The small projects fund and social capital formation in the Polish-German border region: An initial appraisal

Abstract

The small projects fund and social capital formation in the Polish–German border region: an initial appraisal, Regional Studies. This paper examines the small projects fund, a European Union-funded initiative to promote good citizen relations across borders. This paper presents this fund as an attempt to foster ‘social capital’ in the Polish–German border region. The fund is examined in light of seven conditions of social capital formation. In the Polish–German border region, the fund scores well on the first four conditions, related to the promotion of individual trust. It performs less well on the three conditions for scaling up individual trust to form social capital. However, it remains to be seen whether small project support can deliver improved citizen relations.