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Research
Local economies

Social Capital 2025: A protective shield for children, families and communities

11 Feb 2025

In this paper, Adam Coutts and Diego Mauricio Diaz Velásquez review the international evidence that strengthening social capital can improve outcomes for children growing up in doubly disadvantaged neighbourhoods.

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Cover page of a report titled 'Social Capital 2025: A Protective Shield for Children, Families and Communities,' published by DEMOS in January 2025. The authors are Adam Coutts and Diego Mauricio Díaz Velásquez. The cover features a teal background with bold black and orange text. Logos for 'Local Trust' and '3ni' (national network for neighbourhood improvement) are also present.

Touching on studies relating to children’s involvement with the care system, parental abuse and young people’s likelihood of falling into criminality, A protective shield for children, families and communities argues that policymakers should invest in social capital to tackle current and enduring social challenges facing individuals, families and communities.

This paper is part of the Social Capital 2025 series, published by Demos in collaboration with Local Trust and 3ni.

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