Central then to this notion of social capital is the idea that strong social networks and
powerful relationships may benefit group members. This does not always necessarily translate
into the wider public good, as it may be used for the purposes of protecting a group’s
interests. Thus, social capital can be used as a resource for the public good, or for the benefit
of an interest group, or for an individual. Hence social capital is not equally available to all,
in much the same way as other forms of capital (Edwards and Foley 1997). To help distil
these processes and better understand social capital metrics, a number of authors have identified
different types of social capital. The most commonly used classification is the distinction
between bonding, bridging and linking social capitals (Putnam 2000,Woolcock 2001):