This exploratory study aims to assess the quality and effectiveness of the social linkages fostered by BRAC between ultra-poor women and the village elite. In particular, this study examines the issues surrounding the Gram Shahayak Committees (GSC) established to complement the Targeting Ultra Poor Programme. Is this engagement of village elite in support of the ultra-poor a gateway to sustainable improvement in the lives of the ultra poor? If these social networks, indicative of a form of social capital now available to these ultra-poor women, are in fact the “missing link” through which the ultra-poor can better establish secure and sustainable livelihoods, what are the central dynamics of these networks? How can these relationships between the poor and the elite provide the social capital and enabling environment that the ultra-poor previously lacked?