Every country has social capital, just as it has other resources. The purpose of conducting an assessment or survey of social networks is to render the invisible visible. This allows those planning and implementing voter education programmes to gain access to the cultural associations that may enhance democracy and to better plan ways of coping with those forces that may hinder it.
While there are a number of ways to conduct such an assessment, the simplest may be to place one or more teams into the field in order to conduct interviews and enter information into a simple contact database or index card system. These teams will begin by selecting an obvious range of nodal organisations in a geographic area and requesting information from them. A second set of interviews will be conducted with individuals and organisations referred to in the first set of contacts.
Once a full set of contacts has been collected--inclusive to the extent possible within the time and financial constraints set by the educational programmers--teams from the field may find it helpful to develop a graphical representation of the social networks in debriefing sessions. This is done by using large sheets of paper, writing down an initial contact and then using a logical connector to place other contacts on the network or map. This may entail simple references such as 'Referred to by [someone]' or 'Referred to [someone]' or 'Works closely with [someone]' or whatever may be appropriate. Such a network can assist educators in understanding the 'social fabric' of a geographic region.
This contact information will then be supplemented by survey data regarding political and social culture and norms. Those who have conducted the assessment may then want to prepare a narrative report for those tasked with planning the voter eduction programme that includes qualitative information including anecdotes, typical stories, photographs of those interviewed and descriptions that give a good sense of place. Such reports provide a deeper view of the area into which a programme is being inserted and can be of help even to those who reside in the area concerned.
Places to Survey
An assessment of social networks can start just about anywhere, provided that the right questions are asked of those being interviewed. There are certain individuals and organisations, however, that are more likely to be connected to the social networks than others. Amongst these will be religious or cultural organisations, clubs with large and significant memberships, and associations of residents, workers, businessmen, and other professionals. It will be important to ensure that the field teams penetrate behind the most obvious organisations to those that even local people may take for granted.
Nodal organisations are those which, in addition to their own work or in order to conduct their own work, hold together one or more networks by providing coordinating, secretarial, and home services for these networks. Such organisations may be mentioned often by interviewees. Nodal organisations should not, however, be assumed to be spokespersons for the community or to replace the networks that they support.
Questions to Ask
Field teams will want to get basic contact information from each person they interview. This information should include:
- an accurate rendition of the name, acronym and all common naming conventions of the organisation that the person represents. In many societies, organisations will be referred to by a variety of appellations, and field workers may be tricked into believing that different organisations are being discussed.
- all contact information including the actual postal addresses as well as phone numbers and fax coordinates and e-mail addresses where applicable. In the case of informal organisations, additional information may be required such as the name of the location where a telephone message can be left or a postal address where a second letter is required in order to ask the recipient to pass on the primary letter, and so on.
- details (to the extent known) of the key individuals and organisations with whom the interviewee works or associates on a regular basis. This information should include the names of organisations in which the individual and his or her organisation is a member.
Redundancy
It is possible that the assessment of social networks will be conducted at the same time as other aspects of the programme. These other endeavours may include focus group research, pilot studies, and registration drives. Because of the importance of understanding the social fabric in advance of programmatic interventions, however, it may be wise to consider this as an initial step prior to additional programme assessment activities.
