Forms of Capital in the local care and support network

The Clapton Care Circle’s network is embedded with several forms of capital, notably social, human, and relational capital. While informal care wealth is abundant, much of the economic capital and formal care potential remains untapped. Each type of capital plays a crucial role in sustaining the care ecosystem, though some are underutilized or invisible.

The Circle has been central in generating and nurturing these forms of capital. By building care teams, recruiting care workers, and fostering community collaboration, it creates both visible and invisible economic and social value. However, to unlock the full potential of this care wealth, stronger formal connections and deeper collaborations are needed. Through these efforts, the network could evolve into a fully integrated, cooperative care system.

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Social Capital:

Social capital refers to the networks, relationships, trust, and norms that enable actors to work together effectively. The Clapton Care Circle is rich in social capital, as it connects individuals, groups, and organizations through various types of relationships—whether engaged, generative, or inactive:

• Bonding Social Capital: This is evident in close-knit relationships, such as those within teams or small, localized community groups. These relationships create strong, supportive connections, often based on shared experiences or backgrounds (e.g., personal care maps or collaborations with local services).

• Bridging Social Capital: The network also includes bridging connections between different types of actors (e.g., between businesses and care teams, or between organizations and individual caregivers). These relationships span across social divides and provide opportunities for diverse forms of care to circulate. However, some bridging connections remain "engaged" but inactive, representing untapped potential for collaboration.

• Trust and Reciprocity: The informal care that flows between actors, such as emotional support or wellness services, is underpinned by trust and a sense of reciprocity, which strengthens the fabric of the care community.

The Clapton Care Circle has actively worked to build social capital by facilitating relationships between care providers, recipients, organizations, and the broader community. This includes fostering bonding social capital (within care teams and smaller community groups) and bridging social capital (by connecting different types of actors—businesses, organizations, care teams).

Human Capital:

Human capital refers to the knowledge, skills, and experience possessed by individuals and groups within the network. The diverse range of actors—whether they are care team members, local volunteers, or professionals—contributes significant human capital to the care landscape.

• Care Skills: Many actors in the network offer specialized care skills, from wellness and mental health support to childcare and elderly care. This is visible in the types of informal and formal care available within the network, though formal care remains underutilized.

• Local Knowledge: The mapping project itself is a testament to the value of local knowledge, as the Clapton Care Circle and its teams drew on personal networks and local expertise to map connections and care relationships. This knowledge helps build an understanding of the community's care needs and the resources available to meet them.

• Care Experience: Individuals and teams bring their lived experiences of care, whether as professional caregivers or unpaid family carers. These experiences are central to understanding and responding to the care needs of the community.

By recruiting and training three care workers, the Clapton Care Circle has contributed to the human capital within the community. Care workers bring professional skills, experience, and knowledge, while the training and development initiatives enhance the overall quality of care. In addition, the Circle supports informal caregivers, increasing their skills and capabilities, thereby enriching the caregiving landscape.

Cultural Capital:

Cultural capital involves the shared values, traditions, and practices that shape how care is understood and provided in the community. The Clapton Care Circle emphasizes a commons-based approach to care, which fosters a culture of mutual aid, shared responsibility, and the recognition of care as a common good.

• Commons-Based Care Ethos: The network reflects a cultural commitment to caring for one another in a way that transcends market-based transactions. This ethos is evident in the informal care exchanged between individuals and teams, as well as in the desire to make care wealth visible and accessible to the broader community.

• Community Engagement and Belonging: Many of the actors in the network contribute to a sense of belonging within the community, especially through group-based care practices and participation in neighborhood forums or events. This contributes to a shared cultural narrative of care and support.

As a community-based care provider, the Clapton Care Circle fosters a culture of care, embedding ethical principles of mutual aid, cooperation, and collective responsibility in the care network. This cultural capital shapes how care is provided and how community members perceive their roles in supporting one another.

Economic Capital:

Economic capital refers to the financial resources and formal, paid services within the care network. While informal care (often unpaid or “gifted”) dominates, paid care services also exist in the network, though their visibility and accessibility are limited.

• Paid Care Services: Some actors provide formal, paid care services, though the data suggests that these services are not always fully mobilized. For example, there is a discrepancy between the types of paid care available and the care actually provided, as documented in the connections data. This points to underused economic capital in the form of untapped paid care opportunities.

• Support for Economic Participation: The network also includes elements that contribute indirectly to economic capital, such as organizations or teams that offer training, skills development, and job opportunities in caregiving roles.

The Clapton Care Circle has contributed directly to the generation of economic capital by facilitating paid care services and formal employment opportunities within the community. This includes the wages paid to care workers, the financial transactions related to formal caregiving services, and the potential for local businesses involved in care provision to grow and generate income.

The wider economic value of the care wealth unlocked or generated by the Clapton Care Circle's activities can be substantial, especially when factoring in the replacement value of informal care, the wages of formal care, and the cost savings from improved community well-being. With greater activation of latent potential and deeper formalization of care relationships, the economic value of this network could grow significantly.

Relational Capital:

Relational capital refers to the quality of relationships between actors and how these relationships foster collaboration and mutual support. The connections within the Clapton Care Circle’s network represent various levels of relational capital.

• Generative Relationships: Some connections in the network are labeled "generative," indicating strong, active collaborations that create mutual value. These relationships, particularly between teams and the Clapton Care Circle, represent the highest form of relational capital, as they generate tangible social impacts and foster greater care wealth.

• Latent Potential in Inactive Connections: Inactive or engaged connections, which have yet to evolve into full collaborations, represent untapped relational capital. Strengthening these relationships would unlock additional care wealth and foster greater cooperation across the network.

The Circle’s leadership in creating cooperative connections and fostering collaborative relationships between individuals, groups, and organizations has generated substantial relational capital. This capital is embodied in the quality of interactions between actors and the active collaborations that lead to shared resources and mutual support.

Spiritual and Ethical Capital:

Spiritual and ethical capital refers to the values, beliefs, and moral principles that guide the care practices within the network. The Clapton Care Circle, grounded in a commons-based care approach, embeds spiritual and ethical values in its operations.

• Care as a Moral Imperative: The network operates on the principle that care is a shared, collective responsibility—a form of ethical capital that transcends individual gain and focuses on community well-being. This is evident in the emphasis on gifted care and informal support, as well as the aspiration to create a local Care Commons.

• Spiritual Well-Being: For some actors, spiritual well-being is tied to their caregiving roles, whether through direct spiritual support or through creating environments of mutual respect and understanding. The The Clapton Care Circle and it's collaboration with St Thomas Church, for example, plays a role in fostering collective community values.

The Clapton Care Circle plays a vital role in generating spiritual and ethical capital within the community, grounding its operations in a commons-based care approach that emphasizes shared responsibility and collective well-being. Care is treated as a moral imperative, where the needs of individuals are met through gifted care and informal support, reflecting a commitment to mutual aid rather than profit. This ethos is central to the Circle’s aspiration to build a local Care Commons, where care is viewed as a common resource to be stewarded by the community.

Emotional and Psychological Capital:

Emotional and psychological capital involves the emotional support, well-being, and resilience fostered within the community. Informal caregiving activities—such as emotional support, wellness services, and efforts to reduce social isolation—are central to the Clapton Care Circle’s network.

• Emotional Support: Many actors in the network provide informal emotional care, which contributes significantly to the psychological well-being of the community. For instance, actors like, Compassionate Neighbours, The Warm Welcom or Double Bass Dan offer emotional and social support that strengthens individuals' mental health and resilience.

• Wellness and Mental Health Services: Informal care types such as wellness and emotional health support are frequently offered within the network, reflecting a strong base of psychological capital embedded in community relationships. These forms of care not only improve individual well-being but also foster a sense of collective care and support.

By organizing care teams and building cooperative connections, the Clapton Care Circle has generated substantial emotional and psychological capital. This includes reducing isolation, improving mental health, and increasing the emotional resilience of community members through informal care, wellness support, and social activities.

While the Clapton Care Circle has successfully generated many forms of capital, there is also significant latent potential in the network. This is seen in the inactive or engaged connections that have not yet been fully realized, as well as the discrepancy between the care available and the care provided in the network. For instance, many actors list types of care they are willing to provide, but these services have not yet been mobilized into formal collaborations or active care exchanges.