Social capital as a factor of territorial communities’ sustainable development: behavioral aspect

Abstract

The article defines the major development problems of territorial communities established in the course of administrative-financial decentralization. On this basis, the relevance of the research of territorial communities’ social capital as a factor of securing their development and capacity in the long run is emphasized. The nature of the concept of social capital is defined, and its development factors and possible results of its use in a territorial community are outlined. The author defines conditions (qualitative institutional framework), perspectives (consideration of communication and informal relations when mapping the community development policy), and risks (the threat of social alienation of community members, development of xenophobia and intolerance, and unequal inclusion of social groups) that accompany the process of social capital intensification in a territorial community. The article focuses on the role of social values in the generation of social capital. Based on the conducted sociological survey, the low civil activity of the residents of territorial communities and low interest in the opportunities for personal participation in the community life are detected. The analysis of the role of social capital as a factor of securing the development of a territorial community in the long run gives the ground to substantiate the need to establish interaction between the community residents and local government and to involve residents in the territorial management. The principles of engaging the community members in its development (establishment of the objective and limits of engagement; equal access; inclusiveness; tolerance; interaction and decision-making consistency; feedback) and the engagement ways (raising awareness, consulting, interaction, cooperation, authorization) are determined. The possible consequences of efficient engagement of community members in the solution of certain development issues are substantiated.