The Community Renewal Centre
Welcome to Nurture Development's e-learning platform.
For organisations that are getting started, each of our courses provides an entry point towards more community-centred ways of working.
For organisations that are getting started, each of our courses provides an entry point towards more community-centred ways of working.
For organisations who want to go deeper, our courses are best viewed as interdependent and we can support you to co-design a whole systems approach to working in citizen space.
Write your awesome label here.
Training for Professionals Working in Citizen Space
We deliver training to organisations that want to strategically and practically embed Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) in the way that they work. Organisations can be at one or more points of entry to more community-centred ways of working and we can tailor our supports to match your current reality.
A New Way of Learning
Read
Resources
You will have life-long access to a library of e-books and written resources developed by Nurture Development.
Watch
Video Tutorials
Cormac Russell takes you through the key principles of the course modules in videos that you can access where and when you like.
Discuss
Zoom Sessions
You deepen your understanding and practical application through discussions, peer mentoring and skilled facilitation with our tutors.
Reflect
Reflective Practice
Facilitated reflective practice deepens understanding and embeds learning.
Apply
Action Learning
You learn by doing - applying your new knowledge and skills in real community situations.
Open Courses for Individuals
\Learnworlds\Codeneurons\Pages\ZoneRenderers\CourseCards
Meet our Team
Cormac Russell
Managing director
Cormac is a social explorer, an author and a much sought-after speaker. He is the Founding Director of Nurture Development and a member of the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) Institute, at DePaul University, Chicago.
Over the last 25 years, Cormac’s work has demonstrated an enduring impact in 35 countries around the world. He has trained communities, agencies, NGOs and governments in ABCD and other community-based approaches in Africa, Asia, Australia/Oceania, Europe and North America.
His most recent books are The Connected Community- Discovering the Health, Wealth, and Power of Neighborhoods (Coauthor John McKnight); Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2022, and Rekindling Democracy – A Professional’s Guide to Working in Citizen Space; Cascade Books, 2020.
Cormac’s TEDx talk can be viewed here
Colleen Quinn
Chief Executive
Having spent many years in the corporate world, Colleen is now responsible for the ongoing development and management of Nurture Development's e-learning platform and the delivery of our training offer.
Tom Dewar
Trainer
Tom taught International and Community Development in Johns Hopkins University and was also a Professor at the University of Minnesota for over 20 years. He was Director of Evaluation for the MacArthur Foundation.
Tom’s experience includes citizen leadership, new forms of organising, and the dangers of an over-reliance on professionals.
Tim Evans
Trainer
Tim was CEO of a national Youth and Community Work organisation for 19 years. Now he is working alongside other community organisations, churches and neighbourhoods and mentoring leaders to develop intergenerational ABCD approaches and facilitate organisational change.
Angela Fell
Trainer
Angela has 30 years experience of working alongside and within communities. She has always been passionate about community driven change. Angela has recently returned home to Wigan to community build with friends and neighbours.
Mick Ward
Trainer
Mick retired in June 2020 as Chief Officer, Transformation and Innovation, for the Adults and Health Directorate in Leeds City Council.
He has a strong commitment to the social model of disability, citizenship, communities, innovation, culture, equality and diversity, and working in partnership.
He has a strong commitment to the social model of disability, citizenship, communities, innovation, culture, equality and diversity, and working in partnership.
Judah Armarni
Trainer
Judah is the designer in residence at InnovationRCA, Head of Social Impact Lab within the design team at the Royal College of Art, a senior design researcher at Central St Martin’s and a visiting fellow at Rhode Island School of Design. His work over the last twenty years in applying design, craft and co-creation (Liberative Design) to areas of homelessness and the criminal justice system has nurtured award winning initiatives developed with and by neighbourhoods.
Claire Byrne
Office Manager
Claire brings extensive experience as an Office Manager and is responsible for the ongoing development and maintenance of the administrative infrastructure as well as providing support to our team, our learners and our clients.
Jon Massimi
Trainer
Jon Massimi has over 20 years experience in both community and municipal space. He has helped in the development of several strategic initiatives aimed at building collaboration between sectors and strengthening communities.
Jon is an adjunct professor, conference speaker and guest lecturer.
Jon is an adjunct professor, conference speaker and guest lecturer.
Susan High
Trainer
Susan has worked in health care for almost 40 years. For 20 of these years, she worked as a Community Clinical Nurse Specialist in Palliative Care with Strathcarron Hospice in Scotland’s central belt. She stewarded the development of a team of skilled community builders during the early years of the pandemic.
Interested in ABCD Training?
We can support you to identify a course to get started
or you can go deeper by co-designing with us a suite of training
that leads to whole systems change.
or you can go deeper by co-designing with us a suite of training
that leads to whole systems change.
Hear more from us
Thank you!