ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines a theoretical framework in which to incorporate the role of associations in development. This framework is then used as a schema from which to derive a series of indicators. Three approaches to the study of associations seem of particular relevance when endeavouring to grasp the role of organisations in development. The first derives from de Tocqueville and Putnam, the second from Gramsci and the institutionalists, and the third from scholars of the so-called 'third sector'. The insights furnished by these three approaches to the study of associationism may be used to construct an analytical framework which, as far as it is possible, includes many ambivalences. According to the official lists and direct research, there are around two hundred associations in Garfagnana, which means that there is an average of twelve associations per commune and one for every 150 inhabitants approximately.
