Towards measuring social capital for place transformation

Social capital – the social norms, shared values, institutional arrangements, civic engagement and social connections that foster co-operation among population groups – can play an important role in improving economic performance, well-being, and resilience. This positions social capital as a potential catalyst for place transformation. However, empirical evidence on how and under what conditions social capital can drive place transformation remains limited, partly due to the lack of robust and harmonised local-level measures. Moreover, frameworks for assessing local social capital are often country-specific, hindering international comparability. This paper reviews existing measurement frameworks for social capital and outlines a pathway for developing an indicator framework for OECD regions and cities, highlighting how this framework could facilitate the evaluation of social capital's impact on place transformation.