‘Success and Failure of Social Projects’-A Comprehensive Review through the Prism of Social Capital

Abstract

What are the systemic social factors, which determine the success and failure of social projects (development projects)? How can we design better social developmental initiatives focusing on creation of specific social outcomes? The researcher is applying the concept of social capital to address these questions. Focus of this paper is to explain the process of social capital creation and its effects on the outcome o f social projects. The researcher intents to make two important contributions. First, proposing some plausible arguments that will explain the formation of social capital through different Social intervention models. Second, proposing a conceptual model, which could explain the success or failure of different Social Projects. Through the research six main postulates were proposed. First, It was proposed that increased levels of participation of actors in a community would significantly contribute to the creation of social capital. Cultural understanding of each actor in a community would significantly contribute to the creation of social capital. Information sharing between each actor in a community will significantly contribute to the creation of social capital. Social Identity of individual actors in a community will significantly contribute to the creation of social capital. Sense of belongingness of individual actors to a community will significantly contribute to the creation of social capital. Lastly, Pro-social motivation of individual actors in a community will significantly contribute to the creation of social capital. As a conclusion, a theoretical model for understanding the process of creation of social outcome was also proposed through this comprehensive review paper