There are a huge number of activities that helpful people, working together, can undertake to improve the flow of information and good vibes among the people of their communities… One of the activities suggested in the book “Building Communities From the Inside Out” by John P. Kretzmann and John L. McKnight is to conduct a “skill inventory” or “capacity inventory” of the people and organizations in the community.
Here is a link to a .pdf sample form that is offered in their book as a way to introduce the idea. There are other examples of inventory forms from single page inventories to much more extensive multi-page inventories available on-line from the Asset-Based Community Development Institute, founded by the authors. Prior to conducting an inventory a plan should be created for making good use of the information once it’s been collected. The planning ought be done by the people who will ultimately use the information in conjunction with members of the community that will be surveyed.
A complete 96 page guide to skill inventories from the same people, with examples, can be found here.
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