Social
connections
We support communities to connect and thrive.
Most of us intuitively recognise that the strength and quality of the relationships we have as individuals and communities – our social capital – matters.
Now we have evidence that connections across socio-economic divides are one of the best indicators of economic mobility, wellbeing and trust. In other words, social mobility is a question of who you know as much as what you know. A revolutionary new approach to measuring social connections can now paint a detailed picture of social capital in a place.
The RSA wants to partner with places to deploy these new insights to build social connections and cohesion to improve life outcomes. By combining new data, a global network of best practices and a hyper-local collective impact approach, we aim to ensure that every place is connected to opportunity.
At the RSA, we’ve supported social connections to drive positive societal transformation for over 270 years. We have convened individuals and organisations across disciplines, sectors, and increasingly national borders to collaborate in solving the great challenges of the age.
Our UK-based research, Revealing Social Capital, replicating research done by Professor Raj Chetty and co-authors in the United States shows clearly why ‘who you know’ matters.
Revealing Social Capital
We partnered with Behavioural Insights Team (BIT), Neighbourly Labs, Stripe Partners, Opportunity Insights and Meta on ‘Revealing Social Capital’ – the most detailed study of social connection in UK history.
Cross-class relationships are the strongest predictor of economic mobility.
In the UK, children from lower-income households who grow up in areas with lots of mixing between income groups earn more as adults – around an additional £5,000 per year – compared to children from similar backgrounds who mix less with high-income peers.
According to Chetty’s research, in the US, people from lower socio-economic groups can, by connecting with people from higher socio-economic groups, boost their lifetime incomes by as much as 20%.
Social capital key to social mobility
Unfortunately, across the US and UK, we have witnessed a troubling decline in the strength of social ties and social mobility over the past 50 years, leading to increased isolation, alienation, and an array of other social determinants of health and wealth. This decline in social capital has significant implications for individual and community wellbeing, as well as for our civic and political institutions, and society’s resilience to shocks and crises.
We believe one of the reasons for this decline is that individual and community ‘social capital’ has been largely neglected in policymaking for several decades in favour of an overemphasis on economic capital and growth as the only metric of societal success. There is an increasing focus on the depletion of our environmental capital, but less concern on the depletion of social capital.
It is time to see a step-change in encouraging approaches and practices that value and commit to stewarding social capital.
Why social connectivity matters
Andy Haldane explores the role of social capital and connectivity in nurturing health, wealth and happiness, among other things.
Social connections impact economic mobility
Raj Chetty and Lucy Makinson discuss how connectivity, social cohesion and civic engagement shape economic equality and opportunity.
Hidden capital
How do we rewire national and local systems to take better account of social, cultural and environmental value in our economy?
Social capital is fuel for us as individuals, personally and emotionally. But it is rocket fuel for us economically and financially too. It is the secret source of economic as well as personal growth and wellbeing. At a time when the importance of social capital has never been greater but its stock appears somewhat depleted, this begs two questions. First, how can we better recognise the societal contribution of social capital? And second, how do we invest in the endowment of social capital wisely to grow it in future?
What we’re doing about it
We convene practitioners, places and policymakers to grow social connections across the UK and around the world.
Connected Places
Supporting place-led approaches to social capital creation through our convening power, data and evidence and our network of 31,000 Fellows.
Global Action Learning Network
Building capacity among a global network of social capital practitioners through peer learning, inspiration and solidarity.
Unlocking philanthropic investment
Shifting funder practices around social connections will accelerate a future where no one is left behind. Our growing community of funders is working to support more connected futures through social connections.
Become an RSA Fellow
The RSA Fellowship is a unique global network of social innovators enabling people, places and the planet to flourish. We invite you to be part of this change.
