Communities and people have unique strengths and capabilities that can drive change in a way that delivers the care that people want; historically, however, we have focused on the deficits of people and communities.

Therefore, building on the strengths of people and communities is focused on harnessing the power of individual and community strengths/assets to develop and deliver care and support that is based around the places where people are, and the individuals and communities that live in them. This type of approach is often called strengths or asset-based approaches. At its heart, this is about changing the relationships between people, communities and services. ​

The starting point is what matters to people and their families, and the support that makes the most impact comes from informal networks and within communities. This requires a fundamental change to the way in which many adults currently experience support. Progress has been made towards building better services including person-centred planning, family group conferencing or outcome-focussed approaches and there is more work to be done.