PND (05/23/2000) -- "Bowling Alone" Author Receives Foundation Funding for Social Capital Study

The Washington Post reports that Harvard professor Robert Putnam, the author of the book Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, has been awarded more than $1 million by the Ford Foundation and dozens of community-based foundations to conduct a national survey and local opinion polls gauged at measuring America's supply of social capital.

"Social capital" refers to the collective value of all "social networks" and the motivation that individuals derive from these networks to do things for each other. The study is designed to measure a wide range of social interactions, from neighbors dropping in on each other to participation in social clubs and civic organizations.

The new survey and polls will be conducted under the direction of the Saguaro Seminar, which is based at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. The conference series, which was launched by Putnam, has brought together more than 30 academics, politicians, civic activists, and journalists to discuss ways to reconnect Americans to civic life.

"We hope the surveys serve as a catalyst for community social-capital building," said Tom Sander, executive director of the program. Sander also said a list of cities and participating community foundations would be announced soon.

One of the first initiatives to come out of the seminar series is BetterTogether.org, a Web site designed to provide "interactive opportunities to celebrate the new and better ways that Americans are connecting, and provide tools that make it easier for them to do so."

Morin, Richard and Claudia Deane. "The Ideas Industry." Washington Post 5/23/2000, p. A27.

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