The state of social capital in Britain: a policy briefing from Understanding Society

Summary

Understanding Society, the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS), in partnership with the National Council Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) and the Cooperative Council’s Innovation Network (CCIN), held a one-day conference on ‘The State of Social Capital in Britain’ in November 2015. The aim of the event was to look at the trends in social capital in the context of austerity, examine evidence on social outcomes and share thinking on what works in building active and resilient communities.This briefing provides a high level summary of findings presented at the event and discussions they stimulated. Evidence presented is based on Understanding Society data and other national surveys and, to a lesser extent, on local surveys or qualitative research by a wide range of contributors.