What does Asset Mapping mean, then?

Asset Mapping is a technique used in Person-Centred Planning to identify the things in a person’s life that support their health and wellbeing. The asset-based approach looks at things that support you to stay well; whereas the deficit-based approach looks at how to help you recover when you are unwell.

Individuals can have a personal asset map that has all the ‘good stuff’ in their life mapped out, to remind them where all the positive resources are, and to help them plan their activities. Creating this asset map is usually a collaborative process, involving a range of people involved in the individual’s life.

However, there is nothing to stop that individual from sharing their assets with other people, and there is nothing to stop a whole community sharing the positive assets in their lives with each other. That is what we intend this website to achieve.

What constitutes a Community Asset?

The working definition of a community asset is subject to change, but it is a place, an organisation, or a group of people that has a primary function that supports health and wellbeing, and that is open to others in the community of East Dunbartonshire.

Defined further by the ED Asset Map Steering Group, it can also be considered as any “non-commercial resource/organisation/place which supports physical and mental health and wellbeing within East Dunbartonshire. If it promotes wellbeing and helps people build confidence, it is an asset to the people living and working in East Dunbartonshire”.

However, this is not an advertising website, and we are not here to promote commercial businesses. Whilst some assets will have a charge, we have to balance the health and wellbeing value of a community asset against the profit motive of the operator.

A yoga class in a church hall or a community centre would be a community asset. A commercial yoga studio would not. A cafรฉ in a community centre would be an asset, a cafรฉ in the high street would not.

What is NOT a Community Asset?

For the purposes of this website, most commercial businesses are not counted as community assets. There are other methods of advertising and promoting your business, and we wish you well in that. Unless your business is primarily going out into the community and promoting health and wellbeing, this website is probably not a means to publicise it.

I searched for something in Milngavie, why did you show me results in Kirkintilloch?

You should search for services where you are, and the website will show you what is available in your area.

Some services cover all of East Dunbartonshire. If you are searching for Social Work in Milngavie, you will see the Social Work offices in Kirkintilloch. If you are looking for Carers Support in Bishopbriggs, you will see Carers Link in Milngavie. The map will show you what is relevant to where you are.

Other services are distributed across the area. If you search for a library in your area, you might see the closest library to you, or you might see the nearest two or three libraries if there is not one local to you.

What do you mean by 'Demographic'?

This term has always been am issue, none of the team like it, but it is a necessary categorisation. Mobody likes to be put into a box, but sometimes you need to squeeze yourself into one to find the services and support you need.

Some people will come to the Asset Map looking for resources because they have a disability or a long-term condition, or because they are LGBT, or because they are a carer. The ‘Demographic’ filter helps them to cut through to what they want to find quickly.

The team remains open to suggestions for a better word, if you have any?

I submitted a Community Asset, but it does not appear on the map?

When you submit a Community Asset, you should receive an email confirming that it has been submitted.

Your asset is held in the moderation queue until one of the Admins can check the information contained in it is accurate, that it fits our definition of a Community Asset, and to check for and remove any personal data contained in it.

Once the Community Asset has been moderated or edited, we will publish it on the map.

I submitted a Community Asset, but it no longer appears as mine in my account?

The Asset Map team has a system in place to check all the Community Assets periodically, and the best way to organise that is to have each asset assigned to one of our regular contributors.

That means that they no longer appear in your account, they appear in someone else’s account, but this means that your contribution to the map will be checked regularly and updated.

How do I give you contact details for my support group / organisation / activity?

We are happy to publish contact details for a group, but we would prefer not to publish contact details for an individual.

If your contact email address is support.group@example.com, we are happy to publish that because it does not contain your personal information.

If your contact email address is jane.smith@example.com, we would prefer not to publish that, because it is a personal email address, it contains personal information, and that is treated very differently in data protection legislation.

Similarly, if you have a business phone number, or even a dedicated mobile phone (a ‘Pay As You Go’ SIM card in an old handset that you keeep switched off, but it receives voicemails), we are happy to publish that.

We would prefer not to publish home phone numbers or personal mobile numbers as part of a community asset. In the event that that is the only way we can include you in the Asset Map, the Admin team will contact you directly to negotiate the best way to do this.