Social Capital Survey Results 

What Is Social Capital

What We Found

Social Capital Trivia

What This Means

Kanawha Valley Part of Community Quality of Life Study

Contact:  Becky Ceperley, President and CEO     (304) 346-3620

Charleston, WV – Today The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation released the results of a survey designed to lay the groundwork for efforts to strengthen community bonds.  The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation was one of three dozen community foundations and other funders to participate in The Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey with the Saguaro Seminar at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

 The survey revealed that residents in the Kanawha Valley are more engaged in civic life than might be expected of a similar community with the same demographics.  We are more likely to know the names of our elected officials and to participate in rallies and groups that take action on local reforms.   Our faith-based engagement is slightly more than might be expected with our giving and volunteering less than might be expected from a similar community.  This runs counter to the usual trend of communities with high faith-based engagement having high levels of giving and volunteering.  The strongest predictor, even stronger than a community’s income or educational level, of the quality of life in a community is social trust.  The survey results show that residents in the Kanawha Valley trust other people less than might be expected of residents in a similar community with the same demographics.      

“At a time when our communities are facing a number of challenges – shrinking resources, changing government policies and priorities, unemployment, industrial consolidation, and out-migration, it is critical that we be able to work together to find common solutions,” said Becky Ceperley, president of The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation.  “The very foundation for working together is social trust – a commodity we need to improve our quality of life and one that doesn’t require expensive investments in infra-structure or government funding,” she said. 

The recent Economic Development Strategy developed by the West Virginia Council for Community and Economic Development highlights the need for the continued growth of social  capital  to  impact  the  key issue areas West Virginia must address:  1) Intellectual Infrastructure in the 21^st Century, 2) New Economy:  New Challenges and New Solutions, 3) Results-Based Government: Planning for the Future, 4) Building Bridges and Empowering Citizens.  The results of The Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey reaffirm what has been shown over the years that communities with higher levels of social capital are likely to have higher educational achievement, better performing governmental institutions, faster economic growth, and less crime and violence; and the people living in these communities are likely to be happier, healthier, and to have a longer life expectancy.  In places with greater social connectedness, it is easier to mobilize people to tackle problems of public concern, and easier to arrange things that benefit the group as a whole.

 The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation will use the survey results to promote community discussions on social capital and the role it can and does play in improving our quality of life, promoting economic development, and reducing poverty.  The survey results will also be used by the Foundation as a tool for future grantmaking and community development efforts.  The survey will also provide other communities throughout the state with a survey tool for measuring their own communities’ social capital.

 The Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey was conducted by Taylor Nelson Sofres Intersearch Corporation by phone between July 2000 and November 2000. It was developed by the Saguaro Seminar at the John F. Kennedy School of Government with the involvement of a Scientific Advisory Group consisting of leading experts around the country on social capital measurement.  The survey sample for the Greater Kanawha Valley consisted of 500 interviews in Kanawha, Boone, and Putnam Counties.  Dr. Ron Althouse, Director of the Survey Research Center of West Virginia University (304-293-5801, extension 3203) served as the academic advisor to The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation for this project.

 What is Social Capital?

Social Capital has been called the “glue” of society.  It is the level of connectedness, involvement, and trustworthiness among people.  So, it is disturbing now to see the rapid decline in social capital throughout the country.  West Virginia has a strong tradition of social connections and outreach, but there are signs that those connections are not as strong as they should be.  What is encouraging is that hundreds of West Virginians and institutions work every day to reconnect citizens, encourage participation and strengthen trustworthiness.  All of us need to support and strengthen these efforts and work to identify additional activities that can be undertaken by individuals, community groups, businesses, non-profit organizations and government agencies.

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 What we found:

In a national benchmark survey released in March of 2001, residents in Kanawha, Boone and Putnam Counties, along with 30,000 other individuals across the country were surveyed on their level of social connections.   The results of the survey confirm what has been shown over the years that communities with higher levels of social capital are likely to have higher educational achievement, better performing governmental institutions, faster economic growth and less crime and violence; and the people living in these communities are likely to be happier, healthier, and to have a longer life expectancy.  In places with greater social connectedness, it is easier to arrange to mobilize people to tackle problems of public concern, and easier to arrange things that benefit the group as a whole.

 *Community Quotient—Along every dimension of social capital (such as social trust, inter racial trust, etc.) a community quotient (CQ) shows a community’s performance on this dimension relative to what was predicted given its urbanicity, ethnicity, levels of education and age distribution.  A CQ above 100 indicates that a community shows more of this community connectedness than its demographics would predict; conversely, a CQ below 100 indicates that a community shows less of this type of social capital than its demographics would suggest. 

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 SOCIAL CAPITAL TRIVIA

·        Joining one group cuts your odds of dying over the next year in half.  Joining two groups cuts it in quarter.

• Each 10 minutes of additional commuting time cuts all forms of social capital by 10 percent—10 percent less church-going, 10 percent fewer club meetings, 10 percent fewer evenings with friends, etc.
• TV is the only leisure activity where doing more of it is associated with lower social capital.
• If you had to choose between 10 percent more cops on the beat or 10 percent more citizens knowing their neighbors’ first names, the latter is a better crime prevention strategy.  If you had to choose between 10 percent more teachers or 10 percent more parents being involved in their kids’ education, the latter is a better route to educational achievement.
• We’re not experiencing a Springtime of volunteering, but an Indian Summer, propped up by our nation’s seniors – who have been more civic throughout their lives.
• We are bowling alone.  More Americans are bowling than ever before, but they are not bowling in leagues.
• Social capital is the best variable to successfully predict levels of tax compliance state-by-state.

Excerpted from Bowling Alone by Robert D. Putnam

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What this means:

In the Kanawha Valley, we are more likely to know the names of our elected officials and participate in rallies and groups that take action on local reforms.  Our faith-based engagement is slightly more than might be expected, but our giving and volunteering is less than might be expected in a community with the same educational and economic makeup.  This is unusual, given the fact that communities with high faith-based engagement typically have high levels of giving and volunteering. 

The strongest predictor of the quality of life in a community, even stronger than a community’s income or educational level, is social trust.  Social trust means the level of trust we have in others, including neighbors, co-workers, shop clerks, members of the same religion, local police, and people in general.  The survey results show that residents in the Kanawha Valley trust other people considerably less than might be expected of residents in a similar community with the same demographics.

Of all the indicators measured in the survey, this one on social trust is of particular importance to our communities.  At a time when our communities are facing a number of challenges – shrinking resources, changing government policies and priorities, unemployment, industrial consolidation and outmigration – it is critical that we be able to work together to find common solutions.  The very foundation for working together is social trust. 

For more information on the survey in the Kanawha Valley contact:  The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation.

 A more detailed description of the national survey, its results and the instrument itself can be found at:

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