social capital is one of the basic elements and basic preconditions for economic, social, cultural and political development of any society. strengthening social capital is one of the ways to promote sustainable rural development, so that social capital in the form of local organizations can reduce poverty and increase the welfare of society and strengthening social capital leads to participation and communication with other people. this, in turn, plays an important role in improving the quality of life and sustainable rural development. in this research, the paradigm of positivism has been used. the research method is descriptive-analytical indicators and the data collection tools of this research include field studies and the use of a questionnaire. the target population is 2549 members of the ahmadi ward empowerment fund in 30 target villages. this study was conducted in two time periods (before the establishment and operation of the funds (june 2019) and after the activities of the funds (june and july 2020)). a review of descriptive findings indicates that women, youth and literate people have been more involved in the establishment of empowerment funds. the results showed that the establishment of funds has been effective in increasing social capital indicators and has been able to strengthen social capital and lead rural development. the results indicate that there is a significant relationship between the components of social trust and social capital with a correlation coefficient of 0.456% and between the components of social participation with social capital with a correlation coefficient of 0.421% and increasing these two components of social capital is to strengthen social cohesion and lead to rural development.
extended abstract
introduction
social capital is one of the basic elements and basic preconditions for the economic, social, cultural and political development of any society. strengthening social capital is one of the ways to promote sustainable rural development, so that social capital in the form of local organizations can reduce poverty and increase the welfare of society, and strengthening social capital leads to participation and communication with others. this, in turn, plays an important role in improving the quality of life and sustainable rural development. the regional development plan has been implemented in 14 low-income regions of the country based on the supreme leader's guidelines. these projects have been implemented with the goals of eliminating deprivation and economic and cultural empowerment, social empowerment of the people and relying on the local and natural capabilities of the regions. in ahmadi section, with the arrival of alavi foundation, many development programs will be completed and at least rural financing will be provided for rural employment while creating rural micro-credit funds. therefore, better implementation of these programs requires a high level of social capital. it goes higher. the present article seeks to answer the question of whether the creation and formation of rural micro-credit funds in order to empower the local community in the ahmadi sector has been effective in strengthening social capital? and has the creation of these funds been effective in increasing the social capital components of the local community? in the present study, participation and social trust have been considered as a component of social capital. because the use of social capacities and capitals for empowerment and social mobility in the light of education and socialization becomes more possible. from a learning perspective, behavior is learnable, and one can learn social behavior through the process of modeling and observing others.
methodology
in this study, the positivist paradigm guided the research, employing a descriptive-analytical method. data collection was conducted through field studies and questionnaires, with a high reliability (cronbach's alpha = 0.928). the statistical population included 2549 members of the ahmadi ward empowerment fund across 30 villages. the research was carried out in two periods: before (june 2019) and after (june -july 2020) the fund's activities. indicators of social capital—social trust and participation—were assessed through various statements. results showed increased involvement of women, youth, and educated individuals, and demonstrated that the funds positively impacted social capital and rural development.
results and discussion
in order to assess and evaluate the status of empowerment funds in increasing or decreasing social capital, the study was conducted in two time periods before the establishment of empowerment funds and one year after the establishment of empowerment funds in the target rural community. descriptive findings indicate that women, youth and literate people have been more involved in the establishment of funds for empowerment. analytical findings showed that the establishment of funds has been effective in increasing social capital indicators and has been able to strengthen social capital and ultimately rural developent.
conclusion
the results of the study at both stages indicate that the establishment of empowerment funds in the villages of ahmadi district has contributed to an increase in key indicators of social capital, including social participation, social trust, and social cohesion. these dimensions demonstrated a relative improvement over time. to analyze the relationship between social capital indicators and rural development, the spearman correlation coefficient was applied. the findings revealed a significant correlation between social trust and social capital, with a coefficient of 0.465 at a significance level of 0.019. similarly, social participation showed a correlation coefficient of 0.421 with social capital, also significant at the 0.019 level. these results confirm that components of social capital, particularly trust and participation, have a direct and meaningful impact on strengthening social cohesion and fostering rural development.