of Community Communities manage their assets...Education Programme aimed at the delivery of Universal access to primary education. HUDCO Housing and Urban Development Corporation,

COMMUNITY ASSET MANAGEMENT

Communitiesmanage theirassets

Notes on the management and maintenanceof community buildings by the users, basedon practical experience in India. A DFIDfunded research project on building capacityfor Community Asset Management (CAM)

Compiled by

Dr. Michael Theis and Ripin KalraMax Lock Centre, University of Westminster,London, United Kingdom.

Design, Illustrations and Photographs: Ripin Kalra

lessons learnt from experience

Timely maintenanceof Communitybuildings is vital.

Maintenance andmanagement ofthese assetsthrough thecommunity ischeaper thanthrough externalcontractors.

The community,where everyoneknows everybodyelse, is more opento accounting thanremote state ordistrict budgets.

Awareness of faults,damage andmaintenance in thebuilding isimmediate to theuser.

The sooner theseare identified, then,with appropriatetechnical advice, themore cheaply theycan be remediedthrough communityaction.

Efficient assetmanagement relieson understandingand co-operationbetween thecommunity andlocal government.

Max LockCentre

The

COMMUNITY ASSET MANAGEMENT COMMUNITY ASSET MANAGEMENT

Management and maintenance of existing community assetsneeds no less attention than building new ones.

Huge resources of both effort and money have gone into ensuringuniversal local access to basic services in new infrastructurethroughout the world. This drive for more and better-suited buildingshas tended to overlook the existing stock of buildings. The problemof lack of maintenance and consequent under-use has cancelledout many of the apparent infrastructural gains that have been madein recent years. Lack of timely investment on maintenance hasendangered the utility and life of community buildings.

Local inventories of community assets and their conditionneed to be established.

People in each settlement are served by a unique set ofcommunity buildings and infrastructure. Making local inventoriesof the community assets and observing their condition regularlyis essential. Community assets can imply a multitude ofbuildings and infrastructure provided through a variety ofagencies, government, non-government and community based.An inventory of such facilities will vary from place to place andtheir users or stakeholders are likely to vary as well. Localobservation will also show the current involvement of users inthe management and maintenance of community assets.

Users can manage and maintain community assets in anefficient and cost-effective way.

So what is the best way to provide, manage and maintain new andexisting physical assets for the foreseeable future? The presentexternal aid, national and grant sponsored system, whereby thegovernment takes full responsibility, has, in too many cases, failed.It is much more likely that a community asset will serve its purposefor its full designed life when users take responsibility for themanagement, life-time planning, construction and physicalmaintenance of a community building on their own or in partnershipwhere appropriate, with local government, local businesses, NGOs,state and national government.

Community Asset Management’ or CAM is the management ofphysical assets in collective use by rural or urban communities. Inthe broadest sense, such assets enable members of communities topursue their economic, social, cultural, spiritual and psychologicalwell-being. In the scenario where the people are poor, theimmediate interest is in livelihood assets, those that ensure basiceconomic needs can be met. Community Asset Managementenvisages improved capacity of low-income communities for themanagement, life-cycle planning, regular care and construction workfor new and existing community builings.

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What is Community AssetManagement (CAM)?

The poor condition ofbuildings results frombad design andworkmanship as well asthe lack of resourcesand planning to detectproblems and makerepairs in time.

For poor communities,once assets becomeunusable, they can onlybe replaced with greatdifficulty.

Preparing localinventories ofcommunity assetsand their condition isthe first step towardscommunity assetmanagement.


This booklet presents the emerging experience of CAM in India. The rise of CAM practice from aplace and its people, through practitioners to policy, is recent and much of the work that has lead tosuch policy is ongoing. There is a current opportunity for people to interact with this living experience.Many practitioners are actively engaged in Africa, Asia and Europe. Much of the awareness and drivefor this Indian experience was inspired by earlier Village Polytechnic work in Africa.

2 Recognising the current role ofthe users in CAM and theirlimitations....page 7

Our research shows that communities are ableand willing to continue to contribute to themaintenance and management of the commonassets. The capacity of local authorities tomanage infrastructure is evidently low even whenthey supplied it in the first place. Technical andfinancial help for improving infrastructure is rarelyprovided at the appropriate time. At present thecontribution of users to CAM is an informalactivity that operates outside the realm of publicprovision and largely without appropriatetechnical expertise and/ or with minimal financialresources. A more understanding and co-operative approach is needed that is able topromote this activity and underpin it with thetechnical knowledge and resources to ensurequality.

3 A strategy for CAM....page 11

CAM can be structured around a set of well-defined yet complex set of tasks that need the co-operation of several partners. We draw on actualworking experience that we have observed anddocumented.

COLOUR INSERT....pages 13-20

4 Putting the strategy for CAMinto practice....page 21

The preparedness for CAM will vary from place toplace. Policymakers need to recognise thecapabilities of individual low-income groups andto put into place the means for proving theiraccountability along with the necessary level oftechnical assistance in order to ensure anappropriate standard of work.

5 Capacity building needs forCAM....page 25

Users and local community groups can be trainedto conduct CAM related tasks to the requiredstandard and deliver CAM plans.

A visual journey through the various factorsthat influence the well-being of CommunityBuildings.

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Critics argue that low-income communitieslacking security of work, financial resources andbasic education and training cannot afford thetime or the money to manage and maintain theircommunity buildings. Practical experience tells adifferent story. Community Asset Management isa sustainable approach to provision ofinfrastructure and maintenance. The users ofindividual facilities are best placed to make theroutine observations necessary for this workgaining a sense of ownership in the process andsustaining the local economy through theinvolvement of local craftsmen. Money spentthrough the community rather than for them iseffective, cost-efficient and most of it remains inthe community.

Contents

1 User led CAM issustainable....page 5


1User led CAM issustainable

5

Lok-JumbishProgramme for theprovision of primaryeducation infrastructure inRajasthan(India) with anemphasis on communityparticipation.

DPEP District PrimaryEducation Programmeaimed at the delivery ofUniversal access toprimary education.

HUDCO Housing andUrban DevelopmentCorporation, Governmentof India.

VEC Village EducationCommittee

Rs 5000 equals 110 USDollars

As seen in the following statement,policymakers in India are encouraging the useof local skills in community asset management.This will ensure timely, cost-efficientmaintenance and will help to retain externalfunding in the community.

Section VII Improvementof school facilities andother civil works

SARVA SHIKSHAABHIYAN (Education foreveryone programme)Department ofEducationGovernment of India(Source:http://education.nic.in)

‘Community participationshould be the only meansof undertaking any civilworks in improvement ofschoolfacilities. Experiments incommunity participation under Lok-Jumbish and under DPEP in many States havebeen very encouraging and such experiments will be further carried out. The SarvaShiksha Abhiyan would first of all try to mobilise resources under RuralEmployment Programme and other developmental schemes for constructingschool buildings. The community would have to come forward to maintain schoolfacilities if any investment is proposed in a village. An annual support to thecommunity for repair and maintenance is envisaged under the SSA. The upperceiling is Rs. 5000 per year, based on the actual need and the willingness of thecommunity to contribute.

‘...SSA will encourage use of local construction materials and low-costtechnologies. This would require a large amount of capacity building, includingtraining of engineers and masons in these technologies. Apart from the TechnicalResource Group of DPEP, assistance of resource institutions like HUDCO mayalso be sought for this purpose…..Each State must formulate a strategy for repair.The Rupees five thousand per year available to a school for regular maintenanceand repair could be used to create a maintenance corpus in a school. The moneywill be credited to the VEC and the VEC could decide to use only part of the fundsand use the rest to create a corpus. Community involvement is a must if the schoolinfrastructure has to be well maintained.’


2Recognising thecurrent role ofusers in CAM andtheir limitations

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Approaches to construction management involving thecommunity have generally proved successful. A case in the pointis the Village Education Committees in India being entrusted withdisbursing construction funds. The approach includedmaintenance.

Building maintenance is known to be amongst the most labourintensive of all construction activities. Much of it is physical, but non-specialised. So it is possible for the poorest and least skilled membersof the society to be engaged in it. It is a year round activity that can beorganised around the social, cultural and livelihood calendar of thecommunity.

An appropriately funded programme for the maintenance of socialinfrastructure through the community is ideal for poverty reduction atthe community level in rural and urban areas. It can also contributesignificantly to the wider objectives for sustainable livelihoods andimproving the ability of people to withstand short-term adversity suchas unemployment, poor harvest or natural disasters. In practice, it ischaracterised by the following:

1 The needs of the community are taken into account at the planningstage. Community gains a sense of ownership of the facilities andservices available to them.

2 There are savings in cost through the involvement of community,both as workers and supervisors. Community is able to negotiatecosts with the artisans that they employ.

3 The buildings remain in constant and cost-effective use.

4 The community understands maintenance as a vital element forimproved development.

5 Local buildings become a centre of awareness on developmentissues and discussion.

6 More of any external funding remains in the community as localartisans are employed for building works and not external contractors.

7 Transparency is achieved in financial transaction of public funds.

8 Low-cost and local material are more likely to be used.

9 There is capacity building of the community and grassrootsengineers in the tools and techniques for quality control.

10 Accurate rates for maintenance related works are developed.

11 Community understands the value of pre-emptive maintenance.

12 The community becomes the alternative implementation agency formaintenance.

“The headmaster, thehead of the village, thewomen’s savings group,the engineer from blockoffice are members ofthe Village EducationCommittee. We agreethat the local mason isreliable and capable todo the building repairs.This way he will alsohave some income.The headmaster willkeep accounts and theengineer will providetechnical advice.”

Users are involved in regularhousekeeping of many communitybuildings. They are well aware ofproblems in the buildings and anyformal barriers to timely maintenance.However they have a limited technicaland financial capacity to diagnoseproblems and repair damages incommunity buildings provided byexternal agencies.

Characteristics ofcommunityinvolvement in assetmanagement


‘The library is for the unrestricted use of allpeople. We encourage people to come andread here. Rooms have recently beenadded to expand the space to hostcommunity meetings.

Some private sponsors have been runningtraining on sewing for local girls. MECONWelfare society has funded an adulteducation programme that runs here. Thesame society has also funded a SaheliCentre that trains women in sewing. Thisspace is also used for Government runprogrammes such as eye care centre andpolio vaccination.

There was only a shed here before 1982. The permanent structurewas built after that. People had donated money, material as well aslabour for this room that was built in 1982. The Urdu Library had acommittee and all office bearers went to ask for donations. The MLAhas given sums of Rs 25000 and Rs 37000 and Rs 1 lakh to constructboundary walls and toilets and a couple of new rooms respectively.

Most repair work is done by our own resources such as whitewashingevery year. The money is collected from the people of the basti and itis spent at the discretion of the library committee. We have also hireda librarian who also takes care of the building and encourages peoplein the locality to come and use the library.’

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People in-charge of community buildings are well informed about themaintenance problems and the immediate needs. They tend to takethe initiative to collect resources for priority maintenance tasks if theformal processes are too long. They are aware of the formalprocesses (both the good and the bad bits) and the barriers to timelymaintenance. Where building committees have been formed to involvethe in-charge of the building and members of the community, the in-charge has made positive contribution to the condition of the buildingthrough their empowered status.

Research in the three study sites in India found that users even in low-income communities, contribute financially to their communitybuildings, and not just through physical effort. The community makessome kind of contribution towards the upkeep of most communitybuildings Irrespective of the provider of that facility. Where the localcommunity are involved in the management of a building, either aslandlord or as an organised committee, the use of the building is likelyto be more adaptable and there is a better chance of a building beinglooked after for its significance in community life.

People are ready to contribute and even initiate those communityworks that they perceive to provide a better service as well as improveopportunity for themselves and particularly for their children.

Community networks have gained the most confidence from havingresources in their own hands to create physical infrastructure, clearinformation and easy access to the local authorities. However, theircontinued involvement and enthusiasm is inter-linked with theavailability of further livelihood opportunities for their community aswell as themselves.

The headmaster gave his detailed accountof the common maintenance related worksrequired at the school and how it is beingmanaged. The use of abbreviations byrespondents to describe processes iscommon. Details of the abbreviations havebeen added at the end of the notes.

‘The main maintenance tasks include whitewashing, repairing asbestos on the roof andthe batons. Whitewashing should be doneevery year and batons should be cleanedevery year….

‘… If any damage is there, the schoolcommittee reports it to the Block Office. The villagers gather todiscuss their plans and difficulties …It last happened on the 18th Aprilat 1130 hrs. It takes place 3-4 times in a year and everyone meets atthe school building here. I discuss with VCE and report it to the BDOimmediately. Then JE enquires the facts and reports back at the BDOfor the necessary improvements to be done. The BDO then discussesit at the Panchayat meeting and sanctions some amount. MLA,Sarpanch are all present at this meeting. They discuss all problems.Sometimes DRDA grants and MLA fund grants are also available.’

Upto expenditures of Rs 500-1000 the headmaster can do the workfrom the VEC funds available to him. VEC collects funds from villagersas donations if required. When the BDO sanctioned money for repairsafter cyclone the Sarpanch was given the money and he arranged fora contractor who brought the material and labour…People of thevillage also provide labour and help for the school. Every week peoplevisit the school and talk to him about its development. They also talkabout mid-day meal and come during leisure time.

‘I then tell them, if any help is required from their side. The parents ofthe school children give furniture, books and wood for furniture. It isalways good to keep in touch with the public here and have aconsensus with them. This is a rural institution so I always want tokeep contact with the villagers. Government aids are not sufficient anddo not arrive at time of need. It takes long to get work done in thegovernment system. Teachers and staff and VEC take care of thecleanliness and plantation at school. School has no assistant or peonso the students clean daily. In cyclone most trees broken and tworooms were damaged. The roof and rooms have been repaired tosome extent from funds from the block office…’

The headmaster also mentioned that he was aware of the technicalhelp available from the local Building Centre. However the first point ofcontact for advice on any major damage to the building was the BDOas the school building is under the department of education.

VCE Village Education CommitteeBDO Block Development OfficeJE Junior EngineerPanchayat A five member villagecouncilMLA Member of Legislative AssemblySarpanch Head of the PanchayatDRDA District Rural DevelopmentAuthorityMLA fund A local development fundadministered at the discretion of theMLA.In-Charge An Indian expression for theperson responsible to run the facilitywithin a building or to take care of thebuilding itself.Building Centre A facility envisagedby HUDCO in every district of India toprovide and promote cost-effectiveconstruction technologies (CECT).Artisans are also trained at thesecentres in cost-effective constructiontechniques.

The contribution ofusers to theircommunity buildings:

Case study 1Notes from an interview withMr. Dhrandhara Jaisingh,Headmaster at theNarangarh Central PrimarySchool, Narangarh,District Khurda,State of Orissa.April 2001.

Overview ofcontribution by usersof communitybuildings


Case study 2Interview with Mr. Mazhar Ali,President of the LibraryCommittee, Urdu library andcommunity hall in Doranda,Ranchi City,State of Jharkhand.May 2001.

MECON Welfare society A charityadministered by MECON, an industrialgroup in Ranchi, Jharkhand.Saheli Centre Name for women’straining centre.One LakhA sum of 100,000Basti Settlement


3A strategy for CAM

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Women volunteers called Resident Community Volunteers have beentrained and organised in groups through programmes initiated by thenational government. These groups aim to provide resources tomembers for maintenance of collective and private buildings throughregular collections from credit and thrift schemes as well as small-scale enterprise such as the sale of merchandise produced by womenand token rent from community space hired for private use.

‘Our agenda is to promote awareness and savings for every woman inthe sector. Maps are available for all CDS and some time ago ahouse-to-house survey has been conducted to understand the needfor the Polio vaccine. There are several agencies with severalschemes working in the slums. When the women volunteers come tothese meetings they find out about these schemes and the administra-

tors helpthem to findout moreabout theseschemes andthen theytake thisinformationback to thevillages andthe houses.

Due to CDS,funds andschemeshave become

more accessible to the poor. The women have also proposed stalls tosell things made by us in Delhi, Patna and Ranchi. Many kinds of workis being sold. In order to do this work we have received training fromseveral sources.

We get no Rangdaari, no commission. We are delivering a socialbenefit and we do not get paid. We have asked for a retail shop inRanchi so that we can sell some of our goods that the women make.Now we are hoping for shops in every CDS. Since as social workerswe have to spend some money we also have to arrange a livelihoodon our own.

We try to find out the information about where to access funds forbuildings and training. Dr Iqbal, the main co-ordinator, gave us ideas.Our biggest role is to find out from administration what newopportunities are available and through the CDS network every pieceof information is spread and people use the information in their works.There was a task force meeting in 1995 and animators gave thedescription of their activities. So funding was given to build co-ordination. Women are saving everywhere and have saved from Rs5000-25000. We are trying to learn to do business from our savings.We give small money for a small business and get small returns. Thenwe report this in the meeting with officials and ask them to give usmatching grants. Now many NGOs come to use us as ice breakerswith the rest of the community. We have established ourselves. Weare members of the VEC as well now…’


Case study 3Interview with members ofthe Basti Vikas Manch MahilaSamithi (Settlementdevelopment forum women’sgroup), CommunityDevelopment Society,Ranchi city,State of Jharkhand.May 2001.

Notes from interview with Dr Iqbal , RanchiRegional Development Authority, RanchiCity, State of Jharkhand. May 2001.

Women’s groups in Ranchi have their originsin community development programmesinitiated by the national government to gatherhealth information and promote health relatedactivity. They have successfully taken overthe tasks of construction and management ofcommunity halls. Dr. Iqbal (see picture) hasled the programme for communitydevelopment within Ranchi city. He is amedical officer who was deputed to the slumdevelopment programme seven years ago. In1994 he came here and started to look afterimmunisation. Women’s groups were trainedto collect door-to-door information onimmunisation and create discussion groups incommunities to raise awareness on publichealth. The Urban Basic Servicesprogramme was launched in Ranchi andeffort was made to utilize existingpotential so that communities could beinvolved in the implementation of variousstate and national level infrastructureprogrammes.

He went on to explain further that in a groupof 20 women, the leader is called theanimator. They meet fortnightly. Now there are similar 458 Self Help Groups (SHG).According to the national policy and the 74th amendment these groups fall into 12Community Development Societies. These CDS are empowered by District Administrationto implement their programmes. CDS helped to conduct several programmes and havenow been given construction works of roads and Community halls and work sheds worthRs 56 lakhs. ‘They have provided good quality work. The basic aim to develop a sense ofleadership has been successful.’

Task force meetings are held at regular intervals of 4 months and the DistrictCommissioner organises a meeting of all line department heads. They all assemble in acentral place and the CDS women present their problems directly to the administration.

CDS Community Development Society.Each part of the city has its own CDS.All CDS are in touch through their officebearers.

CAM requires several tasks to beperformed at regular intervals. Existingcommunity based groups can performthese tasks with the support of localauthorities.

COMMUNITY ASSET MANAGEMENT12

User-led CAM requires some key actions to ensure the access toinformation and technical skills that will help the community to performmore efficiently as managers of their own assets.

Good communication between local authorities and community groupscan ensure that such actions are manageable through sharing ofresponsibility and performed on a continuing basis.

1 Knowing what you have already: a register or inventory of existingassets.Understanding the budgets available for new assets andupkeep of existing assets.

2 Knowing what condition it is in: record the condition of existingassets. List preparations for the upkeep of these assets such as userinterest, empowerment, skills and budget.

3 Taking decisions on keeping the existing or building a newstructure: understand practical life of assets, including maintenanceschedules.

4 Understanding the demand for new assets: record and cross-reference user needs and strategic predictions.

5 Articulating the requirements for new assets: Develop buildingplans, detailing the actual requirements with the expectation of usersand spending departments.

6 Mapping resources: assess the capacity of local skills, materialsand building traditions.

7 Knowing the building skills: assess the professional capacity ofsupervising engineers, site architects, artisans and contractors.

8 Knowing the standards required: assess the level of qualityrequired, bearing in mind cost of maintenance, and practical and legalCodes of Practice.

9 Programming the process: embed the approach and practice intoall stakeholders’ agendas including the monitoring of the progress.Record the process and outcomes

A community assetmanagement plan

Good communication andsharing of responsibilitybetween the localauthorities and the usersof community buildings isimportant. It will ensurethat decisions taken oninvestment into theconstruction of newbuildings or timelymaintenance of existingbuildings are realistic.


The current state of CAM

Here is a visual and factual journey throughthree regions of India to look at factors thatinfluence the well-being of buildings. Theresearchers observed the state of communitybuildings as well as individual houses andsimultaneously consulted the users abouttheir interest and capacity in the managementand maintenance of these buildings.

The examples have been taken from six low-income setlements in India. Three from urbanand three from the peri-urban areas. The settlements are:City of Hyderabad, State of Andhra Pradesh (Chacha Nehru Nagar; Wadar Basti)City of Bhubaneswar, State of Orissa (Gyannagar; Bharatpur)City of Ranchi, State of Jharkhand (Doranda; Edalhatu)HUDCO funded Building Centres offering specialist advice, materials or training on costeffective building technology in the vicinity of these settlements were also studied.

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COMMUNITY ASSET MANAGEMENT COMMUNITY ASSET MANAGEMENT14 15

Type of BuildingOverall educational buildings were in a poor state of repair,particularly those provided by government agencies. Culturalbuildings are generally in good repair. Majority of social buildingsneeded minor repair.

Creation of InfrastructureMost buildings were purpose built to serve a particular function.There is little evidence that this has any effect on its condition.

Delivery systemBuildings built using resources provided by community only, are inthe best condition overall. Most buildings built with combinedgovernment and community resources are also in good condition.The high-risk buildings are those where resources are provided bygovernment only, without community involvement.

Age of the structure and technology usedNew buildings with inappropriate design and workmanship orthose that use technology not widely practiced locally havedeveloped problems.

Person in-chargeBuildings are in better condition overall where the in charge is avolunteer. Where the ‘in-charge’ is paid, more than half the casestudy buildings needed major repair.

Appointment of in-chargeOverall the appointment of an ‘in-charge’ from the communityshows some success in keeping the building in moderate shape.The appointment of an ‘in-charge’ from an outside agency makesthe building vulnerable, particularly in urban areas.

Continuing use of buildingMore buildings in use, as originally intended, need major repair.Buildings with another use combined with the original intendeduse needed minor repair only.

TenureIn some cases tenants are able to keep buildings in good andmoderate condition. Buildings are kept better if the owner isresident. Buildings suffer where there is dependency on landlords,engineering departments and NGOs for their maintenance.

Location of landlordExternal NGO and local administration are able to keep buildingsin moderate condition only. Buildings in good condition haveresident landlords.

State of maintenance (Opinion of user)Of the buildings that the researchers judged as needing majorrepair, the users were aware that they had a problem.

Community buildings and their community

Continued on page 16

Children and women play animportant part in cleaning andupkeep of assets. In mostcases school children alsoclean their schools andcommunity centres.

The capacity of local authorities tomanage infrastructure is evidentlylow even when they supplied it inthe first place. Technical andfinancial help for improvinginfrastructure is rarely provided atthe appropriate time. As a resultmany buildings become unusable.

Buildings such as this communitycentre in Ranchi is maintained byvolunteers. The building was builtwith resources from the localgovernment but users are free to usethe space as they like. It is wellmaintained through small financialcontributions from the users. Peoplemake sure it is left clean after use.


Households and their houses

Users awareness of problemsA majority of people rely on their own knowledge and judgementto identify problems in the condition of the building.

Regularity of maintenanceIn the buildings judged to be in good condition, the users reportedroutine or regular maintenance. More than half the buildingsneeding minor repair were reported to have not had regularmaintenance.

Community involvement in managementThe community is formally or informally involved in themanagement of community buildings with only a few exceptions.

Contribution from usersOverall the proportion of good buildings having a contribution fromthe community was less than average. All the good buildings intwo out of three case study sites had a contribution from thecommunity.

Nature of contributionOverall, financial or combined financial and physical contributionwere responsible for good condition of buildings. The buildingsmost vulnerable still received both kinds of contribution.

Maintenance last yearA majority of buildings had maintenance done last year. Overall allthe good buildings reported maintenance last year.

Amount spentThe amount spent were variable at each site. Buildings affectedby natural disasters required financial resources beyond thefinancial capacity of its users.

Availability of sound technical advice such as a BuildingCentreOut of the four good buildings in Bhubaneswar, threehad building centre involvement. Most respondents were unawareof Building Centres or their involvement.

Household compositionOnly two-fifths of nuclear families and only one fifth of extendedfamilies were living in houses classed as in good condition. All thesingle person, single parent and husband and wife onlyhouseholds were living in houses needing minor or major repair.

EmploymentHouses may need repair or be in good condition irrespective ofthe employment status of the household head. The group leastlikely to live in a house requiring major repair is self- employedwith income security such as small businessmen. Apart from the


Maintenance oftraditional structuresis better understoodby all members of thecommunity and tendsto be more affordableand easily conductedusing locally availableskills.

COMMUNITY ASSET MANAGEMENT 17

In every settlement there is a limitedrange of materials and buildingtechnologies. As a result the design,workmanship and maintenanceproblems are similar in nature, acrossa settlement. Leaking roofs anddamp in walls due to broken roof tilesare common in Ranchi. A goodsolution to such common problems islikely to spread fast among the localpeople.

Most people get their knowledge ofbuilding material and technologiesfrom friends, local artisans andbuilding material shops or even byobserving other people build.

COMMUNITY ASSET MANAGEMENT COMMUNITY ASSET MANAGEMENT18 19

unemployed people working with or without income security haveequal likelihood of living in a good condition house as they tend tobuild a house that is possible to maintain within their means.

TenureThe houses of the owners are in better condition than thehouses occupied by tenants.

Location of landlordAll tenanted houses in good condition had resident landlords.Houses in need of major repair had resident or absenteelandlords. Where tenanted houses needed minor repair, themajority of such landlords lived in the community.

House structureStructures that require seasonal maintenance were in goodcondition. Only one quarter of structures that require annualmaintenance were in good condition. One in six needed majorrepair and well over half needed minor repair. More permanentstructures fared better in only one out of three sites. This can beattributed to the inability of people to understand timelymaintenance in some building technologies.Permanent structures perform well.

Size of householdSmaller households did not live in houses in good condition. Themajority needed minor repair, and two needed major repair.

Responsibility for maintenanceHouses needing major repairs were those where the respondentstated they were not responsible for repairs.

Repairs last doneThe relationship between house condition and repairs in theprevious year was different in each of the three sites. InHyderabad half the house in good condition and those needingminor repair did not have repairs done last year as a majority ofstructures do not require seasonal maintenance. In Bhubaneswarall the good buildings had repairs done in the past year but in thecase of those needing minor repair it was less than two-thirds asmost structures require seasonal maintenance. In Ranchi all thegood houses and nine out of ten of those needing minor repairhad repairs done in the past year. Of those houses needing majorrepair all those in Hyderabad and four out of five in bothBhubaneswar and Ranchi had repairs done last year. People failto understand maintenance requirements of some technologiesuntil serious problems emerge.

Repairs done byTenants do their own repairs and do not rely on landlords.

Amount spent RupeesThere was no consistent relationship between the amounts spentand whether the house needed major or minor repair.


Recent initiatives to create and manage assetsthrough community based organisations have metwith some success in every case. Even wherepeople have not contributed money or time, thelevels of awareness have been raised about thework of CBOs such as building committees. Herea women’s group in Ranchi explains their successin the construction and continuing care of acommunity centre. They are confident, wellinformed and articulate.

Maintenance activity is present in one form oranother in local cultures and festivals. This templeat HUDA Bhoi Sahi is painted each year in April tocelebrate a local festival. The local childrenparticipate in the cleaning and painting work.

Most people contribute onlywhen asked. When asked theytry to contribute. Peoplenegotiate prices with localartisans and save money bycontributing labour where theyare interested in managing anasset. Many people makeregular financial contributions tocultural, social and religiouscommunity activities throughoutthe year.


Household contribution to their communitybuildings

Household compositionThe group that had the maximum number of no contribution wasextended families although these were almost one in tenhouseholds.

EmploymentThe not employed and self-employed without income securitysignificantly contributed in a higher proportion than the employedand self employed with the secure income.

TenureOverall a higher proportion of owners as against tenants said thatthey contributed to community buildings. Tenants contribute lessto community activities for two evident reasons. They are morelikely to be a minority ethnic group and thus excluded from certaincommunity activities and they may also feel a lesser stake in thecommunity activity.

Size of householdThe group that made the least number of contributions washouseholds of 3-4 people.

Contribution to Maintenance of Community BuildingsThe link between condition of building and contribution tocommunity buildings was most pronounced in Bhubaneswarwhere all the households living in houses needing repaircontributed and one third of those living in good houses did not.

Individually the household accommodation is only marginallybetter than the condition of the community buildings with theexception of places affected by a natural disaster. People arelikely to spend consistently on repair where the users betterunderstand maintenance tasks relevant to the building technology.In any given context, an inventory of common problems andsolutions builds up quickly. The analysis of the problem and itssolution is often shaped by the most commonly available skills inthe local area.

A high proportion of people are repairing their houses irrespectiveof income security because of awareness and access to thetechnology in use. Even among these, it is clear that people withincome security and/or surplus labour, such as large families, tendto put more resources into maintenance. Small households arethe most vulnerable where maintenance is concerned. They find itdifficult to contribute labour as well as financial resources.Although tenants depend by and large on landlords for repairactivity, where the local culture makes the tenant agree to takeresponsibility, the houses are better maintained. The proximity ofthe landlord to the house does improve the quality andconsistency of the maintenance and upkeep.

The repair of somebuilding technologies isbeyond the technicaland financial capacityof low-incomecommunities. Thisstaircase in Ranchiwas ‘repaired’ by theowner of the housewith the help of a localartisan. This isevidence that accessto sound technicaladvice is required atcommunity level.


4Putting the strategy forCAM into practice

21

The availability of finances formaintenance, clear rules and guidelinesbased on ground realities, timelyavailability of technical assistance and aresponsive attitude from the people isvital for CAM to be implemented.


Cost of mobilisation and overheads for repair is higher than thestandard schedule of rates for similar items in new construction.However, the present system does not have any provision to allowdifferent rates in repair works.

Volume of repair work is small but requires intensive supervision.Often a fast reaction time is needed and, because there is noinventory of existing assets, their current condition and their periodicmaintenance needs, it is almost always unpredictable. The state govt.engineers are already overloaded with the regular and programmeddepartmental jobs.

Frameworks to deliver programmes such as, ‘CommunityManagement Groups’ are often not fully and clearly explained to theconcerned community. People are present out of curiosity but arereluctant to contribute to activity that they do not understand.

Lack of clarity can also lead to dependence on community leaders,middlemen or agents.

The way forward is to negotiate and establish clearly, the roles andresponsibilities of the community and the local authorities. It must beensured that these are fully understood by all members of thecommunity.

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Making CAM practical:2. Rules andguidelines based onground realities.Community clearlyunderstands therules

The following notes are from a discussion with Mr. L N Barik, formerChief Engineer, State of Orissa. They highlights the need forcommunities to value their right to better infrastructure.

‘The source of money for maintenance is not known and thought about.In the villages in future the village council will get a lump sum forconducting all the various works including maintenance. Budgeting isalways less than demand for the amount of maintenance works required.

‘There is also the problem of the numerous line departments in the localadministration and the co-ordination between them. If the money is givento the end user such as the village council the users are likely to carryout their responsibility well and let the line departments deal with themas clients.

‘Community members have little public awareness. They are not keen onvaluing the works done from scarce public money and using it well. Theydo not see it as money meant for their own development. The villagershave always got used to having so little that they do not protest toomuch. In city slums the people were not sure of their permanence and sothe community input into common facilities suffered. People in slumshave many skills. The women are also good community leaders.’

Making CAM practical:1. The provision ofFinances formaintenance

Lack of funds at national level is the major constraint to communityasset management.

Budgetary funding for maintenance is too often ‘unplanned’ and seenas variable and unpredictable as against other recurring budget itemssuch as salaries. Any chances of predicting maintenance budgets isunlikely since generally there is no inventory of buildings and theirconditions, Many states in India already find themselves withinsufficient funding to pay due salaries.

Asset management budgets are easier to curtail when money isscarce. The problem is compounded with bad management and poorbuilding design and technology that requires heavy investment inmaintenance.

The way forward is to plan for reducing wasteful expenditure andimproving the collection and efficient spending of resources.Contributions from the community should be encouraged.

I am willing to contribute money, where I can see that a goodservice is given. Often a private school charges much morebut we can demand a good service. I also contribute smallamounts of money regularly to the social, religious andcultural events in the community. However within thecommunity it can be difficult to ask people to account onexpenditures as it can be seen as dis-respectful or againstthe spirit of the event. I like the way of the school headmaster.He writes down any money recieved or spent by the school ona blackboard outside the school for everyone to see.

Making CAM practical:3. The availability ofsound technicaladvice

Making CAM practical:4. A responsiveattitude from thepeople

Expert knowledge is required to diagnose problems in buildings -needs capacity building so users can identify problems.

It is difficult to estimate the repair items unless work has started.

Most maintenance problems arise from improper design and poorworkmanship during construction.

The way forward is to plan any new infrastructure according to thetechnical capability of its user community to maintain it easliy, withouttoo much expense and detect and report problems at an early stage.Sound technical advice should be accessible to the community so thatrepairs are made economically and correctly.

Lack of political interest in maintenance - New projects are easy toimplement - they have more visual impact and hence, politically aremore attractive.

Lack of interest of engineers - they get no sense of achievement fromrepairing existing buildings.

Lack of interest of artisans - they see maintenance as cumbersomeand unprofitable.

Inability of all concerned to understand that maintenance prolongs thelife of buildings. Sometimes, revitalization of existing buildings is morecost effective than creating new infrastructure. Existing strengths ofcommunity are not understood and incorporated into developmentprogrammes.

The way forward is to record and disseminate the experience of localauthorities and communities involved in asset management.

Making CAM practical:opinion of anexperienced engineer


5Capacity buildingfor CAM

Village and neighbourhood based groupscan be encouraged and trained to conductCAM related tasks to the required standardand deliver CAM plans. The picture aboveshows a primary school building inBhubaneswar (May 2002) that is beingrepaired with the full involvement of thelocal community.

24 25

Making CAM practical:The potential ofBuilding Centres inIndia, in providingsound technicaladvice tocommunities

In India, a nation-wide network of 600 building centres, supported bythe Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO), is alogical starting point for access to technical information. TheGovernment of India has recognised the potential of these centres fortraining, and has actively sought international development assistanceto improve this service. Artisans trained in the tasks of maintenanceand repair can provide sound technical advice to communitiesinvolved in asset management. The building centres can also trainpersonnel within local authorities or small businesses to run one-stop-shops for building and construction advice to communities.

Most Building Centres do not interact at present with the localcommunities. They focus on the production of materials for localgovernment projects and are short of resources to conduct training in

construction skills. Often local communitiesthemselves are not aware of the presence ofBuilding Centres and its technical service. For localcommunities a friend, a local artisan or a buildingmaterials shop is the main source of advice onconstruction. Such advice is not always reliable.

However some Building Centres have made aconscious effort to integrate with the life of the localcommunity. This has resulted in higher standards ofbuilding construction in the surrounding settlements.Local skilled and unskilled people have beenemployed and trained in cost-effective constructiontechnology thus improving their economic and socialstatus. The Narangarh Building Centre nearBhubaneswar is a good example.

- Up to 80 women and men from the local community have beentrained and these now work at the Narangarh building centre toproduce cost-effective construction material.

- Many of these trainees have used the material from the buildingcentre to improve the quality of their own houses.

- Several trained artisans from this Building Centre have been hired bylocal people to build their houses and improve the communitybuildings using the material from the Building Centre.

- The Building Centre provides material and trained artisans for theconstruction of new assets for various government schemes.

- The trained artisans from this Building Centre travel to other parts ofthe state to train more artisans in cost-effective constructiontechniques.

- Until now the artisans were not given any specific training related tomaintenance and repair of assets. The building centre is currentlyinvolved in a demonstration project in Bhubaneswar (see next page)for repair and maintenance. It is envisaged that they will convince theartisans of the earning potential of maintenance and the other buildingcentres to develop similar work in their localities.


In most cases NGOs implement a programme or project. NGO work ismore successful where they have not made the target communitydependent on external help. NGOs may benefit from awarenesstraining about maintenance and its technical aspects.People in charge of community buildings are well informed about themaintenance problems and the immediate needs. Most of the peopletake the initiative to collect resources if the formal processes are toolong. They are aware of the formal processes and the barriers totimely maintenance. Where building committees have been formed,the ‘in charge’ has benefited from their empowered status. An overallpolicy of empowering people in charge of community buildingsand providing them training in technical aspects identifying andsupervising maintenance works, resources management andworking with the community would be of benefit.

26 27

Capacity building:Training needs

The practice of CAM requires the involvement of various actors. Thefollowing table summaries the roles and training needs of some of the keyactors and decision-makers.

MunicipalCorporations

DevelopmentAuthorities

Municipal Corporations are unable to keep in constant contact with thedevelopments on the ground primarily because their community levelmunicipal workers have huge work loads. Municipal work is moremanageable where there is better direct contact with communitynetworks. Municipalities, like other local authorities, work within thenational policy framework although the attitude of the workers shapesthe quality of their involvement in local development. Within anoverall policy of interaction with community networks municipalworkers may benefit from awareness training in community assetmanagement, skills in outreach to community networks andtechnical training to engineers on conducting maintenanceworks and technical training to community liaison workers toidentify community needs and assist them to monitor communityassets.

Development Authorities are mostly involved in the design andbuilding of a project beyond which point, the responsibility of upkeepand maintenance is passed on to another agency. They may notrealise their role in asset management and are often not fully informedabout the latest developments in government programmes ofcommunity development and thus unable to implement programmesaccordingly. Development Authorities need to create plans keeping inmind the community development targets. They may benefit fromtraining in understanding their role in asset management, designof buildings based on the capacity of local communities tomanage and maintain them and making development plans thatencourage community asset management and incorporate life-cycle costs of infrastructure.

Community development programmes are most successful where theintent and the practice has been fully and clearly explained to allmembers of the community. The combination (as in Ranchi city) isfavourable. There is a knowledgeable person co-ordinating thecommunity leaders and a manageable size of the community network,that can be in direct communication with the local administration.Community networks have gained the most confidence from havingresources in their own hands to create physical infrastructure.However, their continued involvement and enthusiasm is inter-linkedwith the livelihoods of their community as well as their own members.As part of an overall policy for local administration to interactwith communities the participation of people in the design andcreation of infrastructure and training in technical, accountingand management aspects of maintenance will be of benefit to thecommunity.

The artisans do not see work related to maintenance as a means of asecure livelihood. They may not have knowledge to carry outmaintenance works. They prefer to build new buildings as a way toearn money and regard maintenance or repair related work ascumbersome. Those trained in Cost Effective Construction Technology(CECT) have learnt from experience that the knowledge of CECTgives them an upper hand among peers. Considering all thesefactors, training in technical aspect of maintenance is mandatory.Training to clarify livelihoods related benefits of maintenancerelated work within an overall policy to create an environmentwhere artisans trained in maintenance works are actively soughtand rewarded.

Community andcommunity groups

Localartisans

None of the Building Centres sustain themselves by selling to thegeneral public. In fact, those within government departments surviveon the work provided by the parent departments. The more successfulBuilding Centres have made an effort to market their products to thegeneral public and their best tool for publicity is the artisans that wereworking in these communities and have now been trained in CostEffective Construction Technology (CECT). Some initiatives are takenby the centre managers to to demonstrate the CECT products inbuildings of community interest. Overall, technical knowledge ofmaintenance work is low and is not an important part of their trainingprogramme. Building Centre managers can best learn from eachother. Training for them must have technical aspects ofmaintenance and training in community outreach and building aprofile of an efficient and quality centre for supply of buildingproducts and advice. Financial viability of phasing out materialproduction and increasing training related work to fill the gap intrained manpower for maintenance work would be the mainquestion to solve. Specific funding for this type of training will benecessary.

Other significant trainings would include the design of cost-effective buildings and improved detailing and supervision tominimise costs over the life cycle of the building.

Non GovernmentOrganisations(NGOs)

and

Any external people in-charge of a communitybuilding such asheadmasters in schools orhealth workers in healthcentres.

Building Centres,vocational trainingcentres,advice services forconstructionorbuilding materialyards.

Significant relatedaudience


A programme is being conducted at the primary school building inGyananagar, Bhubaneswar city, state of Orissa, India to demonstratecommunity asset management. The local community of Gyananagarand artisans from a nearby building centre are working together on therepair of this building. The experience of conducting repair relatedtasks in a systematic manner such as maintaining accounts andrecords will become the basis of a training programme to buildcapacity in other communities for community asset management.

1 Identification of assets and their condition:- Listing the experiences and analysing the capabilitiesof the community to manage and implement any repairand maintenance programme.- Generating awareness and capacity building regardingasset management in the community as well as localauthorities.- Physical survey and identification of community assetsto be repaired and upgraded through discussion withlocal community.

2 Orientation Programme: Presenting the aims andobjectives of the CAM programme to different targetaudiences from Bhubaneswar such as Policy Makers,Administraors, Accountants, Community, Masons,

Engineers and Building Centre managers and supervisors.

3 Capacity building for technical group: Specialist trainingprogrammes conducted for Engineers, Building Centre managers andsupervisors. The training programme discussed methods ofcompleting condition survey and distress analysis, basichousekeeping and minor repairs, book-keeping, site management,quality control, procurement of materials and man powermanagement.

4 Condition survey of assets:- Physical inspection of the community assets to explore variousoptions for their repair and upgrading.- Making an inventory and determining priorities through communityparticipation.- Analysis of the distress and recommendations,- Preparing estimates for works,- Planning for the procurement of materials and labour

5 Implementation: Actual implementation of the On - Sitedemonstration commenced when community agreed with themselvesfor which part to be repaired and prepared a priority list for theexpenses to be made. They also agreed to contribute labour.

6.Documentation: Throughout the period of conceptualization of On-site programme a systematic documentation of the entire process isplanned. The details of resources spent, as well the contribution andreactions of various people involved will be recorded. This record willbe used to spread further awareness about the Community AssetManagement approach. It is envisaged that trained personnel in localauthorities and Building Centres will attempt this approach in theirindividual contexts.

Capacity building:

Case study ofdemonstrationproject and pilottraining in India.

The demonstration project atGyannagar, Bhubaneswar is beingmanaged by the Bhubaneswar office ofHUDCO (Housing and UrbanDevelopment Corporation, Governmentof India)

The Narangarh Building Centreinvolved in the project is also funded byHUDCO.

The entire experience will become partof a training programme targetted atpolicy makers and Building Centremanagers. This training is beingdeveloped by Human SettlementManagement Institute (HSMI),New Delhi, India. HSMI is the trainingwing of HUDCO.

COMMUNITY ASSET MANAGEMENT 29

Notes on methodology

As a first step towards communityasset management a rapid appraisalcan be done using qualitativeinterview techniques. Here are somenotes on the methodology.


You may need to undertake about 5-8 interviews in the first group, Up to 10 in the second and 10-20 inthe third group for each building in the programme. For this type of rapid appraisal, semi-structuredinterviewing techniques should be utilised, asking questions phrased to get information about a seriesof topics but which allow for further exploration about topics of interest. Do not hurry, always appearinterested in the information being offered to you and record it without prejudice or judgement.Communities are dynamic, living objects with internal stresses and strains that affect, veryimportantly, how the community works. You must understand these dynamics before you cantell why something worked in each situation, let alone look for replicability.

(from notes for field researchers in India by Hilary Byrne.February 2001)

30 31

The experience gathered from the community-based repair andupgrading in India has provided sufficient indication on thesustainability of the process. Three major components have emerged:

1. The demandImplies, understanding the willingness of communities to participate inthe community asset management.

2. The supplyImplies, providing knowledge and materials to the community for assetmanagement. Building awareness and capacity (e.g. trainingprogrammes at different levels) on housekeeping, identification andrectification of building distress, process of management and qualitycontrol is important for the success of asset management. Thestakeholders of such capacity building and awareness are theadministrators, engineers, supervisors, masons and most importantlythe end users, i.e. the community.

3. The preparednessThere may be a few public buildings in the urban and rural poorsettlements under the jurisdiction of the Munipalities and DevelopmentAuthorities. The existing organisational structure of the Municipalities/Development Authorities for asset management of such buildingsshould be studied. Also, there may be a few buildings (such asassembly hall, temple/mosque/church) which are owned by thecommunity. Studies on the maintenance of such buildings by thecommunity, if any, will be of special importance.

The AppraisalThe study will identify the preparedness of the community and variousauthorities with respect to handling community assets. The aim is todiscover which factors promote the most successful management ofbuildings by communities. This requires three different types ofinterviews to be carried out in sufficient quantities. The following threegroups of people need to be interviewed.

The purpose ofthe appraisal

Notes on conducting interviews

(from concept notes on CAMrelated research in India byP K Das. January 2001)

1 Interviews with administrative officersThe members of this group are busy people. Your introduction to the topic should stress the nation-wide usefulness of the outcome of the research and the potential for reducing budgets within theadministration. You need to get pointers as to who is responsible for what before you speak to them.Ask questions around the following topics:

Who has the legal responsibility for building construction and maintenance? Who is in charge ofwhich relevant department? How much money is allocated, how is that channelled, whatpermissions have to be sought? How long does it take to release expenditure? How easy is it forcommunity managers to access this system? What is the procedure for discovery and reporting ofmaintenance needs, assessing works and implementation? Do they have experience of communitymanagement – subjective assessments of efficacy, difficulties, advantages and disadvantages?Most importantly, is there an inventory of community assets and their condition?

2. Interviews with key Local InformantsThe aim of the interviews in this section is to get a description of the community factors which affecthow the community interacts with their buildings, their administration and the role of the community intheir maintenance. You will have to talk widely on these topics to discover how the community works.

Start by talking about who lives in the community and uses the facilities; are there any people notusing any building, why not? Find out lots of background data on population size, number ofhouseholds, household size, average no. of children (may have to go to the local administration forthis), materials of local housing and buildings, religious affiliation and social structure. Who are theother people who know about this community or who can speak about them? Who knows thesepeople and works with them in the community? Ask each interviewee who does what in thecommunity, why do they do it? Historical connections? Habit? Custom? Ask which NGOs andCommunity Based Organisations (CBOs) work or have worked in the area. What did they do?Especially useful to know if they have been doing some kind of community empowerment/ trainingactivities. If yes, go and interview them about the community and its activities as well. Ask about thepresence of women’s groups, savings clubs and other small-scale groups within the community. Youshould be able to build up a good picture of the linkages within the community and know who isresponsible for which activity. Specifically about building maintenance, ask who does what and why,what difficulties are encountered, what are the successes and why it worked. These are very importantissues about which is needed very clear and detailed information.

3. HouseholdsYou need to talk to a representative cross-section of the community. You need to talk to men andwomen, older people, parents of children between 5 and 15 and younger people under 18. You mayalso find it useful to talk to school age children. You need to talk to members of each major socialgroup (male/female) whether users or non-users of community buildings. You must talk to thosepeople identified with doing most of the work. They will be most helpful to the enquiry. The aim is todiscover what participation they have in the building and maintenance programme, how it is organisedand their attitudes to the work and their participation. Discussion should include:

Use of the building. Involvement in the maintenance programme. Who does what, how have they beeninvolved? How successful has it been? What is their attitude to the maintenance programme and theirinvolvement? What in their opinion has been the most successful aspects of the programme, what hasbeen the source of difficulties – how could the difficulties be overcome? What improvements generallycould be implemented?


The Max Lock Centre is amulti-disciplinary research andconsultancy group based in theSchool of Architecure and theBuilt Environment at theUniversity of Westminster,London.Based on the ideals ofCivic Diagnosis, CommunityParticipation and Urban Designthe Centre continues thetradition of multi-disciplinarygrass-roots planning,developed over the last 50years by the Max Lock Groupboth in the UK and overseas.

This research project aims toreduce urban poverty throughpromoting community-basedmanagement of shared assets.The project is funded by the UKDepartment for InternationalDevelopment (DFID) and beingundertaken with a number ofinternational partners.

Strategies for good practice inenabling local communities todevelop, maintain and managetheir buildings and infrastructure

Promoting better community-based management by providingbuildings and infrastructure thatwill last and are appropriate tolocal conditions.

This research draws oncommunity-based developmentprojects as well as fieldresearch, mostly in India.

The project is now expanding toinclude experience in Africa

Interviewees in the three citiesof Hyderabad, Bhubaneswarand Ranchi contributed theirtime and effort to the research.

L N Barik, Consultant, DFIDMichael Mutter, DFIDSudipto Mukherjee, DFIDHilary Byrne, LSE

Max Lock Centre India,Delhi, IndiaP K DasInderjit Sagoo

Human SettlementsManagement Institute, Delhi,IndiaDr. Kulwant SinghDr. S K GuptaGayatri Ratnam RajeshNitin Verma

Housing and UrbanDevelopment Corporation,IndiaV Suresh,Malay ChatterjeeShukanya GhoshRahimmuddin

Max Lock Centre,London, UKBob BrownBill EricksonDr. Michael TheisRipin KalraLuisa Vallejo

Field research assistantsHemalatha, HyderabadSabita Subudhi, BhubaneswarSrikant Saran, RanchiSandeep Jha, Ranchi

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Max Lock CentreBuilding Capacity forCommunity AssetManagement

AcknowledgementsThe notes compiled in thispublication have come out offield studies in India,discussions with India and UKbased resource persons anddiscussions among the CAMresearch team..

Any comments and enquirieson this publication are welcome.Please contact:

The Max Lock CentreSchool of Architecure and theBuilt EnvironmentUniversity of Westminster35 Marylebone RoadLondon NW1 5LSUnited Kingdom

Tel: 44 (0)20 7911 5000Fax: 44 (0)20 7911 5171Email:[email protected]:www.wmin.ac.uk/builtenv/maxlock

Communitiesmanagetheir assets

DFID

Research funded by UKDepartment for International Development

of Community Communities manage their assets...Education Programme aimed at the delivery of Universal access to primary education. HUDCO Housing and Urban Development Corporation,

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