Abstract
This article investigates the dynamic multi-dimensional processes through which the poor become excluded from social participation. Drawing on social capital literature, it traces how bridging and bonding capital do not always translate into expected levels of social participation. It does so by detailing research findings from low income focus groups undertaken in Dunedin, New Zealand. These describe the experiences of group members in attempting to manage connections around employment, their own broader social participation or the participation of their children. In each case, the study highlights the difficulties of translation they experienced: in particular, translating available bridging or bonding capital into useful social, cultural or economic resources which could mitigate their social exclusion or enable fuller social participation.