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Social Capital, Empowerment, and Community Driven Development Watch Video Connection Speed: High Speed Low Speed Audio    Event Title : Social Capital, Empowerment, and Community Driven Development Date : 10/21/2003 Duration : 80 minutes Language  : English Country/Region : World Keyword :  Sustainable Development     Presenter : Ruth Alsop Rob Chase Dan Owen | Related Material | Recommendations |Related B-SPAN Videos |  DESCRIPTION  Investments in empowerment, social capital, and community driven development (CDD) have been undertaken at the World Bank in an effort to improve development outcomes. All three are conceptually related and focus in part on inclusion, participation, organizations, and institutions. They also share the ultimate goals of poverty reduction and sustainable development. In an effort to better understand these concepts, five consultants were commissioned to write "think pieces" that examined the meanings of these topics and their interrelationships. Amy R. Poteete (University of New Orleans), Christiaan Grootaert (former World Bank employee), Milton J. Esman (Cornell University), Arun Agrawal (University of Michigan), and Anirudh Krishna (Duke University) addressed how the concepts affect one another and how work programs and outcomes in each of these areas might become better integrated. Their findings were presented at a roundtable discussion moderated by Steen Jorgensen, Director of the World Bank’s Social Development Department. The event also featured comments from three World Bank task managers working in these three fields, Ruth Alsop (empowerment), Robert Chase (social capital), and Dan Owen (CDD). Ruth Alsop presented a brief overview of the think pieces provided by Esman, Grootaert, Krishna, and Poteete. In these papers, the consultants were asked to define social capital, CDD, and empowerment and explain where they saw operational and conceptual links. Alsop noted that there were similarities in the definitions of social capital. The consultants all identified it, to some degree, as a set of social networks, organizations, or norms. There was more variation in definitions of CDD especially in terms of approach, but all stressed the inclusion of local populations in decision making processes. Empowerment, she noted, was the concept that produced the most variation. Some of the consultants saw empowerment as a policy, while others saw it as a process, and still others saw it as both. She noted that there was agreement on three main points. The first was that it was possible to develop broad definitions of the three concepts: empowerment as a process and/or outcome, social capital as a both a process and outcome, and CDD as an activity or operational tool. Secondly, the promotion of a supportive enabling environment at the national level is critical for further development of social capital and empowerment, as well as the success of CDD. Thirdly, decentralization is important for the effective implementation of CDD projects. There were also points of disagreement. Alsop noted that there were differing opinions on empowerment and its effect on power relationships and whether empowering some groups would come at the expense of others. Afterward, Robert Chase commented on the social capital perspective and the overlap with empowerment and CDD. He noted that there is a need for more empirical analysis of the intersections of these concepts in operational activities. He described this overlap as social capital representing the relationship between individuals, CDD as an activity that has operating principles and acts as a catalyst for communities to drive the process of change, and empowerment as a goal to evaluate whether CDD has led to positive outcomes. Dan Owen began by stating that CDD is an operational approach and not a type of project. Moreover, it is not just about communities, but the larger context that encompasses multi-level activities whose success hinges on the interrelationships between communities, the state, and the enabling environment. He noted that there should be a greater emphasis on how the application of social capital and empowerment may enhance the quality of CDD. He said that social capital, in particular, collective action, serves as an essential ingredient of CDD. He then cited a draft social assessment for Sierra Leone that stressed the need of social capital in CDD projects and highlighted the need to understand the capacity for collective action in a post-conflict society. In terms of operations, Owen said that empowerment is viewed as a process or longer-term outcome of CDD investments. He noted that the aim in CDD is to empower not just communities, but also a broad range of stakeholders. Empowerment in CDD is also reflected in the capacity strengthening of community organizations for longer-term development goals. He noted that there is a general consensus on what the concepts of social capital, empowerment, and CDD mean, but it is difficult to agree on definitions that everyone would agree on all of the time. Owen stated that more must be done to track, monitor, and evaluate empowerment and social capital and then integrate them into CDD. Alsop agreed with the others by stating that it was important to explore the operational links between the three concepts, but she also stated that is important to have a set of definitions that are clear and distinct. She then provided an example of how task mangers in operations can feel overwhelmed when trying to understand how all three concepts relate to their projects. She also stressed the importance of understanding how the country context determines how objectives are played out in practice. She then provided several examples of activities centered on illustrating how empowerment fits into the operational work of the World Bank.  RELATED MATERIALS   Summary of Think Pieces Empowerment at the World Bank The Community Empowerment Network RELATED B-SPAN EVENTS Sustainable Development (77)