Connecting Communities in the Harborough District
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Stronger Communities FAQ
What is Social Capital?
Social Capital can be described as the 'Social glue' that helps people, organisations and communities to work together towards shared goals. It comes from everyday contact between people, as a result of their forming social connections and networks based on trust, shared values, and reciprocity. Thus the enhancement of Social Capital is key to developing stronger communities.
Why is Social Capital important?
- High social capital can be good for for children's behaviour, development and educational success
- Areas with high social capital are cleaner, safer and friendlier
- People who are active in their community or belong to groups and clubs tend to enjoy better health
- High levels of trust and strong social networks can help to ease the effects of financial disadvantage and may even help to make us richer
- Organisations with high social capital have good knowledge sharing, low transaction costs and low staff turnover
- But social capital can be a bad thing if it excludes certain people or groups (e.g. old boys network, cartels) or supports bad behaviour (e.g. the mafia, criminal gangs)
What is the Leicestershire Stronger Communities Project?
The Stronger Communities Project stems from the Stronger Communities block of the Leicestershire Local Area Agreement, which the voluntary and community sector leads on.
The main focus of the project is measuring the level of social capital (community cohesion) in 20 pilot areas in the County. These 3 areas per District were selected by the respective District Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs).
Within Harborough District these are Fleckney, Tilton-On-The-Hill, and Primethorpe respectively.
The government has agreed three key indicators of a strong community:
- A place where people from different backgrounds can get on well together
- A place where people feel they can influence decisions affecting their local area
- A place where people engage in formal and informal volunteering
These elements have all been measured through the Social Capital Surveys in each of the 20 pilot area
How were the 2006 Social Capital Surveys undertaken?
The survey process was led by the Council for Voluntary Service (CVS) in each District. Each CVS recruited a team of volunteers from a range of voluntary and community organisations, who conducted the survey work in their target communities. The volunteers conducted doorstep surveys of approximately one in four households.
Once the survey work was completed in each of the communities, the results were analysed and a summary report produced for each area. These reports have then formed the basis of development work in each community.
The surveys will be repeated in February 2009 to measure any change in Social Capital in each pilot area. If you would like to volunteer to help in the survey work please contact us.
How will the results of the survey be used?
The aggregated results of the Social Capital surveys will form the baseline for a significant proportion of the Stronger Communities block of the Local Area Agreement and changes over the 3 years of the LAA will be measured by conducting a follow up survey early in 2009. The full list of outcomes, indicators and targets is here.
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