Social Capital: the key to strong communities

A year long study at King’s College London has found that informal networks of social capital are crucial when it comes to communities responding to unexpected shocks.

Social capital is glue that holds communities together, made up of the connections within and between social networks. Examples of social networks include the family, youth clubs, and religious groups.

Researchers at the College discovered that social networks exist in even the most formal of organisations, and suggest that they should be encouraged rather than suppressed. The networks were found to be especially useful when critical thinking and alternative courses of action were required due to unexpected situations

The study looked into the levels of social capital at the Environment Agency, the scientific bodies of the Welsh Assembly, and at a local dairy farm co-operative called Grasshoppers.

The results were presented by Dr. Mark Pelling at a seminar organised by the Economic and Social Research Council.

Pelling said: “Local actors are at the sharp end of adaptation.

“Where social capital is attuned to the imperative of adaptation it can offer a resource for reflexive adaptation - that is for self-organised and critical approaches to adaptation where the goals as well as the mechanisms for adaptation are reviewed and may be changed.”

In the three groups studied in the research, reflexive adaptation was found most strongly in the Grasshoppers co-operative.

Defra’s chief economist, Richard Price, however, has raised questions as to whether or not the Government should attempt to increase and shape social capital.

Price said: “Perhaps the role for government is no longer solely direct provision, but also the empowerment of citizens creating a framework for collective action where voluntary bottom-up community initiatives can thrive.”