The role of the ethnic minority voluntary sector in promoting social capital: a case study of the London Borough of Enfield.

There is a paucity of research on the role of the voluntary sector in countering social exclusion, poor health and
quality of life, in particular the black and minority ethnic (BME) voluntary sector, which tends to include
smaller, less established and poorer organisations than the wider voluntary sector. In light of this The Research
Centre for Transcultural Studies in Health (RCTSH), in collaboration with Enfield Voluntary Action (EVA) and
Enfield Racial Equality Council (EREC), have undertaken a study to explore the role and scope of the black
and minority ethnic (BME) voluntary sector in Enfield in promoting social capital with its subsequent impact on
quality of life and health.
A sample of voluntary organisations providing services for BME communities in Enfield were selected in order
to explore how the organisations promoted participation, trust and safety, social networks, co-operation, as
well as regeneration, health improvement and quality of life. Data was collected by conducting: i) documentary
analysis of organisational materials; ii) semi-structured interviews with key informants from each organisation;
iii) focus groups with service users and iv) an extensive literature. This presentation will discuss the findings of
this study.