Work with individuals to build their social capital

The case studies in this section demonstrate a range of approaches aimed at building individuals' social capital through 1-2-1 working and co-production. In some instances, individuals' resources are linked together for a common purpose, and those of groups and community associations.

The connections between self-directed support and collective approaches to improve local well-being are often misunderstood or poorly developed. Self-directed support is sometimes incorrectly viewed as individualistic and even potentially undermining of collective approaches. This is not the case however.

Several members of the Building Community Capacity learning community are part of the In Communities programme which is offered by In Control (IC). IC have been undertaking research with their members on the outcomes of self-directed support, including on people's engagement with their communities. Both the overall research and that for individual local authorities appears to be showing a positive impact. The latest evaluation of the impact of the take up of personal budgets included in the In Control Phase three report notes that most people reported taking a more active role in their local community after receiving a personal budget (58%).