Measuring Social Capital: A Comparison of DOST-funded Cooperatives in Davao City, Philippines

Abstract

Cooperatives have the potential of becoming great economic and social enterprises. To achieve this aspiration, DOST-XI helped ADAP-MPC and DAVECO by providing technical trainings and production equipment as grant. ADAP-MPC is a community-based cooperative of persons with disability while DAVECO is an employee cooperative of agrarian reform beneficiaries. Using these two cases, this study measured social capital and determined the factors affecting social capital using principal component analysis and statistical analysis. Results suggest that togetherness and sociability, generalized norms, and volunteerism are considered the principal components in measuring social capital. Members of ADAP-MPC considered themselves friends compared to DAVECO. Visitation of members was observed more among members than officers, older members than younger members, and those members who perceived that leadership was not changed regularly. Attendance to meetings is more regular in DAVECO compared to ADAP-MPC. Members who got help from others were those who saw no improvement in their personal and the organization’s well-being. In terms of leaders’ representation, wider mandate was seen by younger members and when former leaders no longer participated in the affairs of the cooperative. Consistently, high-income members were able to volunteer more in the neighborhood, community, and the cooperative. Hence, DOST-XI in assessing the cooperative before grants are awarded should focus on critical areas of leadership and economic aspects aside from physical, financial, and human capital.