What makes a community vital? What helps someone transcend a personal tragedy? Agency—meaning the will or intent to act for change. Networks are very important if an individual wants to change something in their community, whether it’s protecting green space or increasing affordable housing. Agency can also shift from local action to global action. Greta Thunberg is a wonderful example of someone who has high levels of agency. Her initial act of striking in front of the Swedish parliament inspired hundreds of thousands of youth from across the world to strike for climate action. The presence or absence of agency is a key indicator of a group’s ability to respond to and identify collective solutions to sustainable development issues.
To learn more, check out "Agency and social capital: characteristics and dynamics".