The Saguaro Seminar - Civic Engagement in America

By David A. Bleckley

Graduate Student, Grand Valley State University (Fall,2005)

Definition

Based upon the idea that social capital is a cornerstone of the success of a community and that civic engagement systems in the United States are antiquated, Robert Putnam considered the nation to be on the brink of a civic revolution (Putnam 1995). With this as a stimulus, he established the Saguaro Seminar in 1995 to examine the trends leading our communities to an era of reinventing themselves and the way interactions and networks function within society. Including 33 of the top minds (both practical and academic) in the field of civic engagement, the Seminar analyzed programs, practices, and policies from across the country (Saguaro Seminar [a,c,d]).

With an overall mission of identifying pragmatic, yet sweeping ideas to facilitate the innovation of contemporary civic connectivity in today’s seemingly anti-social social-climate (one that includes suburbanization, long commutes, and cubicled offices), the Seminar strived to promote a few very select practices, which were increasing social capital in certain areas and should be implemented elsewhere. Participants were careful to avoid citing a single best plan or presenting too many ideas. Their findings stimulated the writing of several works on the topics of social capital and civic engagement (ibid).

Social capital is the inherent value derived from people being together, working together, playing together, worshipping together, interacting, and so forth. The trust and other “norms of reciprocity” intrinsic to social networks are intangible, invaluable resources, which are unique to community (Putnam 2005, 14). Ranging from voting to starting a community action organization, civic engagement involves looking outside of oneself and one’s personal interests—at any level—to the broader needs of society.

Historic Roots

As a point of reference, the industrial revolution created drastic changes in the lives of American citizens, leaving traditional social networks ineffective. In the decades that followed, new organizations and methods arose to fill this void. Many of those changes remain today, a testament to the policy-makers and -implementers of that time. However, as stated above, some of the means of civic engagement utilized in the past have not survived recent evolutions in our society (political, familiar, residential, and otherwise) (Saguaro Seminar [a]).

As mentioned before, Putnam established the Saguaro Seminar in 1995. The actual conferences began two years later. Meeting in three-day sessions eight times from April 1997 to April 2000, the 33 participants evaluated and scrutinized the methods, with which citizens from all over the United States were expanding their social networks, reaping the benefits from the social capital, and establishing a new civic engagement. Each meeting studied a different topic about social capital: general, youth, government, politics, faith, work, the arts, and technology. The Seminar continues to function as a resource for information and ideas about growing Social capital in communities ranging from neighborhoods to nations (Saguaro Seminar [a,d,e]).

Importance

The major influence of the Seminar is its emphasis on the innovation seen as coming to civic engagement behavior in the very near future. When 33 leaders in a field come together and establish a dialogue, great things can happen. Among these is the most comprehensive survey on civic engagement in the nation’s history. The Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey asked almost 30,000 Americans questions relating to how they function within their communities. The results serve as a benchmark for examining behavior in the involvement and engagement of the citizenry (Saguaro Seminar [b]).

The Seminar’s report, bettertogether, is a key resource for understanding the future of civic engagement in the United States and is available online or in print. The ideas of the report are presented further in a book, Better Together, written by the co-chairs of the Seminar (Bettertogether). In the final year of the Seminar, Putnam also published a book entitled Bowling Alone, expounding upon his 1995 article of the same name (Putnam 2000). Other participants also printed works stimulated by the dialogue of the Seminar.

Ties to the Philanthropic Sector

While increasing one’s civic engagement is not limited to philanthropic behavior, it does include it. Volunteering, participating in community initiatives, and making donations are all part of building social capital. Nonprofit organizations can be an individual’s avenue for connecting with the community and the mutual benefits associated with such interaction. Numerous such organizations are cited in bettertogether as bringing people together and established greater capital (Bettertogether).

Furthermore, philanthropy can be seen as all behaviors that better society (Learning to Give). The benefits of simply increasing one’s civic engagement can have great effects on society at-large ranging from decreasing crime to improving education and from lengthening lifetimes to decreasing poverty – all of these are areas of focus within the philanthropic sector. Greater community interaction can also lead to greater involvement. As people get to know each other, they want to help each other, and may volunteer to serve each other (Saguaro Seminar [a,c,d]).

Key Related Ideas

Social capital is the blanket title given to all those positive effects of a community’s interacting. Among the benefits associated with social capital are increased safety, education, and health and decreased crime, illiteracy, and socioeconomic disparity. As the name suggests, social capital can be gained or lost depending on behavior.

Civic Engagement is the practice of truly being involved in one’s community—taking an interest in the happenings in the area as well as interacting with the people who live there. Social capital is built through increased civic engagement. Some examples of civic engagement are voting, joining a neighborhood association, volunteering, living and working in the same community, and welcoming new neighbors into the neighborhood.

Service Learning is a method of imparting the importance of philanthropy on young people. The inclusion of volunteering activities and philanthropic lessons into the curriculum teaches students to be more community minded. Service learning can also be used as a tool to increase social capital among a younger generation.

Important People Related to the Topic

• Lew Feldstein: Feldstein co-chaired the Saguaro Seminar and co-authored Better Together: Restoring the American Community. As the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation’s president, he is one of that state’s leaders in the realm of venture capital (Saguaro Seminar [f}).
  
  
• Robert D. Putnam (1941-): Putnam’s 1995 article “Bowling Alone: America’s declining social capital” spearheaded a movement to examine ideas of civic engagement. He co-chaired the Saguaro Seminar and co-authored Better Together: Restoring the American Community. His accomplishments on the faculty of Harvard University are numerous and laudable (Saguaro Seminar [g]; “Robert D Putnam”). 
  
  
• Thomas H. Sander (1961-): Sander is the Saguaro Seminar’s executive director and has been since its establishment in 1995. Among his many credits are his part in the establishment of the National Service Trust and his support of the writings of seminal publications on Civic Engagement (Saguaro Seminar [g]).

Related Nonprofit Organizations

• Citizen Schools is a nationally recognized organization dedicated to service learning as an educational tool outside of the classroom. Connecting students with businesses, nonprofits, and adult volunteers to learn more about their communities and their role as citizens, Citizen Schools provides programs for middle-school-aged youth. The organization’s methods and benefits extend beyond those of the typical after-school program because civic engagement helps children to feel more a part of their communities (www.citizenschools.org).
  
  
• Do Something is an initiative set forth to make service more appealing to youth. Its programs include monthly ideas to challenge young people to engage the community, a magazine titled BUILD, and awards to service role-models (www.dosomething.org/). 
  
  
• Hands On Network is a national organization seeking to solve societal hardship through service. The Network realizes the multi-dimensionality of service and civic engagement by emphasizing not only the work done by volunteers but also the intrinsic meaning of the experience to them (www.handsonnetwork.org/).
  
  
• Sustainable Seattle is an organization that utilizes civic engagement and social capital building in its ecological, economic, and community sustainability programs. With a focus on neighborhood development, education, and local business, Sustainable Seattle is an example of a metropolitan-level model of civic engagement (www.sustainableseattle.org).

Related Web Sites

American Psychological Association’s Civic Engagement and Service-Learning site, at www.apa.org/ed/slce/home.html, emphasizes the connections between civic engagement and service-learning, especially in the realm of psychology. This would be of most interest to parents and educators looking at the role of such practices in the development of children.

The Journal for Civic Commitment site, at www.mc.maricopa.edu/other/engagement/Journal/, is an on-line academic journal published each autumn and spring to provide readers with research and ideas on how to incorporate commitment to the community with learning.

Affiliated with Community College National Center for Community Engagement, the website provides access to current and past issues. Learn and Serve America site, at www.learnandserve.gov/, provides information about the financial, instructional, and research-based resources the program offers to organizations seeking to combine service and learning at all academic levels.

Learn and Serve America is one facet of the Corporation for National and Community Service, which also includes AmeriCorps and Senior Corps.

Social Capital Gateway site, at www.socialcapitalgateway.org/, is a global hub of Internet sites, events, and research relating to social capital and its relationship to several other phenomena.

U.S. Department of Education’s Character Education and Civic Engagement Technical Assistance Center site, at www.cetac.org/, is a resource for educators emphasizing civic engagement. The Center helps connect the principles of the No Child Left Behind Act with community-based curricula.

Bibliography and Internet Source

Bettertogether. Better Together. Accessed 5 December 2005. www.bettertogether.org/thereport.htm.

Learning to Give. Philanthropy (Informational paper). Accessed 5 December 2005. www.learningtogive.org/papers/index.asp?bpid=42.

Putnam, Robert D. “Bowling Alone: America’s declining social capital,” Journal of Democracy 6 (1995): 1, 65.

Putnam, Robert D. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon and Shuster, 2000. ISBN: 0684832836.

Putnam, Robert D. “Bowling together,” Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. The OECD Observer (2004): 242, 14-15.

“Robert D Putnam.” In Biography and Genealogy Master Index [database online]. Accessed 5 December 2005. Available from Grand Valley State University Library.

Saguaro Seminar. Saguaro Seminar: Civic Engagement in America. Accessed 5 December 2005. [a] www.ksg.harvard.edu/saguaro/background.html [b] www.ksg.harvard.edu/saguaro/communitysurvey/index.html [c] www.ksg.harvard.edu/saguaro/executivesummary.htm [d] www.ksg.harvard.edu/saguaro/index.html [e] www.ksg.harvard.edu/saguaro/meetings.html [f] www.ksg.harvard.edu/saguaro/participants.html [g] www.ksg.harvard.edu/saguaro/staff.htm.