NCoC: Social Capital

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Social Capital

The most powerful force in American democracy is the connection among citizens. NCoC aims to understand how socio-economic and demographic factors, time spent with family, friends, and neighbors, and elements of trust and connectedness affect the process of civic engagement.

NCoC believes to address community issues and challenges in any area, research must be collected, discussion must occur, and solutions must be proposed. Here, you can see research, discussion, and solutions associated with social capital. This is meant to help explain and animate that focus area, as well as facilitate the process of moving from information to action within it.

Social Capital Issues:Research | Discussions | Solutions

Social Capital Research

Title	Date	Type
Steven N. Pyser on Transparency“[The internet] is an untapped resource that affords governments, communities and society an opportunity to take people back into community, build social capital and link to their collective public ...	April 9, 2009	expert commentary
Lisa Rosenberg on Transparency“ Requiring nearly contemporaneous disclosure, including a synopsis of the issues discussed, of all significant, substantive contacts lobbyists have with members of Congress, their staff or executive ...	April 9, 2009	expert commentary
Scott HeifermanFrom Beet TVThe single, biggest impact of the internet in the next 100 years, is going to be group power. In other words, how is it, from a political perspective, from an organized employee perspective, an organized ...	November 25, 2008	expert commentary
The Internet: Civic Polarizer or Unifier?There's an old saying, ”Great minds think alike.” Or is that just what we tell ourselves when we find people who think as we do? Sean Parker, William Galston and Joe Trippi conclude their dynamic ...	November 26, 2008	video
Gatekeepers and New MediaDuring the 2008 National Conference on Citizenship, panelists Bill Galston of the Brookings Institution and Sean Parker, Founding President of Facebook, agreed to disagree on the subject of gatekeepers ...	November 20, 2008	video
Can Facebook Replace Face-to-Face? The 2008 National Conference on Citizenship raised this provocative question with Sean Parker, Founding President of Facebook and Bill Galston of the Brookings Institute. Parker and Galston discussed, ...	November 14, 2008	video
Beyond the VoteAmericans turned out in force for the 2008 Presidential Election with over 133 million ballots cast. Voters were heeding the call for change, but will citizens continue to be involved beyond Election Day? ...	November 5, 2008	video
Study to Explore How Social-Networking Sites Influence Voting BehaviorMuch has been written this election season about how the Internet, especially social-networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube, has changed the way people access and share political information. ...	November 3, 2008	blog
U.S. Civic Health Shows Broad Decline Amid Signs of Recovery According to First-Ever Index Released TodayThe civic health of the United States has steadily declined over the past 30 years, according to the Civic Health Index, the first-ever index of key citizenship measures unveiled today by the National ...	October 31, 2008	press release
Harry C. Boyte: The peculiar attack on community organizingThe Republicans meeting in St. Paul heaped scorn on "community organizers" with snappy sound bites. But attacking community organizing for partisan advantage could prove a mistake.	October 31, 2008	op-ed

Social Capital Discussions and Commentary

Title	Date	Type
The Civic Acceleratorby Sara Johnson, Village Capital Program AssociateThis fall, Village Capital in partnership with Points of Light will launch the Civic Accelerator. This twelve-week program is an opportunity for nonprofit and for-profit ventures focused on civic engagement ...	August 9, 2012
We are CitizensLast night, the President offered a powerful reminder of the values, privileges and rights that bind us together through our role as citizens. In his State of the Union Address, the President called upon ...	February 13, 2013
Volunteering and Civic Life in America 2012 By the NumbersAre Americans Bowling Alone?Group participation is a central component of community involvement and broader civic health. Volunteering and Civic Life in America, presented in partnership between NCoC and the Corporation for National ...	February 26, 2013
Volunteering and Civic Life in America 2012 By the NumbersHigh levels of neighbor engagement means strong communities. How often do we talk with one another, help each other out, and how much do we trust the people in our communities? Our latest data shows there’s ...	March 14, 2013
Providing Authentic Opportunities for Youth Engagement in Local Governmentby Leon AndrewsWhat makes youth civic engagement “authentic?” How can cities move beyond token levels of youth participation in local decision-making toward efforts that truly prepare and empower youth to ...	September 1, 2010	discussion
Unlocking Social CapitalWhat is the role of digital communication and diversity in increasing civic engagement?The definition of social capital varies, though as buzzword its usage is climbing faster than the economy. As it relates to civic engagement, the idea is that social capital is what individuals build-up ...	October 15, 2010	discussion
Is Journalism an Act of Service?Rick Stengel remarked in his NCoC speech last month in Washington, DC that “journalism itself is an actual act of service…In a democracy you need a robust exchange of ideas.” If ...	October 19, 2010	discussion
Closing the College Completion GapA Guide for Faith CommunitiesA degree beyond high school has become an essential element of opportunity in America and is a proven pathway out of poverty. However, the majority of our nation's young people, especially low-income ...	November 1, 2010	discussion
New Generation Of Veterans Gains Strength And Support From One AnotherLove for country, service and sacrifice are certainly at the heart of military service, and the 2010 Civic Health Assessment found that veterans are more likely to be involved in their community than ...	November 4, 2010	discussion
Wrap Up: Global Youth Service DayCongratulations to our friends at Youth Service America (YSA) for their successful 22nd annual Global Youth Service Day, celebrating children and youth who improve their communities through service and ...	May 4, 2010	discussion

Social Capital Solutions

Title	Date	Type
Changing the Status QuoIntentional Succession Planning Through Leadership DevelopmentMany think of succession planning as a one-time process that only occurs when an organization considers how it will continue to thrive after a senior leader moves on. The 2010 American Express NGen Fellows ...	November 3, 2011	publication
Closing the College Completion GapA Guide for Faith CommunitiesA degree beyond high school has become an essential element of opportunity in America and is a proven pathway out of poverty. However, the majority of our nation's young people, especially low-income ...	November 1, 2010	discussion
Providing Authentic Opportunities for Youth Engagement in Local Governmentby Leon AndrewsWhat makes youth civic engagement “authentic?” How can cities move beyond token levels of youth participation in local decision-making toward efforts that truly prepare and empower youth to ...	September 1, 2010	discussion
Civic Engagement and Recent Immigrant Communities“Civic Engagement and Recent Immigrant Communities,” a new guide developed by the National League of Cities, presents local officials with the first steps and directions for efforts toward ...	August 18, 2010	discussion
Creating Spaces for ChangeWorking Toward a “Story of Now” in Civic EngagementCreating Spaces for Change: Working Toward a ”Story of Now” in Civic Engagement , a new report from the Deliberative Democracy Consortium and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, is an attempt to describe ...	April 23, 2010	publication
Funding and Fostering Local DemocracyWhat Philanthropy Should Know about the Emerging Field of Deliberation and Democratic GovernanceAs the philanthropic community grapples with the question of how to support innovative and effective forms of democratic governance, PACE (Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement) has released a guide ...	May 19, 2009	publication

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