Conference of the International Social Capital Association
Social capital has never been more important. Around the world, societies are confronting declining trust, political polarisation, loneliness, institutional uncertainty and rapid technological change. At the same time, communities, organisations and governments are recognising that relationships, networks, cooperation and belonging are essential to resilience and collective action.
Social Capital 2027 will create an international space for examining these challenges and exploring how social capital can contribute to stronger communities, more effective institutions and better social and economic outcomes.
Hosted at Heriot-Watt University’s Dubai Campus from 18–20 March 2027, the conference will bring together researchers, practitioners, policymakers and professionals from around the world. A dedicated virtual conference day will also be held on 17 March, while selected sessions from the in-person conference will be available online.
Building a genuinely interdisciplinary field
Social capital is studied and applied across an unusually broad range of disciplines and sectors. It helps us understand how relationships influence outcomes in areas such as community development, public health, education, economic mobility, governance, organisational performance and disaster resilience.
However, valuable work in these areas can remain separated by disciplinary, professional and geographical boundaries. Social Capital 2027 is designed to help bridge those divides.
As the second global conference dedicated specifically to social capital, the event will provide a meeting place for people who approach the subject from different theoretical, methodological and practical perspectives. The aim is not to promote one definition or school of thought, but to encourage constructive dialogue about how social capital is formed, how it operates, how it can be measured and how it may be strengthened or damaged.
The conference programme will include keynote presentations, research papers, panels, interactive discussions and workshops. Twelve thematic streams will give the programme structure while allowing participants to engage across disciplinary and sectoral boundaries. Contributions that advance the understanding or application of social capital are welcome even when they do not fit neatly within a particular stream.
Connecting research with real-world experience
Social Capital 2027 is intended to be more than a conventional academic conference. Although academic submissions will be peer-reviewed and held to established scholarly standards, the programme will also recognise the knowledge generated through policy, professional practice and community action.
Practitioners, organisations, policymakers and major initiatives are invited to share their experiences, including implementation lessons, innovative approaches and difficult challenges. Contributions may examine not only successful interventions, but also unintended consequences, failures and the practical realities of attempting to build trust, participation, connection or collective capacity.
This integration of research and practice creates opportunities for academics to engage with emerging real-world problems and for practitioners to connect their work with relevant theories, evidence and methods. Hybrid contributions that span research, policy and practice are particularly encouraged.
Why attend Social Capital 2027?
The conference will offer participants an opportunity to encounter emerging research, explore practical applications and engage with an international community focused on social capital.
For researchers, it will provide a forum for presenting work, receiving constructive feedback and developing new collaborations. Practitioners and policymakers will be able to compare experiences across sectors and countries, discover relevant research and discuss approaches that may be adapted to their own contexts.
The international setting will be especially valuable. Social capital is shaped by culture, institutions, inequality, history and place. Bringing together participants from different regions makes it possible to examine where theories and interventions travel well—and where local conditions require fundamentally different approaches.
Participants will also have opportunities to develop professional relationships with others working on related questions. In a field concerned with the value of relationships, the connections formed through the conference are themselves an important part of the event.
Contributing to the future of social capital research and practice
Many of today’s most pressing problems are not caused solely by a lack of financial, physical or human resources. They also reflect difficulties in coordinating action, sustaining trust, sharing knowledge and bringing people together across social and institutional boundaries.
Understanding these relational dimensions is therefore essential. Yet social capital remains a developing field, with continuing debates about its definition, mechanisms, measurement, ownership and consequences. It can generate cooperation and mutual support, but it can also reinforce exclusion, inequality and harmful group norms.
Social Capital 2027 will provide a forum in which these complexities can be examined seriously. By bringing together diverse perspectives, the conference aims to strengthen the conceptual foundations of the field while supporting more informed and effective applications.
Whether you study social capital, apply it through your professional work or are simply interested in how relationships shape societies and institutions, Social Capital 2027 offers an opportunity to join an important global conversation.
