This paper looks at the social policy program implanted in the Mangueira "favela" (slum district) in Rio de Janeiro, during the last two decades. The program is seen as resulting from a convergence of the following factors: 1) the transformation of public management in Brazilian cities, which have recently begun to involve communities and businesses in partnerships with state and local government; 2) changes in entrepreneurial culture, encouraging businesses to engage in social action alongside government social policy, and 3) the bonds in the community that have formed around the Escola de Samba da Mangueira (Samba School) that make it possible to conceive of this institution and its social environment as holders of social capital. Using concepts of social capital and governance, we study the Mangueira Social Program as a relatively successful case of de-centralized social policy management, carried out through the social networks that have been established between the community, public power and several firms that have provided financial support for numerous cultural projects in the Mangueira favela.
governance; social capital; entrepreneurial social responsibility; social synergy
