Most studies on social capital examine the impact of social capital variables on particular development outcomes. There are few studies that provide evidence of the impact of development assistance on social capital, and even less that focus specifically on Sudan and more widely on Central and East Africa.
A common theme among the available studies from the regions is the importance of assessing and mobilizing existing resources of social capital, such as established networks and informal methods of cooperation. Instead, attempts to develop new resources of social capital may result in the rushed formation of groups with people who have little connection with one another. This can result in unsustainable groupings and organisations that remain exogenous to local communities. They can also crowd out traditional mutual support networks and diminish local dynamics of mobilisation. Some caution however that mapping groupings and organisations onto local endowments of social capital can be problematic where there is a history of exclusive, vertical patron-client relations. In Burundi, community associations in some instances suffered from elite capture. While they were successful at bridging people from different ethnic groups, they created economic exclusion and tension along these lines.
