Thesis Outline

Quinn Ertel, Friigatan 41, 21421 Malmö / Norelius.Ertel@gmail.com / 0738-277-333

Topic
The goal of the thesis is to promote tools for building trust and social capital in a
multicultural city through community centers acting as knowledge transfer and interaction
systems
 Building trust and social capital in an international and multicultural context. This is
specifically dealing with ways and means of practically building trust which will be used
in the second goal.
 Using the tools to organize a “knowledge center” as a vehicle to promote the building of
social capital. A framework will be proposed for the foundation of these community
centers, using Malmö as a case example.
 Establish a framework for increasing communication in a multicultural context through
civic engagement, knowledge sharing and other forms of media. Specifically focusing on
skill building through projects, seminars, making and crafting.
 Exploring sustainability options pertaining to funding through learned skills and local
business and organization partnerships.

Method
The methods I will use are quite varied. It will combine different tools to try and support my
research and conclusions as thoroughly as possible.
 Interviews and questionnaires with actors and stakeholders including, but not limited to:
o Local social and community organizations
o Target demographics and groups associated with the thesis
o Scholars, instructors, and leaders in the field
 Research and analysis on already published and established literature, theories, and
conclusions.
 Using case studies as tools to effectively demonstrate their failings and how community
and social capital systems must be adapted to increasingly globalized and multicultural
cities and countries.
 Primarily, the tools used will be first hand interaction with stakeholders combined with
analysis of existing research and how it can be adapted to fit the community model in
Malmö.