Interorganizational Collaboration for Intergenerational Community Development: Application of the Social Capital Framework

Intergenerational programs help people from multiple generations share their talents and build healthy social relationships. As a part of an age-friendly community initiative in a small community in the Northeast, a multi-year intergenerational event was undertaken through a partnership between community agencies, including the local Office for Aging, a university, a high school, a senior center, and a church. As part of this interorganizational collaboration, the Senior to Senior Dinner Dance Project was held in May of 2022 and May of 2023, with local high-school students and older adults participating in a variety of intergenerational activities. A process evaluation, using data from focus groups with community partners and qualitative survey responses from older adult participants, revealed the following themes under the guidance of Carpiano’s social capital framework: 1) structural antecedents, including the New York State age-friendly initiative and community schools; 2) social cohesion, through familiarity and mutual trust among community stakeholders; 3) social capital, achieved by leveraging existing resources in pursuit of collective interorganizational goals; and 4) social capital outcomes, including on both the individual and community level. Findings from this project offer insights for future interorganizational collaborations, including those seeking to build intergenerational communities with sustainable social capital.