Social Capital: Lessons from participative research, training and evaluation

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Social CapitalLessons from participative
research, training and evaluation

• Thilo Boeck
• Centre for Social Action
• tgboeck_at_dmu.ac.uk

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• Need for dialogue between theory, investigation
  and application inform each other and
  develop some degree of synergy
• Involves going beyond academic debates towards
  participative ways of engaging community members
  and practitioners in discussion and
  implementation of strategies to enhance social
  capital

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Engaging in Democratic Debates and Reflections

• Reflection on social capital has to be
  multifaceted
• Exploration with community members and
  practitioners of the meaning of social capital
• Understanding the situationally specific
  processes of peoples social interaction
• Recognising that social capital is influenced by
  external factors stereotypes, media, local
  policies, power structures

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Deficit model. Or?

• Releasing or enhancing social capital
• Recognising strengths within communities
• Look at quality of social relations and their
  impact

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Social Policy and The Enhancement of Social
Capital

• Not every community needs or can enhance the same
  type of social capital
• Development of a dual strategy
• balance between bottom up and top down
  approaches
• Dont devalue the experientially-grounded
  knowledge of people themselves
• Create conditions that nurture social capital
• The risk of enhancing social capital

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The Harbour
Strong / Static Networks
Small Radius of Protective Trust
Restricted Sense of Belonging
Static Social Capital
Immediate Reciprocity
Restricted Outlook in Life
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Navigation
Diverse Networks
Broad Radius of Shared/ Social Trust
Diverse Sense of Belonging
Dynamic Social Capital
Generalised Reciprocity
Diverse / concrete Outlook in Life
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How to Enhance Social Capital Setting Sail
Diversification of Networks
Alternative Sense of Belonging
Enlargement of Trust
Dynamic Social Capital
Generalisation of Reciprocity
New / more focused Outlook in Life
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Implications for Policy

• Greater emphasis on processes and how services
  are developed and delivered
• Communities have already resources, hence
  enhancing and releasing social capital
• Social policy can damage the existing resource