What is social capital?

Interest in social capital and the role it plays in health and wellbeing has long history from a policy perspective. There is of course no single definition of social capital, and different observers have given a particular emphasis in how they define it. We are currently using the definition of social capital outlined by the Office for Public Management (OPM) and the London Borough of Camden as most useful in the context of this project. They measured the impact on social capital of a number of neighbourhood and other initiatives (Muir, 2006) and defined it as follows:

"Social capital describes the pattern and intensity of networks among people and the shared values that arise from those networks" (London Borough of Camden & OPM 2006).

We will work with our partners to explore this definition of social capital and revise it if it useful to our programme objectives.

There have been various research studies into social capital. Bourdieu, in France, focused on the role of social capital in enabling the educational attainment of children and more widely on it as the way in which people network to gain access to economic, social and political resources. He defines social capital as:

'the aggregate of the actual or potential resources which are linked to . . . membership in a group - which provides each of its members with the backing of the collectively owned capital' (Bourdieu, 1986).

Coleman also examined the role that social capital played in enabling children's educational attainment in the USA. He noted that those children and their families who were able to realise their full educational potential were supported in so doing by being part of social networks and community associations typified by:

• Obligations and expectations - through being involved in doing favours for and receiving favours from other peopleInformation sharing - by having the ability to share useful information that could be of use in the future
  
• Norms and effective sanctions - in the form of shared community values and standards of behaviour
  
• Authority relations - that allow individuals to exercise leadership and hence influence the actions of others.

Putnam focused on the role of social capital at a regional and local community level. He was particularly interested in the role played by networks of civic engagement, for example, neighbourhood associations, choral societies, cooperatives, sports clubs and mass-based political parties. For example, in a study of Italy, Putnam (1993) argues that the higher density of voluntary associations among people in northern Italy explains the region's economic success relative to southern Italy, where such associations are less frequent. In the USA he identifies a decline in civic engagement which he links to the knock-on effect of undermining social trust and relationships within communities. This in turn reduces a community's capacity to tackle social and economic problems such as unemployment, poverty, educational non-participation, and crime. Putnam defines social capital as:

"...features of social life - networks, norms, and trust - that enable participants to act together more effectively to pursue shared objectives... Social capital, in short, refers to social connections and the attendant norms and trust" (Putnam, 1995).