Thesis advisor: David Deese / Given the current political environment in the US, there is great doubt about the future of American policy on climate change. Still, the optimistic future of American climate policy relies on the new group of leaders that have emerged from municipal government. Although local government is traditionally ignored in favor of the publicity of international negotiations between countries, cities have established a role at the forefront of climate policy over the past ten years. These local governments serve half of the world’s population and often are extremely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, making their contributions more important than ever. Although they face a unique set of difficulties, cities are able to take a range of actions impossible at higher levels of government, reaching communities in unprecedented ways and innovating new policies. This project aims to analyze how local governments fit into the global political regime on climate change, testing the theoretical framework of multilevel governance against reallife examples in Boston and New York City. Further, this paper finds that cities compensate for their relatively small size and limited jurisdiction through a unique set of actions and collaborative relationships, enabling these local actors to become international leaders on this complex global issue.. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2017. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: . / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: Environmental Studies.

Purpose: A central ambition and purpose of the the thesis is to shed light on the social capital within the cluster and how it contributes to the creation of networks, in what turned out to be intertwined relationships between micro-foundations and social structures. Methodology/approach: This research paper used qualitative research methods, more specifically 10 semi-structured interviews were conducted and one mini focus group. The thesis had an abductive approach. Findings: Consistent throughout the process of the thesis, there has been a clear connection between social capital and how this affects and contributes to the creation of networks. The micro-foundations such as trust, network, communication, collaboration, and cooperation are thus intertwined with the social structures of the cluster and its development. Thus, the findings of this paper can be of interest for creating a common understanding and providing key insights to several other clusters. Research Delimitations / limitations: Regarding Delimitations, the researchers did choose to limit the study to ICS. The Narrative review was however not been delimited, as the authors studied other cases in clustering. Regarding limitations, there was a certain level of limited access to the respondents, as the researchers tried to reach out to plenty of members, however, there was a low level of response at first. This did however not affect the outcome. Practical implications: Reviewing the literature has led to the conclusion that there is room for improvement regarding social capital in clusters and its effect on networking. Thus, this paper provides implications for clusters all over the world that struggle with the social capital. Originality: The originality of this paper is that it researched an aspect of clustering that is well under-researched in order to shed light on and provide a comprehensive understanding of the social capital and its effect on networking. Thus, the outcome of this paper provides cluster guidance as to the unique value proposition. / Syfte: Mikrofundamenten och sociala strukturer är sammanflätade, är syftet med avhandlingen att belysa det sociala kapitalet inom klustret och hur det bidrar till att skapa nätverk. Metod/tillvägagångssätt: Denna forskningsartikel använde kvalitativa forskningsmetoder, närmare bestämt genomfördes 10 semistrukturerade intervjuer och en minifokusgrupp. Avhandlingen hade ett abduktivt förhållningssätt. Resultat: Genomgående under examensarbetets gång har det funnits ett tydligt samband mellan socialt kapital och hur detta påverkar och bidrar till att skapa nätverk. Mikrogrunderna som tillit, nätverk, kommunikation, samarbete och samarbete är alltså sammanflätade med klustrets sociala strukturer och dess utveckling. Resultaten av denna artikel kan därför vara av intresse för att skapa en gemensam förståelse och ge viktiga insikter till flera andra kluster. Forskningsavgränsningar/begränsningar: När det gäller avgränsningar valde forskarna att begränsa studien till ICS. Den narrativa recensionen var dock inte avgränsad, eftersom författarna studerade andra fall i klustring. När det gäller begränsningar fanns det en viss nivå av begränsad tillgång till respondenterna, eftersom forskarna försökte nå ut till många medlemmar, dock var det låg respons till en början. Detta påverkade dock inte resultatet. Praktiska implikationer: Genomgång av litteraturen har lett till slutsatsen att det finns utrymme för förbättringar när det gäller socialt kapital i kluster och dess effekt på nätverkande. Sålunda ger detta dokument konsekvenser för kluster över hela världen som kämpar med det sociala kapitalet. Originalitet: Denna artikel syftade till att belysa en mindre forskad aspekt av klustring som ämnade delge en heltäckande förståelse för socialt kapitalet och dess effekt på nätverkande. Resultatet av detta dokument också kan funka som vägledning i linje med frågan och de de valda vinklarna.

Lesotho is a country plagued by underdevelopment and poverty. This research is a case study of an indigenous community organisation in the northern district of Botha-Bothe in Lesotho. Boseele is a rural development organisation which attracted international donor investment in the aftermath of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. The study aims at investigating the impact of capacity development processes on Boseele and its members. The study identified capacity building landmarks over a period of ten years. A case study approach was used within a qualitative research design. Data was collected through individual and group interviews, observations, story-telling and transect walks. The results were analysed through thematic, chronological, narrative and document analysis. Boseele’s successes with CIDA funding reflect positive foreign aid contributions towards the work of civil society organisations in Lesotho. However, setbacks and lack of continuity by a nursery project funded by MS-Lesotho show that the empowerment process is vulnerable where social and economic problems of individual members and communities are not fully addressed.