Social Capital and Territory: A Multi-Method Approach to theMicro-Social Aspects of Social Change in Subregional Contexts

Abstract

In the social sciences there has been growing interest in understanding the importance of social capital, how trust and associative mechanisms affect social interactions. The study of social capital has been extended to various disciplines of the behavioral sciences. Its importance is that it can enhance cooperative relationships and informal networks in order to solve problems that communities face in their everyday context (Ostrom and Ahn, 2003a). Social capital can also help create and strengthen formal organizations that act as a form of insertion into social, economic and political scenarios. This article aims to introduce the results of a complex diagnosis of social capital in a subregional context of Colombia, the department of Antioquia. We use the findings of Giraldo, et al. (2013) to approach the concept of social capital from a multidisciplinary, multimethods, perspective, focusing in the importance of contexts, in the perspective of having baselines on social issues that allow evidence of changes over time and the territories, and that guide decision-making and the design of public policies sensitive to cultural variables.