Social capital is a widely used concept that remains fragmented across disciplines and applications, often applied without a shared understanding or common theoretical foundation. In this webinar, we step away from the impulse to catalogue the differences further and instead explore the underlying commonalities in how social capital is understood and applied. Drawing from a capital-theoretic perspective, this presentation investigates the internal logic of social capital—what it is, how it forms, and why it functions as a form of capital.

Rather than treating competing theories as incompatible, I consider the possibility that each perspective reveals a part of a more coherent whole. Grounded against the logic of capital, as a process, we can identify consistency across approaches and gain deeper insights into how social capital facilitates the outcomes we are interested in.

This webinar will be held twice, at 7am and 7pm CEST, to make it accessible globally. The webinar will provide scholars, practitioners, and policymakers with a clearer conceptual foundation for social capital theory and a practical framework for understanding its diverse applications. Regardless of your interest in social capital, this webinar will provide tools for thinking more clearly—and working more effectively—with social capital.