The Appalachian Center for Sustainable Communities (ACSC) provides practical, non-ideological services that help communities evaluate conditions and actions. Our work focuses on reducing real household burdens and strengthening community capacity through disciplined analysis, shared understanding, and careful evaluation.
ACSC does not operate programs or manage organizations.
We support communities by providing analysis, teaching, and evaluation that others can use to act effectively.
- Community Analysis
ACSC conducts community-level analysis to identify where sustainability challenges exist and how they affect households across key burden areas.
This work includes:
• Community Sustainability Index (CSI) assessments
• CSI-Lite scans for rapid situational awareness
• Identification of household burden intensity and variance
• Neighborhood and system-level pattern recognition
• Framing conditions in clear, operational terms
Purpose:
To establish a shared, evidence-based understanding of what is happening, where, and at what scale.
- Teaching the Analysis
ACSC helps communities, administrators, and practitioners learn how to interpret and use analysis responsibly.
This includes:
• Teaching CSI and Community Cost Accounting (CCA) concepts
• Training in reading and applying assessment results
• Workshops and explainer sessions for councils, coalitions, and organizations
• Support for building shared language around burden, cost, and capacity
• Guidance on avoiding misuse or over-interpretation of data
Purpose:
To ensure analysis leads to clarity and alignment rather than confusion or conflict.
- Implementation Evaluation (Community Cost Accounting)
ACSC supports communities in evaluating potential and ongoing actions using Community Cost Accounting (CCA).
This work includes:
• Comparing intervention options and tradeoffs
• Evaluating pilot projects and programs
• Assessing whether actions reduce household burden
• Identifying who pays, who benefits, and where costs land
• Refining, scaling, or discontinuing efforts based on results
CCA supports program development, coordination, and decision-making without prescribing solutions, operators, or outcomes.
Purpose:
To help communities choose actions that work — and stop those that don’t.
How These Services Are Used
ACSC’s services are commonly used by:
• Municipal and regional administrations
• Sustainability councils
• Community coalitions
• Nonprofits and anchor institutions
• Co-ops and social enterprises
• Economic and community development practitioners
Our role is to support clarity, coordination, and evaluation, not to direct outcomes or control implementation.
Our Approach
ACSC’s work is grounded in:
• Household-level reality
• Burden reduction as a practical goal
• Coordination rather than command
• Evidence over ideology
• Ongoing learning and adjustment
We help communities move from conditions → understanding → effective action.
APPALACHIAN CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES 