Capital framework theory

The capital framework aims to systematically assess the strengths, capabilities or resources of a context or a person. These are called “capitals” and are classified into seven categories.

• Cultural capital: Attitudes and norms that influence outlooks and values and then influence actions. Also includes more tangible and intangible elements such as traditions and language. Can be shared by people and across places, but also can differ among people and across places.
• Human capital: Human potential e.g. talent, skills, knowledge, self-esteem, abilities, health and well-being. Can be developed informally or through formal education. Also wider services and institutions feed into it, such as health services.
• Social capital: Capital embedded within organisations, wider social networks and wider informal connections. Relationships that enable working together towards shared goals. Trust is also an important part of social capital, which can take the form of closer (bonding social capital) or loose ties (bridging social capital).
• Political capital: Empowerment and ability to influence change. Could translate into changes to policy and regulations or pressure to enforce existing governance instruments. Ability to influence may be determined by the nature of governance, e.g. bottom-up initiatives, multi-level governance.
• Financial capital: Economic capital or financial resources already possessed or access to, for example through enterprise and community organisations or the wider rural population e.g. income, access to credit, tax incentives, grants. This type of capital is more mobile and more straightforward to exchange and measure than other capital forms.
• Built capital: Range of human-made fixed assets such as infrastructure and buildings. Ownership can come in different forms (e.g. public, private or community).
• Natural capital: All renewable and non-renewable resources e.g. land, water, soil, forests, farm livestock, marine life, flora and fauna.

"Capital" refers to all the resources, the "treasures" that local people can draw on to develop their rural areas. These seven types of capital provide a broader view of the existing preconditions and the possibilities of self-determined rural development in a region. The capital framework takes into account that for example a place can have biodiverse and healthy nature while the built infrastructure might be in a very bad condition; or it can have reliable networks and local cooperation but an average financial situation. Such an analysis will help to understand a setting and consider its strengths and weaknesses.

The approach can also be helpful in case you want to transfer one of the case studies or apply one of the types of action from this guide to your own context. The so-called resource wheel is used as a tool to visualise the set of resources - or types of capital - for a given context and is depicted for all the case studies and types of action in this guide. By comparing your own wheel with the ones from the guide, you will be able to prioritise your activities and select the best starting point based on the best match of your "own resources" with the "required resources".

Embedded in rural areas is the potential for transformative change. Rural areas are full of resources that can support change. Rural society contains people and organisations with different types of skills, for example from their professional expertise to local knowledge. The rural economy contains businesses and entrepreneurs often of many types. More tangible assets such a built heritage, landscape, digital infrastructure and less tangible culture and creativity can also provide sources of rural renewal. Rural areas of course often have critical resource gaps but individual projects and initiatives can also fill in the cracks. Problems are often connected to others and dealing with one rural issue can be the start of addressing another. Transformative change may take time and experience bumps in the road. Tackling the key issues at the heart of rural decline is never simple or easy. However rural communities know the problems they face and need to address. Rural communities can underestimate the potential they hold for innovation and how they have been innovative in the past. Rural innovation can simply be a new, promising approach to tackling a local problem and does not have to be a technical or scientific solution, but a more everyday innovation. Local actions may not seem radical but in hindsight become known as the catalysts of change where synergies emerged to drive an upward spiral.

In contemporary times, knowledge has become something we can think about as gained in the classroom or from books. This is of course an important source of learning. But there is also a wealth of knowledge and skills to learn from doing. We can learn a lot from our experiences and by doing, hands-on, in practice. People that have spent their livelihoods focused on one profession often possess knowledge that cannot be learned more formally. The farmer that has worked the same land for years will understand the capacity of its soil and how this differs between their fields. The artisan that has honed their craft can demonstrate their methods but to truly learn their skilled ways will need closer and longer attention. We can learn from others in the sense of the old idea of master and apprentice. But important learning can also be gained from our closer peers, from understanding their approach and looking at it alongside ours. Spaces, places and time for this kind of learning to happen are also crucial, such as mentoring or peer to peer group exchanges. This can result in bringing together more formally, classroom learned knowledge with life-learned and practiced knowledge. Learning becomes produced and changed by collaboration that is shaped by a mix of different kinds of knowledge.

Local leaders are key to transformative change, but no man, community or project, is an island. Connecting with others is also important to support transformative change. This can unlock resources such as new ideas, funding and even a shoulder to lean on when developing new projects and initiatives. Working as part of networks can also connect with groups unlike ourselves that have particular important perspectives to take into account, such as young people and migrants. There are a range of other players to consider. Government authorities, politicians, stakeholder groups, development organisations and educational institutions are some examples. These players may be local, but also perhaps regional, national and even international, depending on the issues and objectives the community is working to address. There could also be groups in other places already on the road your community is working to get on. They could have valuable experience to shape change in your community. They might even be potential collaborators to work with on cooperative projects and to upscale initiatives.

How to use the wheel

The levels are subjective, this is not a mathematical model. You should select the level of resources available based on your perception: none, a little, some, abundant, unlimited.
To do so, hover your mouse over each type of capital to read its definition.