Whether under the banner of reinventing government, systems reform, community building, or comprehensive community initiatives, these forces of civic renewal are beginning to alter fundamentally the political, economic, and social face of America's cities and counties. Public‐private partnerships are cleaving through old boundaries, redefining who has responsibility for the public good. Collaboration and consensus building are transforming relationships among diverse stakeholders who were rarely found at the same table even a few years ago.

We often say in politics, it is not what you know, it is who you know. We say that disparagingly, recognizing that key players are often connected only to small inner circles, effectively excluding whole parts of the community and whole segments of the population from access, decision malung, and resources. Too many chits are being exchanged, only by chums.Social capital is also about who you know, but there is something different. We see qualitatively different relationships. Instead of logrolling and exchanges of favors in smoke-free back rooms and over cell phone networks, we see block parties and block watches, multisectoral partnerships, support networks for the most vulnerable among us, and real relationships among Anglos, Hispanics, African Americans, and Asian Americans. We see chats-real conversationsthat promote change. If we look harder, we see authentic communities, blossoming civic infrastructure, governments that work, and places we want to live.Social capital, we believe, seems different depending on where you look. The social capital among neighbors that builds healthy neighborhoods and supports families seems different from the social capital among civic groups, local government, and community activists. And even that seems different from the social capital among mayors, senior business leaders, top appointed officials, and others who are engaged in managing the affairs of the regional city-state.If social capital appears different depending on where you look, are we indeed seeing different aspects of the same thing? Should we be speaking about social capital in such general terms? The premise of this article is that social capital is woven through all the relationships in a community and therefore needs to be spoken of in broad terms, but the existence of social capital in all its facets is a necessary and critical ingredient for building healthy communities.

Even the most broadly based public processes cannot guarantee resolution of a community issue. They can, however, help create a culture for conducting public business in a democratic and effective fashion.

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What makes the difference between a community that turns the corner on difficult challenges and one that does not? Civic capital, the collective civic capacities of a community, is the currency supporting collaborative strategies that pursue innovative programs and forge new relationships to build a future with better results for children and families.