website is designed to improve the ability of anyone working to achieve healthy, fundamental, and sustainable change for individuals, families, groups, neighborhoods, and communities.
This website will help you:
Take a look at some examples of where O-AIM, or aspects of the model, has been implemented.
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- Understand how focusing on measurable outcomes at the onset is integral to the change process
- Become familiar with the benefits of an asset orientation over the traditional deficit approach
- Develop a basic understanding of how to link outcomes with assets to implement University Outreach’s Outcome-Asset Impact Model
- See how our model can be implemented by looking at actual examples
- Recognize how the research has been implemented by examining actual examples
- Consider ways you can begin to apply O-AIM to your circumstances
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