Together Rhode Island Analysis Prepared for: Rhode Island Foundation One Union Station Providence, RI 02903 August 2018 REPORT Faculty: Skye Leedahl Melanie Brasher Shanna Pearson-Merkowitz Student Researchers: Travis Doumaney Kristin Sodhi The University of Rhode Island URI Social Science Institute for Research, Social Science Institute for Education, and Policy. Research, Education and Policy University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI 02881 uri.edu/ssirep About The Rhode Island Foundation Founded in 1916, the Rhode Island Foundation is the state’s community foundation. The mission of the Rhode Island Foundation is to be a proactive community and philanthropic leader dedicated to meeting the needs of the people of Rhode Island. The Rhode Island Foundation is the largest funder of Rhode Island's nonprofit sector. In addition, the Foundation works to achieve its goals by: evaluating community issues and making strategic grants, promoting and building effective philanthropy, stewarding permanent endowments and honoring donor intent and current needs, building the strengths and capacity of the nonprofit sector, providing leadership to and a forum for civil dialogue on important issues, and growing their endowments through disciplined and quality investments. Together RI The Rhode Island Foundation launched Together RI in March 2018. It was a series of 20 community events at locations throughout Rhode Island that took place between March 22nd and May 5th, 2018. The events were held at schools, community centers and other locally known places. The purpose of these events was to gather and share information about challenges, successes, and solutions within the state. Additionally, the Rhode Island Foundation wanted to hear from, and encourage dialogue between, all Rhode Islanders and hoped to encourage civic participation. The Foundation felt it was important to create a space for listening, reconnecting, and inspiring civil dialogue at a time when people are more “connected” via social media, yet more disconnected from each other personally, than ever. The events were open to the public and community members were encouraged to attend. Family-style complimentary meals were provided, and participants were encouraged to sit at a table to share their ideas and opinions about various topics, face-to-face with each other. The Rhode Island Foundation hired independent facilitators to moderate and guide the discussions. The Foundation hoped that participants would meet someone new and leave knowing that their voice was heard. Afterwards, University of Rhode Island researchers helped to synthesize the results. The Social Science Institute for Research, Education, and Policy The Social Science Institute for Research, Education, and Policy (SSIREP) at the University of Rhode Island is a campus-wide consortium that brings together strong campus units including political science, economics, sociology, anthropology, psychology, philosophy, English, languages, computer science and statistics, history, gender and women’s studies, nursing, pharmacy, Africana studies, environmental and natural resource economics, marine affairs, education, business, human development, engineering, communications, and labor studies. The SSIREP fosters interdisciplinary programs in scholarly research, teaching and learning, and outreach to students, faculty, business, government, and the community. In addition, SSIREP’s affiliated faculty conduct program and policy evaluations for Rhode Island’s government and nonprofit agencies. For more information, visit: https://web.uri.edu/ssirep/ 1 Faculty Authors Skye Leedahl is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Human Development & Family Studies and Political Science at the University of Rhode Island. She received a Ph.D. from the University of Kansas in 2013. Her research is focused on social integration and environments for older adults, and she teaches courses on physical environments for older adults, policy issues in health and aging, research methods, and public program evaluation. She has published in high- quality gerontology journals, and has received awards for her research, most recently from the University of Rhode Island Council for Research. Melanie Brasher is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Sociology & Anthropology and Human Development & Family Studies at the University of Rhode Island. She received a Ph.D. in Sociology from Duke University in 2013. Her research is focused on intergenerational relations, social determinants of health, and population aging. She teaches courses on aging and life the course, family, health, and research methods. Much of her research has focused on the well-being of older adults in China, and she continues to collaborate on research with scholars at the China CDC in Beijing. Shanna Pearson-Merkowitz is the director of the Social Science Institute for Research, Education, and Policy and an Associate Professor at the University of Rhode Island. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2009. Her research and teaching interests are in workforce, education, and housing policy, economic inequality, and American politics. Her work has been funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Russell Sage Foundation, and her scholarly manuscripts have appeared in some of the top political science journals. Student Authors Travis Doumaney is an alum of The School for International Training’s International Honors Program, where he studied comparative Human Rights challenges and advocacy. He is now studying Political Science and Computer Science at the University of Rhode Island. Kristin Sodhi is a graduate student in the International Relations program at the University of Rhode Island. 2 Table of Contents Executive Summary ...........................................................................................................4 1. Rhode Island Foundation Together RI Individual Survey Report 1.1. Introduction...................................................................................................................7 1.2. Demographic Information.............................................................................................7 1.3. Encouraging and Challenging Topics Discussed..........................................................9 1.4. Tone of the Conversation..............................................................................................19 1.5. Community Engagement...............................................................................................22 1.6. How Participants Heard About the Event .....................................................................24 2. Rhode Island Foundation Together RI Discussion Questions Report 2.1. Summary of Findings..................................................................................................29 2.2. Major Categories Summary.........................................................................................31 2.3. Rhode Island’s Biggest Strength.................................................................................41 2.4. Rhode Island’s Biggest Opportunity...........................................................................46 2.5. Challenges That Impact Daily Life.............................................................................54 2.6. Proud About Rhode Island ..........................................................................................63 2.7. Positive Sense of Community in Rhode Island...........................................................65 2.8. Personal Time Working to Improve the State or Community.....................................68 2.9. Most Frequent Topics from Each Community Event..................................................71 Appendix A: Encouraging and Challenging Topics by Town......................................95 Appendix B: Survey Analysis Research Methodology................................................100 Appendix C: Discussion Questions and Survey...........................................................103 Appendix D: Discussion Analysis Research Methodology..........................................107 3 Executive Summary In 2018 the Rhode Island Foundation held 20 community events at locations throughout the state between March 22nd and May 5th. The initiative was named “Together RI.” The purpose of these events was to gather and share information about challenges, successes, and solutions within the state. Community members were invited to attend the events, where complimentary meals were provided, and participants were encouraged to sit at a table to share their ideas and opinions about the various topics. The Rhode Island Foundation helped to moderate the discussions. Nearly 1,300 people participated in the events. Participants were asked to fill out a form regarding what they discussed at their table and a survey about the event. The data analysis of the discussion form and survey results was performed by the University of Rhode Island's Social Science Institute for Research, Education, and Policy (SSIREP) using manual and automated analysis techniques. Together RI at a Glance: • The youngest Together RI participant was three and a half months old, the eldest was a 92-year-old Holocaust survivor. • Nearly 1,000 participants completed surveys asking them about their experience. • Just under 20 percent were under 45 years old; about 35 percent were 65 or older. • Nearly 65 percent of survey respondents were women and nearly 35 percent