Getting the Full Picture: Why and How to Use Asset Mapping in Planning and Evaluation

When organizations plan new programs—or evaluate existing ones—they often begin with a familiar question: What’s not working, and what do we need? Needs assessments and root cause analyses are important tools for answering that question. But there’s another question that can be just as powerful: What strengths, capacities, and resources already exist that we can build on?

That’s where asset mapping comes in. It offers a structured way to identify and leverage the resources communities already have—whether those assets are organizations, people, skills, networks, or physical spaces. When paired with other planning and evaluation tools, asset mapping helps ensure that strategies are grounded in local capacity, not just local challenges.

Over the past decade, asset mapping has been used in: Rural community development, where local capacity is often less visible; public health and prevention, especially in youth and mental-health contexts; disaster recovery and resilience planning, where informal networks matter deeply; coalition and network-building, to understand relationships across organizations; and participatory and community-based research, to elevate community-defined strengths. In short, asset mapping strengthens interventions by grounding them in real community capacity—not assumptions. 

What Is Asset Mapping?

Asset mapping is the process of identifying, categorizing, and often visually mapping the strengths, resources, and capacities within a community, organization, or system.

Assets can include:

• Individuals – skills, experiences, leadership, lived expertise

• Associations – volunteer groups, faith communities, cultural groups

• Institutions – schools, nonprofits, clinics, libraries

• Physical or natural resources – parks, transportation, meeting spaces

• Networks and relationships – partnerships, coalitions, informal support systems

• Cultural or historical strengths – shared identity, community traditions, pride

In contrast to deficit-based approaches that focus on what is missing, asset mapping begins with what is present and strong, making it especially valuable for long-term sustainability and community engagement.

Why Asset Mapping Maters

It balances needs with strengths: Needs assessments tell you what problems to solve; asset mapping tells you what you can leverage. Together, they provide a more complete and realistic foundation for planning.

It supports community ownership: Asset mapping—especially when participatory—invites community members to define their own strengths. This builds trust, strengthens relationships, and increases buy-in for future initiatives.

It prevents duplication and reveals opportunities: Seeing all existing resources in one place exposes redundancy, gaps, underused resources, and opportunities for collaboration.

It strengthens grant proposals and planning: Funders increasingly want evidence of existing capacity, community networks, and readiness. Asset maps visually demonstrate that infrastructure.

It provides baseline information for evaluation: Asset maps capture the relationships, resources, and capacities that exist before a program begins. As programs evolve, those maps help evaluate whether community capacity, partnerships, or access to resources have grown.

How to Conduct Asset Mapping

To effectively create an asset map, start by defining the community you are mapping, whether it's geographic, demographic, or thematic. Clearly defining your focus ensures the map remains relevant and practical. Next, decide which types of assets are important for your goals, such as individuals, nonprofits, informal groups, physical spaces, cultural assets, or funding sources. Be intentional in selecting assets that truly matter for your project.

Gather information using diverse methods like interviews, surveys, focus groups, public records, and participatory events. Engaging community members helps uncover informal assets often missed in official data. Organize and visualize the gathered information using formats like geographic maps, network diagrams, asset inventories, or narrative maps. Choose the format that best supports decision-making.

Analyze the map to identify patterns, gaps, and opportunities, such as overlapping services, resource gaps, underutilized assets, potential partnerships, and isolated groups. This analysis transforms the asset list into actionable insights.

Finally, use the asset map to guide strategy, implementation, and evaluation. It serves as a tool to design programs, build coalitions, prioritize partnerships, identify strengths, and track changes over time. When integrated into planning and evaluation, asset maps contribute to a broader learning process.

Final Thoughts

Asset mapping helps organizations move beyond a problem-only narrative and recognize the full landscape of strengths, relationships, and resources that already exist. When paired with needs assessments, root cause analysis, and logic models, asset mapping supports more grounded, collaborative, and sustainable strategies. By understanding both what’s missing and what’s strong, organizations can design interventions that are not only effective—but deeply rooted in community capacity.

Let’s Talk!

Whether you’re starting a new program, seeking funding, or revisiting your organization’s strategy, a needs assessment can be your launchpad for success. Contact me today to customize an asset mapping process to fit your business or organization's needs!