t he g allup o rganization © 2002 the gallup organization regional center for education and work...

THE GALLUP ORGANIZATION© 2002 The Gallup Organization

Regional Center for Education and Work

St. Louis Metropolitan Community

Creating the Great Community

March 2002

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Copyright Standards

This document and the materials associated with the Quality of Community Life survey contains proprietary information and copyrighted materials owned by The Gallup Organization (Gallup), the University of Missouri at St. Louis, and the Regional Center for Education and Work (RCEW). There is no reproduction of these materials allowed, in whole or part, in any form of medium now known or hereafter invented or created without the consent of The Gallup Organization. The copying, reselling, reuse and distribution of these materials is governed in writing and any violation of these terms will be seen by The Gallup Organization, the University of Missouri at St. Louis, and the Regional Center for Education and Work to be a violation of their rights and a misuse of their intellectual property.


Imagine the Future

“But in these first hours of a new era, it behooves us

to imagine the future with a sense of optimism,

something that eluded our ancestors as they struggled

to survive. We have the humane vision and the

technological means to lift the world family to new

levels of liberty, affluence, health, and happiness.

Forging that possibility into reality is the task that

greets us in the morning of the new millennium.”

Editorial. New York Times, January 1, 2000.

4


Positive Social Science Think Tank

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi – Claremont College

Ed Diener – University of Illinois

Kathleen Hall Jamieson – University of Pennsylvania

Robert Nozick – Harvard University

Danielsen Robinson – George Washington University

Martin Seligman – University of Pennsylvania

George Vaillant – Harvard Medical School


Creating the Great Community

“The future is not a result of choices among alternative paths offered by the present, but a place that is created – created first in the mind and will, created next in activity. The future is not some place we are going to, but one we are creating. The paths are not to be found, but made, and the activity of making them, changes both the maker and the destination.”

John Schaar, Futurist

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Positive Psychology

1998 -- A group of psychologists meet to discuss a new branch of psychology

1999 -- First Positive Psychology Summitdescriptors of the “Good Life”

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“Positive social science is the scientific study of optimal human functioning. It aims to discover and promote the factors that allow individuals and communities to thrive.”

Positive Social Science

Positive Psychology Conference

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Wellspring Dimensions

I. Aesthetics (appreciating and experiencing beauty)II. Altruism/Civility (volunteer service, community service)III. Courage (taking a stand for beliefs)IV. Creativity (using imagination, originality) V. Friendships (developing relationships with others) VI. Future Focus (setting and using goals)VII. Learning (learning and growing)VIII. Principle-Centered (using values and beliefs)IX. Self Regulation (structure and discipline)X. Spirituality (spiritual beliefs)XI. Wisdom (making sense of experience)XII. Workplace Satisfaction (enjoyment and satisfaction from work)

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The LadderPerception of step present, five years ago, five years in the future

Dr. George H. Gallup and Dr. Hadley Cantrill

Step 0 – 10, with 10 best and 0 worst possible life Grand mean of three items

Subjective Well-BeingSatisfaction With Life SurveyPerceived satisfaction

Dr. Ed Diener, et. al.

Grand mean of five items

Overall Outcome Measures

r = .495 (p<.01)

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The Great Community Approach

Theoretical base--

Constructs hypothesized as important to the “good life”

Community involvement-- Priority setting and action planning

• Reflect upon, and discuss desired futures• Create a dialogue combined with policy and grass roots action planning

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Goals for the Study

• Provide feedback to the St. Louis community

• Focus the community on inventing the future

• Emphasize the strengths, well-being, and a positive direction for St. Louis

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Methodology

Telephone survey of adults in metropolitan St. Louis

June 22 – August 3, 2001

n = 999

National Sample

n = 1,008

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Survey Instrument

“Wellsprings” of the good life

Field tested in St. Louis, 1999

106 items, plus demographics

Reconfigured instrument –

67 items, 12 Wellspring Dimensions, plus The Ladder and Subjective Well-Beingitems


The St. Louis Data

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Dimension Means for St. Louis and National

3.91

3.92

4.17

3.84

4.47

4.47

4.01

4.20

3.83

3.92

3.41

3.88

3.90

3.95

4.17

3.83

4.47

4.50

4.01

4.18

3.82

3.93

3.40

3.86

0 1 2 3 4 5

Workplace Satisfaction

Wisdom

Spirituality

Self Regulation

Principle-Centered

Learning

Future Focus

Friendships

Creativity

Courage

Altruism/Civility

Aesthetics

St. Louis

National

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Wellspring Dimensions – Strengths

Learning (4.50)

Principle-Centered (4.47)

Friendships (4.18)

Spirituality (4.17)

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a b cSt. Louis (n=999) 18-34 35-54 55+Aesthetics 3.81 3.94 3.81Altruism 3.27 3.48 a 3.41 aCourage 4.00 c 3.97 c 3.82Creativity 3.97 bc 3.85 c 3.63Friendships 4.22 4.20 4.14Future Focus 4.16 bc 4.02 c 3.85Learning 4.55 c 4.55 c 4.37Principle-Centered 4.43 4.50 4.46Self Regulation 3.72 3.79 4.00 abSpirituality 4.08 4.21 4.19Wisdom 4.01 c 3.98 c 3.86Workplace Satisfaction 3.83 3.90 4.00 a

Ladder 7.25 7.24 7.52 abSubjective Well-Being 3.68 3.64 3.84 ab

Wellspring Dimension Mean by Age

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Wellspring Dimension Mean by Education

St. Louis (n=999) HS or Post CollegeLess HS or Greater

Aesthetics 3.69 3.90a 3.97aAltruism 3.27 3.33 3.57abCourage 3.87 3.96 3.96Creativity 3.76 3.82 3.88Friendships 4.10 4.19 4.25Future Focus 3.91 4.05a 4.05aLearning 4.39 4.56a 4.53aPrinciple-Centered 4.36 4.53a 4.51aSelf Regulation 3.82 3.82 3.85Spirituality 4.20 4.22 4.10Wisdom 3.93 3.97 3.96Workplace Satisfaction 3.87 3.83 3.97b

Ladder 7.26 7.29 7.41

Subjective Well-Being 3.62 3.68 3.82ab

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St. Louis (n=999) a b c d$30K $50K

<$30K <$50K <$75K $75K+Aesthetics 3.67 3.93 a 3.89 a 3.95 aAltruism 3.15 3.45 a 3.50 a 3.52 aCourage 3.82 3.98 a 3.97 a 3.99 aCreativity 3.64 3.92 a 3.87 a 3.90 aFriendships 3.90 4.25 a 4.30 a 4.30 aFuture Focus 3.83 4.04 a 4.06 a 4.12 aLearning 4.34 4.57 a 4.53 a 4.57 aPrinciple-Centered 4.32 4.51 a 4.49 a 4.53 aSelf Regulation 3.71 3.83 3.81 3.93Spirituality 4.14 4.30 4.24 4.02Wisdom 3.88 4.02 4.00 3.96Workplace Satisfaction 3.67 3.92 a 3.89 a 4.01 aLadder 6.77 7.28 a 7.29 a 7.73 abc

Subjective Well-Being 3.38 3.75 a 3.74 a 3.90 abc

Wellspring Dimension Means by Income

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St. Louis (n=999) a bNon-

White WhiteAesthetics 3.88 3.80Altruism 3.40 3.43Courage 3.92 3.99Creativity 3.81 3.87Friendships 4.22 b 4.01Future-Focused 3.99 4.11Learning 4.48 4.56Principle-Centered 4.48 4.40Self Regulation 3.85 3.74Spirituality 4.15 4.25Wisdom 3.93 4.06 aWorkplace Satisfaction 3.93 b 3.74Ladder 7.41 b 6.89

Subjective Well-Being 3.78 b 3.38

Wellspring Dimensions Means by Race

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AestheticsAltruism

Courage

Creativity

Friendships

Future Focus

Learning

Principle-Centered

Self Regulation

Spirituality

WisdomWork. Sat.

Dimensions Most Descriptive of St. Louis

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St. Louis National (n=999) (n=1,008) 7.26 7.23

In St. Louis,Present step correlates with all 12 Wellspring dimensionsBest predictors: • Workplace Satisfaction • Friendships • Self Regulation • Wisdom 18% of the variance

Present Step Means for St. Louis and National

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Top Middle Bottom

St. Louis (n=999) 74% 22% 4%

National (n=1,008) 71% 25% 4%

In St. Louis, the mean scores of respondents 55 and older, College graduates or greater, and with Annual household incomes of $50,000 or greater, and Whites are significantly higher than other groups.

Present Step “Top Box” (Steps 7-10)

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“Top Box”5 yrs. ago 48% 49%

Present 74% 71%

Perceived Step Five Years Ago

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“Top Box”5 yrs. future 89% 87%

Present 74% 71%

Perceived Step Five Years in the Future

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Comparing present step, higher percentages of respondents indicated they would be in the “Top Box” (steps 7-10) across nearly all groups.

In St. Louis best predictors of perceived future step: • Future Focus • Friendships • Creativity • Workplace Satisfaction 15% of the variance

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Subjective Well-Being


In St. Louis, Subjective Well-Being correlates with all 12 wellspring dimensionsBest predictors:• Friendships • Workplace Satisfaction 41% of the variance

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Quality of Education


Correlated to 10 of the 12 Wellspring Dimensions, the Ladder, and Subjective Well-Being.

The St. Louis mean is significantly higher than the National sample’s.

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Quality of Education by Percentages

DK 1 2 3 4 5 St. Louis (n=999) 3% 3% 6% 29% 41% 18%

National (n=1,008) 3% 4% 10% 30% 37% 15%

St. Louis “4” and “5” 59%

National “4” and “5” 52%

The combination of “4” and “5” for St. Louis (59%) is significantly higher than the National (52%).

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Next Steps

• Stakeholder Session

• Facilitator Session

• Community Dialogue

• Action Planning by Groups, Organizations, and Individuals

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Introduction “Why did we do the survey?”Step 1

Measurements “What does our data tell us?”

Priorities “What dimensions should we focus on?”

Step 2 Actions “What can we do to build a stronger community?”

Commitments “What will we commit to each other?”

Step 3 Tracking “Here is the progress we have made.”

Priority Setting and Action Planning


Your Questions

?


Priority Setting and

Action Planning

Creating the Great Community in St. Louis


Section I:

Focus on You

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Section I: Focus on You

Name

Paid to Do

Hot Buttons (Positive Things)

Two Successes

Expectations

Page 3Page 3


Section II:

Your Data

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I. Aesthetics (appreciating and experiencing beauty)II. Altruism/Civility (volunteer service, community service)III. Courage (taking a stand for beliefs)IV. Creativity (using imagination, originality) V. Friendships (developing relationships with others) VI. Future Focus (setting and using goals)VII. Learning (learning and growing)VIII. Principle-Centered (using values and beliefs)IX. Self Regulation (structure and discipline)X. Spirituality (spiritual beliefs)XI. Wisdom (making sense of experience)XII. Workplace Satisfaction (enjoyment and satisfaction from work)Page 15Page 15

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Dimension Means for St. Louis and National

3.91

3.92

4.17

3.84

4.47

4.47

4.01

4.20

3.83

3.92

3.41

3.88

3.90

3.95

4.17

3.83

4.47

4.50

4.01

4.18

3.82

3.93

3.40

3.86

0 1 2 3 4 5

Workplace Satisfaction

Wisdom

Spirituality

Self Regulation

Principle-Centered

Learning

Future Focus

Friendships

Creativity

Courage

Altruism/Civility

Aesthetics

St. Louis

National

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Wellspring Dimensions – Strengths

Learning (4.50)

Principle-Centered (4.47)

Friendships (4.18)

Spirituality (4.17)

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AestheticsAltruism

Courage

Creativity

Friendships

Future Focus

Learning

Principle-Centered

Self Regulation

Spirituality

WisdomWork. Sat.

Dimensions Most Descriptive of St. Louis

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In St. Louis,Present step correlates with all 12 Wellspring dimensionsBest predictors: • Workplace Satisfaction • Friendships • Self Regulation • Wisdom 18% of the variance

Present Step Means for St. Louis and National

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“Top Box”5 yrs. ago 48% 49%

Present 74% 71%

Perceived Step Five Years Ago

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“Top Box”5 yrs. future 89% 87%

Present 74% 71%


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Quality of Education


Correlated to 10 of the 12 Wellspring Dimensions, the Ladder, and Subjective Well-Being.

The St. Louis mean is significantly higher than the National sample.


Section III:

The Wellspring Dimensions

Page 15Page 15

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• People appreciate beauty.

• They respond to beauty in the environment with pleasant emotions.

• They appreciate great works of art, and tend to be patrons of music, art, drama, science, and mathematics.

• Community members crave the opportunity to experience great art, such as music, drama, or paintings.

• When Aesthetics are combined with Creativity, people enjoy creative art.

Wellsprings 1: Aesthetics

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• People observe etiquette positively in social behavior.

• People value courtesy and politeness in everyday behavior.

• Positive and sincere consideration of others comes from inherent thoughtfulness.

• Residents extend their courtesy to strangers.

• People get to know one another, and volunteer to help each other when necessary, particularly when a neighbor needs help.

• People see the value of mentoring.

• People who take responsibility for improvement and growth in the community.

• Positive attitude about making continuous improvements.

Wellsprings 2: Civility/Altruism

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• Courage indicates people’s ability to meet resistance with increased determination.

• They tend to handle difficult, dangerous, or painful problems, rather than withdraw from them.

• They do what they think is right.

• Courageous persons ask for action in the community.

• They are willing to claim their goals and strengths publicly.

• Courage is something they use in their normal, everyday lives, and not just in traumatic situations.

• Courageous people bring about change and improvement in the community.

Wellsprings 3: Courage

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• Creative people within the community show imagination and artistic intellectual inventiveness.

• They do things that stimulate the imagination.

• They find unique solutions to everyday problems.

• They have a special capacity for helping people appreciate and understand beauty.

• Encourage the community to maintain beautiful places and works of art.

• They are driven to do something original each year.

Wellsprings 4: Creativity

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• Many people who are fond of each other and have intimate relationships or close acquaintances.

• Many people in the community help and trust each other.

• Trust within the community is high when friendship is high.

• People are ready to greet other people and bond with them.

• They care about the feelings and well-being of other people in the community.

• Every person has someone who cares about him/her as a person.

• Individuals say they feel a presence of love in their lives.

• There are many unconditional relationships between people.

• People are likely to stand by each other.

Wellsprings 5: Friendships

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• People are able to center their attention on the future of the community.

• People have goals and visions for the future.

• There are people who talk continuously about what “can be” instead of what “is.”

• Many people in the community know what they plan to be doing five years from now.

• They are likely to have challenging goals – big goals.

• Visioning is a regular activity in community meetings.

• People create artwork and write editorials that feature the community’s future.

Wellsprings 6: Future Focus

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Wellsprings 7: Learning

• A Learning community is continuously improving.

• Opportunities exist to discuss ideas and grow.

• Schools are likely to have courses available for everyone in the community, and schools are actually community centers as well as learning centers.

• People feel they are growing in their knowledge and wisdom, and making sense of what is happening in their world.

• Learning something new is a thrill for them.

• People in the community love to ask questions and do so frequently.

• The goal is to have every person feel that they are always learning and growing.

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• People adopt principles and live by them.

• They show integrity in expressing their values and principles.

• People regularly discuss the principles of the community in writing and in groups.

• People appreciate common standards and lawfulness – in short, “They walk their talk.”

Wellsprings 8: Principle-Centered

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Wellsprings 9: Self Regulation

• People appreciate individual discipline.

• Many people in the community say they are highly disciplined.

• Community members emphasize the importance of planning.

• People are more likely to take responsibility for their financial obligations.

• Communities are likely to be very neat communities.

• People make most of their decisions based on reason.

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Wellsprings 10: Spirituality

• Spirituality refers to people’s thinking, motivating, and feeling abilities.

• People think about the will, vivacity, vigor, enthusiasm, frame of mind, disposition or mood, and loyalty of the people.

• They think about the connectedness of all things.

• Spirituality includes both the religious behaviors and beliefs of the people.

• People who are not religious in practice may be spiritual in that they possess a sense of connectedness.

• A community is likely to have more people who participate in religious activities, such as attending church and meaningful participation in living out their faiths.

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Wellsprings 11: Wisdom

• They have the capacity for following a course of action based on knowledge, experience, and understanding.

• We typically say that people who are wise have good judgment.

• A community high in Wisdom is continuously making sense of experience.

• They see the connection between their ideas and their actions.

• People tend to identify and refer to the wise people in their community.

• Wise people seem to know intuitively how other people feel.

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Wellsprings 12: Workplace Satisfaction

• People enjoy what they do for a living and look forward to going to work.

• At times, they may even say that their work is fun.

• Work, for them, generally is a place of social satisfaction because they have friends there.

• In great workplaces, people feel they have opportunities to learn and grow.

• When they achieve, they receive recognition for their work.

• People tend to have better family lives and take on more responsibilities within the community.

• Employers can impact the level of Workplace Satisfaction within the community.

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Card Sort


Section IV:

Priority Setting and

Action Planning

Page 30Page 30

60


Overall Objectives of Action Planning

• To help stakeholders understand the purpose of the survey.

• To share survey results with the stakeholders and to discuss what they mean.

• To involve stakeholders in selecting those wellspring dimensions they feel are most important at this time.

• To initiate ideas that will encourage the team/group to come up with action items that may impact the dimensions they chose.

• To solidify your commitments to each other as a group. It is important to make a record of your actions.

• To meet periodically to track progress on the group’s action plans. Refine action plans when necessary.

Page 32Page 32

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Introduction “Why did we do the survey?”Step 1

Measurements “What does our data tell us?”

Priorities “What dimensions should we focus on?”

Step 2 Actions “What can we do to build a stronger community?”

Commitments “What will we commit to each other?”

Step 3 Tracking “Here is the progress we have made.”

IMPACT – Building the Great Community

Page 33Page 33

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Feedback and Action Planning Session

• Gather your group.

• Identify a recorder.

• Have group discussion of the Wellspring dimensions.

• Vote on two dimensions (two votes per person) for action planning.

• Write down as many actions as possible to impact two dimensions.

• Cross off all the actions that are not SMART.

• Identify who will be responsible for each action that remains.

• Track your progress and agree to meet again to review.

Page 34Page 34

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SMART Action Items

Specific

Measurable

Action-Oriented

Realistic

Time-BoundPage 34Page 34

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Appendix

Wellspring Dimensions 1-12

Ideas for Stakeholders

Page 38Page 38

65



Your Questions

?

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Highest Middle Lowest

Learning Future Focus Aesthetics 4.50 4.01 3.86

Principle-Centered Wisdom Self Regulation4.47 3.95 3.83

Friendships Courage Creativity 4.18 3.93 3.82

Spirituality Workplace Sat. Altruism/Civility4.17 3.90 3.40

Wellspring Dimensions by Mean Rank

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