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The policy language of recent UK governments in relation to 'activating' communities has drawn on images of 'community' as coherent constructions - communities of place - recognizable to their members who are capable of concerted action. From this conceptual basis, localities identified as 'ineffective' are encouraged to become 'successful, integrated communities' through government action such as New Labour's Working Together neighbourhood policies and the more recent Big Society initiatives of the Conservative-led Coalition Government. The shared fallacy is that individuals are policy-receptive actors with the potential to engage in community life 'successfully' (consensually) once 'empowered' to do so. This paper questions the efficacy of applying politically neutralized values of empowerment, community and participation in government policy to 'real world' communities by applying the lessons of a case study of the lived experience of community action in the late 1990s, during an arguably golden policy era of government sponsored community participation. In this study, the work of Georg Simmel was used to highlight the dynamism of human associations and the co-presence of apparently contradictory currents of conflict and co-operation. Qualitative network analysis illustrated the webbed intricacies of participating in 'community' and the importance of recognizing conflict as an element of the whole process of participation - which should not be elided by policy makers. The paper concludes that conflict has a positive role to play in sustainable community processes: it is both an undeniably inherent element of participation and a democratic imperative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of village savings and loan association (VSLAs) programmes in several African countries portray these initiatives as spaces that increase financial access for the poor, improve livelihoods, and provide members with social capital. Little is known, however, about their impact beyond increasing financial access. This paper shows that the benefits that accrue (or do not) from membership in VSLAs are mediated through networks of friendships and other social relations that predate the introduction of VSLAs. Based on ethnographic research on VSLAs conducted between 2012 and 2014 in Luwero District, Uganda, this paper examines women's experiences in VSLAs, how social networks influence their decision to join a VSLA, and how VSLAs provide women an opportunity to exercise agency through utilizing their social networks in their community. In this way, they are able to challenge structural barriers to financial autonomy and control at the household level. This research shows that female participants utilize two kinds of networks in VSLA spaces: 'silence-in' and 'silencethrough' networks. The findings underscore the influence of friendships and family relations in shaping the impact of externally initiated microlevel programmes such as VSLAs beyond financial inclusion, livelihood, and poverty reduction. The decision to join a VSLA, the desire for financial autonomy, the struggle against power dynamics, and unintended consequences are all negotiated within the VSLAs space through social networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite overwhelming interest in the role of social capital in international development, attention to the interplay of community-based development aid with local collective-action dynamics in Central Asia and particularly Tajikistan has remained limited. This paper investigates donor-induced local institutions for collective action in rural Tajikistan with a focus on the introduction of a community-based health insurance. Social capital and collective-action theories are used to interpret results from qualitative research in two Rushan District villages in the Gorno-Badakhshan region. By highlighting the role of donor embeddedness, and the perceived legitimacy of different decision-making structures, the article contends that the perception of such externally-induced change depends on the community's capacity to reach beyond the intra-communal solidarity network through bridging and linking capital. The findings suggest this can be fostered by addressing trust, and the role of effective development brokers, with due attention to power relations within communities and towards external agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Initial growth in Internet use in the 1990s resulted in many digital pioneers viewing new information and communication technologies (ICTs) as a means to radically empower people through new global connections and extensive social capital. This has extended into an interest in exploring how ICTs can contribute to international development, and particularly in the field of ICT for development (ICT4D). Evidence from the minority and majority worlds has tempered some of this initial enthusiasm and visions of technological determinism. This article is structured around a piece of coproduced writing to reflect on a project in a deprived neighbourhood in Edinburgh, Scotland, to empower a community through new technology and digital art. The approach involved social history in the form of an archive of images of the neighbourhood, a blog and Facebook page, and a range of physical outputs including social history walking guides and a digital totem pole. The article sets the coproduced paper in the broader literature on ICTs in community development to draw out lessons on the challenges and also the strengths of using novel methods to engage communities. While ICTs cannot develop extensive social capital within deprived neighbourhoods, it was clear that they can offer low-cost ways for institutional social capital to be developed improving partnership working. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Providing development inputs like electrical energy is a formidable task in many parts of the developing world. The generally rural nature of developing countries makes it necessary to devise innovative ways of getting electricity to the non-urban majority. It is also imperative that adequate and productive electrical power is made available, for sustainable development to be achieved by rural communities and by extension the national economies. Therefore, institutional and other innovations are being continuously mooted to meet the challenges; and it is in this context that rural electricity co-operatives have been introduced to developing countries. The co-operatives are promoted largely because of their social strengthening characteristics. However, questions arise as to whether social capital upon which the co-operatives are based is a facilitator or an impediment to the co-operatives, and the sustainable development that is ultimately targeted. It is argued in this paper that rather overstretched virtues of social capital mask undesirable elements of the capital. Importantly, organizations like co-operatives that depend on it can fail because of the neglected dark aspects. Empirical evidence from Kenya is used to support the contention. It is concluded that electricity co- operatives could remain a far-fetched possibility, unless desirable and undesirable characteristics of social capital are carefully taken into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last few years, there has been a tendency to consider group approach in gender entrepreneurship and the creation of networks among women as an important factor to improve the conditions of rural women and enhance their development. Consequently, elements such as caste, class, ethnic and religious hierarchies that lead to diversities among the different groups of women have been underestimated by the schemes of non-governmental and governmental organizations. This paper examines GMCL (Gram Mooligai Limited Company), an Indian community-based enterprise led by women which is formed by a network of self-help groups. By individuating the main challenges, the paper argues that while the ‘group’ and social forms of entrepreneurship have inherent benefits, it must never be allowed to become the paradigm in developmental policies for women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At a time of rising stress for communities, families, and individuals coupled with a growing disillusionment with government, the concept of ‘active citizenship’ has arrived as a salve to many of the social ills of our time. Emphasizing citizen's own responsibilities, and espousing values of solidarity, community, and neighbourliness, active citizenship embodies all that is good, rendering it somewhat immune from criticism. While agreeing that community values of solidarity and neighbourliness are indeed critical, this paper takes issue with what it argues is a significant re-visioning of the three core concepts embodied within active citizenship – citizenship, social capital, and community development – and argues that active citizenship, as it is currently promoted by state and select civil society organizations alike, substitutes self-help for redistribution and self-reliance for state accountability, in the process depoliticizing the principles and practice of community development and denying community actors a voice in their own development. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The decentralization process that has been introduced during the last decades in Greece, along with initiatives co-funded by the EU, forms a different context for the Greek society. This provides the ground for an academic and political dialog concerning the ability of local societies to participate in planning and implementing social and local development policies. Focusing on a case study of a small, multicultural municipality in Thrace, Greece, the aim of this paper was to participate in this dialog by presenting it as an example of using techniques and methods of community work, ‘real conditions’ planning, empowering and encouraging community participation in a multicultural region, finding pathways to build on social capital and support local development and thus making the most of EU co-funded projects against social exclusion. The case study was an action research that took place in the context of a PhD thesis2 from October 2005 to December 2006. The paper discusses the role of community work in an effort to identify and confront the problems that were faced by the community. The aim was to set a multicultural and more responsive to the local needs and particularities perspective in the procedure of the local authority policymaking. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

There is growing recognition of social capital as a resource which can both facilitate and constrain social action. Focussing on a North Indian village community in its historical context, the paper examines the processes of social capital formation, impact of changes in macro-structure on social capital and its role in development. The paper finds that processes of change exert opposing pressures on social capital some strengthening and others eroding it. An important observation is that formal institutions, if in conflict with informal institutions, would severely constrain collective action. It seems possible, however, to design a purposive action to make the relationship between the two types of institutions complementary and synergetic to harness social energy for development. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Anchored by a case study research, the paper asks whether rural socially innovative initiatives in Portugal can be considered sources of adaptability and increased resilience to land abandonment and land degradation in a vulnerable region to climatic changes. The article retells a systematization of experiences of a grassroots innovation in the Alentejo region. Elaborating on the lessons learned by the participants, the discussion reflects on the sources of social and ecological resilience created. These include facilitating new modes of participatory governance, a shared vision for a sustainable village, building up social capital and the steady collection of memories of traditional land use and resource management practices. In the final conclusions, key findings are distilled and prospects for further research suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the potential of rotating savings and credit associations (RoSCAs) as agents of pro-poor community development and well-being in rural northern Rwanda, the area most severely disrupted during and since the civil war and genocide in the 1990s. The economic gains of membership, effects on social capital, and the inclusiveness of RoSCAs are explored. RoSCAs facilitate mobilization of a variety of resources. Members pool finances that are utilized to support the fulfilment of basic needs at the household level, in addition to building up assets. Social capital is both inherent to and stimulated by membership of a RoSCA, through the building of trust, collective actions undertaken, and the values shared by the members. RoSCAs were found to be relatively inclusive, particularly when compared with more formal credit schemes, often including representatives of the most marginalized, and therefore most vulnerable, socio-economic categories. Membership generally involves relatively small payments while contributing to positive subjective perception as well, thus fostering further human well-being. RoSCAs therefore warrant appraisal beyond the immediate financial opportunities they generate, because of their production and reproduction of values such as democracy, reciprocity, and solidarity, and thus their significant contribution to community development and human well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

International voluntary service involving people from ‘northern’ countries represents a widespread and growing phenomenon on the African continent, prompting increased interest in the effects of international service on volunteers. Despite this trend, little research has been conducted on the contribution of international service to the development of the host organizations and communities where volunteers live and serve. Drawing on interviews and focus groups conducted with international volunteer host organizations in Tanzania and Mozambique, this paper examines the benefits and challenges for international service to contribute to the development of host organizations and communities. Findings suggest a range of positive benefits to host organizations. However, they also highlight a number of challenges that require additional measures to strengthen the potential benefits of international service. These include a greater critical consciousness of the imbalances between African host and northern sending countries, locating international voluntary service in the context of a colonial legacy, and strategically hosting volunteers in the context of financial and human resource constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The literature on community development rarely addresses the issue of emergent leadership. Community development is a non-linear process which may arise from the initiatives of people within the community, utilizing their social capital with relatively few economic or human capital resources. Yet to answer the question of how the community is mobilized for development, the issue of leadership must be addressed. An individual or a group must mobilize the community for this purpose. As Barker et al. (in Leadership and Social Movements, Manchester Unity Press, Manchester, 2001) argue, leadership is an essential element of change. In this paper, we explore the issue of emergent leadership in five community case studies. The theoretical lens of complexity theory is used to analyse the ways in which leadership emerges. Seven themes emerged, some of which were consistent with complexity theory. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In recent years, there has been a general trend in democratic societies to develop and exploit social capital. Reflecting this trend, a recent policy programme for Northern Ireland, A Shared Future, emphasized the importance of relationship building, both within and across communities, and between communities and statutory organizations. The research presented in this paper explores the potential of social capital as a policy concept and the value of the concept for interpreting community dynamics, devising strategies to enhance community relations and development and ultimately building a more sustainable society post-conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

At the dawn of a new century and millennium many people, community development practitioners included, tend to take stock of their past and articulate their hopes and fears for the future. If the moment is invested with a degree of spiritual significance as it has been by Christian believers and others alike, it is appropriate to review the interaction of faith, values and community work. In this paper based on research commissioned by the UK government, and carried out through a Christian charity the Shaftesbury Society, I aim to describe some of the faith based community work that is currently being undertaken in urban areas in England, and to identify some of the key themes and conflicts which make such work distinctive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the contribution made by the Colorado Healthy Communities Initiative to the practice of community led development. This involves 28 community coalitions in a foundation funded programme to the year 2000 which is designed to improve local quality of life. The conceptual underpinning is social capital formation and in relation to which key process insights are offered on (1) the scale of participating communities; (2) the focus of strategic planning and implementation; (3) broadening the representation of group membership; and (4) the sustainability of healthy community effort. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

During the last decade, Italian community co-operatives have emerged as a new form of community-development organization. The literature on community-based enterprises (CBEs) explains this phenomenon as a community that becomes entrepreneurial and develops locally based businesses for its socio-economic development. Nevertheless, a more critical view of CBEs reveals the partiality of a community's participation in these organizations. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the extent to which the mainstream theoretical framework for analysing these organizations has influenced the general understanding of this phenomenon. This research brings into discussion social–capital theories, particularly Putnam's neo-communitarian approach. It also proposes a diverse perspective on CBEs and community development by offering a critical analysis based on Pierre Bourdieu's works. The present study considers a specific form of CBEs—the community co-operative—with particular reference to the Italian context. Results from an online questionnaire (twenty-nine participants) and a cross-case study analysis (five co-operatives) show that community entrepreneurs have common determined social profiles and these help them to aggregate certain local agents instead of others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores and theorizes the experiences of a group of development workers involved in a community-based project in the context of post-conflict KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa. The effects of conflict on development in terms of loss of lives, livelihoods and resources have traditionally received much attention. Conflict fragments and disables social networks, relationships and systems of trust, and this conflict-induced fragmentation of the relational space in a community can have profound implications for community development and peace-building. The paper draws on findings from a recent study (John, 2009) into the Human Rights, Democracy and Development (HRDD) project, an adult education and development project in rural KZN. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Social capital has been described as a vital asset that can be used to improve communities. More recently, researchers have focused on how bonding and bridging social capital functions to aid organizations. Yet, the actual mechanisms associated with organizational social capital remain unclear. The literature posits that expressive and instrumental actions may help explain the effects of social capital. Merging these concepts, we examine the role of social capital in community development organizations (CDOs). We extend the resource-based view of network theory to demonstrate the role of social capital within organizations. Findings indicate that organizations vary in their ability to access the benefits of the network. Paradoxically, there may be an underlying minimal prerequisite capacity for CDOs to access benefits in the network. Such findings challenge some traditional theoretical narratives of social capital for smaller organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Neighbourhood Cohesion Index (NCI) is a popular scale used to measure social capital and cohesion at the neighbourhood level. Despite its prevalent use, discrepancies exist with regard to the factor structure of the scale. We explore a two- versus three-factor conceptualization of the NCI by comparing results of confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory structural equation modelling (ESEM) for each model among a representative sample of adults (n  = 798) in the Greater Phoenix Metropolitan Area (AS, USA). The ESEM three-factor model with the subscales of attraction, neighbouring, and sense of community was the best model fit. This three-factor model proved to be invariant across age, gender, health, and race within our sample. Given the need to determine consistent definitions and measurement of social capital and cohesion, these findings strengthen and support the use of the NCI as an instrument to measure attraction, neighbouring, and sense of community within neighbourhoods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper examines the local community's support for the post-tsunami recovery of two affected places in India: one a tourist destination and the other an agrarian village. The investigation begins with the proposition that social capital is a vital influence upon local communities willingness to support tsunami recovery efforts. The underlying assumption was that the resident community at the agrarian village with its rich social capital and tradition of community activities would proactively participate in the reconstruction program and thereby make a speedier and more meaningful recovery than the resident community at the tourist destination. However, an empirical survey conducted to prove this point provided us with contradictory results: the survey revealed no significant difference in the levels of social capital across the communities. Consequently, the researchers carried out a focus group discussion with the locals at the tourist destination. The interesting conclusion is that it is probably the richness of the very same social capital that provoked local participation at the agrarian village and eliminated it at the tourist destination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is considerable evidence in the literature that social capital contributes to poverty alleviation, but evidence of how development actors can strengthen the productive social capital for poor people remains scarce. This article describes strategies to strengthen social capital developed by an NGO and poor women as part of a development programme, undertaken in Jessore District, rural Bangladesh, during 2006–2012. The NGO and the women leveraged bonding (familial), bridging (peers), and linking (vertical links to powerholders) social capital to improve the livelihoods of women and their families, simultaneously changing gender relations within households and communities. Against a background of local norms and ethics, the NGO and the women employed strategies that created opportunities for women to meet and exchange, and develop their social skills, know-how, self-worth and capacity to act. Drawing on these strategies, the article presents a dynamic framework for strengthening social capital for community development, providing theoretical insights into the mechanisms for doing so. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a result of collaboration between the NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors, a refugee torture and trauma rehabilitation agency, and the UNSW Australia Centre for Refugee Research. The research used a participatory methodology and established a community advisory group to explore how resettled refugees explore and experience social capital. Consistent with other studies, it found that refugees' experience of social capital is shaped by both the destruction of social capital in their home countries as a result of war and persecution, and by the socio-political environment of the resettlement country. The article articulates a definition of social capital from a refugee perspective, including social capital 'enablers', which are the individual capacities, community capacities and socio-political factors identified by refugee participants in the research that are critical for enabling refugee individuals and communities to access existing social capital, and to build and strengthen social capital by extending social connections and networks and establishing new links in settlement. Implications for community development practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For a number of years, rural women micro-enterprise projects and policies have been formulated to take advantage of the strong cohesion and solidarity among groups of women in order to improve their development opportunities. This article explores some of the factors that may affect women's social capital development, such as the capacity for trust and cooperation, through the example of a case study of a women's micro-enterprise in rural Mexico. The analysis focused on three aspects that conform the social bases of trust: the existence of rules and norms, experience arising from repeated interactions and the characteristics of the members of the group. Issues of leadership, social identity, and solidarity among the group of women are highlighted. Contradictions arise with two objectives believed to complement each other: the development of women's social capital (relationships based on trust, social cohesion and solidarity) and the aim to make money to provide income opportunities for rural women in marginalized situations. The article concludes that the main factor, which influenced the creation of social capital and therefore the capacity for cooperation among the group was the personal characteristics of the group's leader . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the authors explored the relevance of social capital and strategies to build it for community development in a deprived community, Tin Shui Wai North (TSWN), in Hong Kong. The findings from focus-group interviews with social workers who were involved in eleven community development projects in TSWN revealed that social workers have taken social capital as a significant resource to be developed. The central focus of the projects, however, has been on bonding social capital targeting to meet the tangible needs of the community. The development of bridging social capital was limited by intensive community conflicts across racial groups, and project staff showed less awareness of the significance of linking social capital. The study also indicated that the conceptions of social capital upheld by participating social workers were mainly of a consensual approach, and the civic orientation was rather limited. Diverse strategies have been employed for building social capital in the community while serving different target groups. Social workers, however, have not been sensitive to the possible repressive dimensions of social capital, nor have thoroughly examined the concept of social capital when they applied it. The sustainability of social capital which has rarely been discussed in published studies remained the core and persistent concern. Based on the findings, the authors draw implications on developing sustaining social capital for community development. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

What makes one community survive an economic downturn, whilst others collapse? What gives one individual the ability to transcend a personal tragedy, whilst others hit the street? Many authors write about the importance of networks and social capital; this article explores the concept of agency, considered an a priori condition, at the individual level, for the mobilization of social capital and network formation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Social enterprises are hybrid organizational forms that combine characteristics of for-profit businesses and community sector organizations. This article explores how rural communities may use social enterprises to progress local development agendas across both economic and social domains. Drawing on qualitative case studies of three social enterprises in rural North West Tasmania, this article explores the role of social enterprises in local development processes. The case study social enterprises, despite differences in size, structure, mission and age, are strongly embedded in their local places and local communities. As deeply contextualized development actors, these social enterprises mobilize multiple resources and assets to achieve a range of local development outcomes, including but not limited to social capital. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This research project explores the concept of ‘agency’ in the context of sustainable community development and the involvement of citizens in achieving social change and social innovation in their communities around community development issues. The concept of agency is normally understood as a noun – a team or structure of people performing specific tasks for a specific purpose Barber, 2001. However, according to Bhaskar (1994) it can also be a verb, describing an action or process that results in a new ‘state of affairs’. This notion of agency can be held either by individuals or groups. Agency in this context, therefore, refers to an individual, an organization, networks or a community that can enact a process that drives change – either in the context of an individual who effects change within a community or a group that collectively does the same. It is our assumption that the presence or absence of agency is the key indicator of a group's ability to respond and identify cohesive solutions to sustainable development challenges ( Newman and Dale, 2005). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article looks at the role of NGOs in terms of their capacity for social capital development and community empowerment. The article is based on qualitative research focusing on two NGOs in Bangladesh: Proshika and Practical Action Bangladesh, and their work in two communities, one urban and the other rural. The article also focuses on data obtained from two indigenous occupations: blacksmiths and goldsmiths. It argues that there are specific problems within these communities and that NGOs’ capacities for social capital development and community empowerment were limited. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including maps in community development, the social conditions in poor communities in Hong Kong, China, and the role of leadership in enhancing community social capital.

In this article the author discusses an exploratory report from the International Association for Community Development (IACD), in collaboration with the charitable trust Carnegie UK Trust, titled "Appreciating Assets." She presents a critique of three core areas of asset-based approaches to community development, including transformation within the welfare state, the prioritization of community development methodology, and the limitations of a professional project of community development.

An introduction to the journal is presented in which the editor discusses an article by Ann Dale and Lenore Newman on social capital, an article by Paul Bunyan on political activity and community development, and his resignation as editor of the publication.

Research in Canada and Australia has shown that social capital is a necessary condition for sustainable community development as it enhances linking ties that increase access to resources outside the community. Social capital in and of itself, however, is not always sufficient to sustain and develop local community initiatives, as infusions of economic and human capital are often necessary; the larger ‘social safety net’ can play a critical role in local community development initiatives. More importantly, government policy alignment may be critical to establish a stable environment within which organizations can sustain and increase the scale of their operations. Governments have a critical leadership role to play by re-aligning policies and incentives to complement the existing social capital network formation by strategically targeting their interventions at pivotal points in the evolution of local organizations to optimize their access to outside economic and human resources. The role of government is explored in a case study outlining the actions of a local community initiative in a marginalized neighbourhood of Vancouver, Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article argues that 'community eclipse' theorized by Chicago ecological sociologists is not caused 'naturally', but by the constellation of economic, socio-cultural and political factors. Hong Kong, a former British colony, has undergone urbanization-cum-industrialization and experienced a demise of community spirit. Industrialization set the stage for urbanization, while the property-led economy spurred unscrupulous urban renewal. Government public housing and new town policies spurred urban sprawl, disrupted pre-existent communities and uprooted the residents. The local people attended to 'capitalistic consciousness' and pragmatic concerns rather than communitarian precepts. Social capital should be nurtured in revitalizing the eclipsed communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the evaluation of a complex public health intervention – the Ranui Action Project (RAP). The RAP utilized a community development approach to address the social determinants of health inequalities in a high need, ethnically diverse, urban locality. The rationale and impetus for the project was emerging evidence in the public health literature on the significance of working intersectorally with an emphasis on social capital and social cohesion as neighbourhood-level determinants of health. This article describes RAP and examines the strengths, limitations and challenges of the formative, process and impact evaluation model used to evaluate the programmes effectiveness. Responding to diverse evaluative expectations, while sustaining research integrity and rigour, requires a pragmatic multi-methods approach, responsiveness to local context, regular communication between funders, community stakeholders and evaluators, and flexible, reflective practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research reported here explores a community that amassed social capital in effective and diverse ways, enabling it to fight a corporate giant and protect critical, large watersheds. We explore how the dynamic interaction between network formation and network structure augmented community social capital, particularly bridging, for increased access to human and economic capital. Network structure(s) can create enabling conditions for the mobilization of social capital within communities and for people to feel empowered to act. The research suggests that there is an opportunity for policy-makers to learn what kinds of policies can enhance or destroy existing social capital in a community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]