Jim Koch, director of the Center for Science, Technology and Society at Santa Clara University served as the academic advisor for the Silicon Valley study, which is part of the Social Capital Benchmark Survey, a national collaboration that seeks to strengthen levels of community connectedness in American communities. Ross prepared the analysis for the study. In addition, Kim Walesh and Elizabeth Brown of Collaborative Economics provided general economic data to set a regional context for the study. We knew of Jim Koch's work with The Center for Science, Technology and Society at SCU, and of his important research, based on the seminal thinking of John Gardner, which examined the psychological sense of community in the workplace. Jim has done a masterful job analyzing and synthesizing the data in this groundbreaking initiative.
Social capital refers to important features of social life in a community.
It's the norms, networks and trust that enable people to work together in the pursuit of shared objectives. Social capital provides individuals, groups and organizations with the capacity to address problems that cannot be solved when we act in isolation. According to research, 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. People living in these communities are likely to be happier, healthier, and to have a longer life expectancy. However, I am hopeful that the study will be a catalyst for the development of new institutional and collaborative mechanisms that can be used to increase social cohesion in our community and communities around the nation.