Every human has basic societal needs in order to thrive. Things like a place to live, something to eat, a way to get around.
And there are plenty of nonprofit organizations, government agencies and community groups in Vermont working on increasing access to these necessities. But how much are they talking with each other? If they could collaborate more, would everyone be better served?
This is where the Vermont Assessment of Assets, Angles and Need, or VAAAN, wants to help. The project is led by University of Vermont Extension, with funding from the Leahy Institute for Rural Partnerships. And over the course of two years, Extension plans to create a comprehensive, up-to-date, and interactive tool showing what our communities must have to thrive (needs), who’s working to make that happen and how (assets and angles), and where people can help fill in the gaps.
What is VAAAN and Why Should You Care?
The Vermont Assessment of Assets, Angles and Need (VAAAN) is creating a resource that builds on ongoing work in Vermont: a GPS for community action. This tool aims to help anyone from a local non-profit to state agencies to concerned neighbors (like you!) understand how to best get involved.
How This Could Change Your Community
Imagine if you could:
- Quickly find out which organizations are working on issues you care about — and how to connect with them
- See where the biggest gaps are in your community and discover ways to support in addressing them
- Observe as communities across Vermont coordinate better, waste less, and accomplish more together
VAAAN is designed to be a living tool that grows with Vermont’s changing needs and connects real people doing real work to make our communities stronger.
How Are We Building This Together?
VAAAN bridges academic research with community voice through:
- Utilizing the knowledge that is already out there
- Listening to community voices
- Partnering with people already plugged in
What You’ll Be Able to Use
Vermonters will have access to a free, user-friendly website where you can explore Vermont’s needs by topic (housing, healthcare, transportation, education, and more) and by geography (your town, county, or region).
How Extension is Doing This Project
- The VAAAN starts by asking: What are things that Vermonters need to thrive that they can't accomplish as an individual?
- The VAAAN then relies on Vermont communities to inform about their needs, as well as resources and approaches already invested in meeting those needs, through:
- Local Minutes, which uses large language model (LLM) technology to gather Vermont's municipal meeting minutes and make that information searchable (and cited). That data will be ground-truthed through things like a survey of subject-matter experts.
- A thorough review of literature, peer-reviewed and community-generated.
- Two VAAAN advisory groups: one representing institutional power in Vermont, another representing the state's community power, at the grassroots level.
- The VAAAN will then use this information to create an online tool, which will triangulate for community members: "What are the partnerships that could produce a great impact?"
Stay tuned for more updates!
