Group Capacity Building

The Basic Issue

One of the best tools I have found for group capacity building is the "Gifts Model". This model is one which outlines seven gifts or characteristics which we all have but are generally stronger in one or two and not so strong in the rest. We tend to know each other by which gift we are strongest in. The seven gifts (under approximately these names, depending who is presenting the system) are as follows. The key characteristics listed are listed as though that was the only gift that the person is strong in, but it is often a blend of one or two:

• Perceiverwho sees clearly, operates in black and white, can be quite judgmental and blunt.
• Teacher-Reseacherwho is into reading and ideas, teaches sequentially, is sometimes arrogant on bad days.
• Encouragerwho is into hope and how to, priorizes and applies in both encouraging and training, is quite yappy on bad days
• Giver-Financierwho handles money and resources well, quite cool, very generous , gives with strings attached on bad days
• Serverwho gets things done, prefers constant situation, high attention to detail, and is resistant to change on bad days
• Administratorwho loves to lead and organize, prefers hierarchical structures, needs goals, and is hard on people on bad days
• Compassion Personwho is into feelings , arts and caring, hates hostility, very easily hurt and blames self on bad days.

In the dozen or so years I have used this system with groups and individuals, I have noticed that the way people learn, and organize themselves, the things they prefer to do and how they do their lives, is tied in with their gifts.

When I am working with a group, I give the opportunity for people to self-identify what their top and bottom gifts are and then talk about it. I find that as people come to accept their strong gifts, they relax about having to be good in everything. They then are much more open to the gifts that others bring to the table. In one situation, I was leading a group who all had very similar gifts and that set was very different from myself. I was able to say, that I wasn't asking them to become like me or vice versa. I was bringing to their group a missing ingredient, and invited them to look around their town for people of other complimentary gifts to balance their own.

If any one of the gifts are missing the community or group will not work. One of the greatest and simplest capacity-building techniques for groups is to balance out their group and let life start to work.

This individual approach works on the assumption that people need to grow up into institutional life or organizational life, and when interaction is based on a clear set of life strengths (or at least an opening set), then a more realistic and hopeful context can be built for ongoing group life and work. I find that in North American Society, there is a tendency to hear "homogeneous" rather than "heterogeneous " when we speak of group, community or body life. Starting with gifts enables one to get around this cultural set of blinkers and hear the possibility of interdependence.

Off-Line Resources

• Ferrazzi, Gabe. "Capacity Building for Rural / Community Development" . Rural Community Development Introductory Modules,(WebCT class notes). Brandon University, Fall, 2001.Module #9-a .
  Gabe's notes pick up on the aspects of group capacity building which build onto where I leave off. The deal with how to help an interdependently functioning group can move forward to articulate , act on and evaluate their efforts towards healthier community life. He notes the UN's list of factors which make group capacity development sustainable. It is so when it is :
  • responsive
  • participatory
  • tarnsparant
  • Equitable
  • Accountable
  • Concensus-oriented
  • effecient and effective

  It can be seen from the above list that such a style of group life would be greatly enhanced by a development of the foundation outlined in the introduction above.

On-Line Resources