A study of the mechanism of social capital development : the case of Sham Shui Po child-friendly network

Abstract

This study is to investigate the development of social capital among participants of the project “Sham Shui Po Child-friendly Network (SSPCFN). The project SSPCFN was a three-year project which aimed at promoting social capital formation among low income families in Sham Shui Po. A total of twenty-six participants of the SSPCFN project and two representatives from the business corporate partner of the project were invited to join the in-depth interviews to explore whether and how different forms and dimensions of social capital were generated in the project. In order to give a detailed analysis of the factors in social work intervention that are conducive to the generation of social capital, the social workers, supervisor and director of the organization of the project were also interviewed. This study shows that the content of the programmes, the qualities and competences of social workers as well as the organizational support all contribute to the outcome of the project. Both the family-focused and community-focused programmes of the project encouraged social capital formation. The effectiveness of the programmes indicated the importance of the social workers in the project. To what extent social workers recognized the value of social capital concepts and are committed to community work, their knowledge and skills to carry out the programmes brought influence to the promotion of social capital formation among project participants. The study also reveals that the support provided by the organization helped create an environment conducive to a better development of the project. This study contributes to the understanding of the mechanism of social capital development for low-income families. A social capital intervention model is proposed, which acts as a reference for local social work practitioners.