Community participation - Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Understanding the links between participation in governance …
But other studies have shown that the causal relationship between governance and
social capital is not straightforward or one-way – the two interact. 3 The institutional
design of governance in turn shapes the development of social capital. 4 For
example, giving grants or signing service-level agreements with the community and
voluntary sector, offering capacity-building support or promoting social inclusion
policies can all shape the creation of social capital. 5 As Marilyn Taylor puts it,
‘Government can create the conditions in which social capital can thrive or not, as
the case may be’. 6
Involving people in governance can potentially build social
capital
One of the most important ways governance can influence social capital is through
creating institutions and opportunities for public engagement and participation. 7
The question is, what kind of social capital are we talking about? The theory is that,
by involving people in the governance of services, participants build relationships
with public institutions or officials that give their community access to valuable
external resources like money, support or political leverage. These relationships
between communities and those in formal, hierarchical positions of power are
sometimes described as ‘linking’ social capital. 8 It is linking social capital that policies
to promote community participation in governance have the best chance of
influencing.
It’s the combination of linking social capital with other kinds of
social capital that really matters
However, linking social capital is clearly not the only kind of social capital that helps
communities to work together to tackle problems. The most common distinction
drawn in the research is between ‘bonding’ social capital, the strong ties connecting
people who are broadly alike (e.g. family, close friends and neighbours), and
‘bridging’ social capital, the weak ties that connect geographically, socially or
functionally more distant individuals or groups. 9
These issues about different kinds of social capital are of more than academic
interest. If, as we saw in the last chapter, policy is meant to build social capital, policy
makers need to be clear what kind.
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