Ci creative index

CREATIVE COMMUNITY INDEX

Measuring Progress Toward

A VIBRANT SILICON VALLEY

CREATIVE COMMUNITY INDEX | ADVISORS

Advisors to this Project

Jerry AllenDeputy Director for CulturalAffairsCity of San José

Elisbeth ChallenerExecutive DirectorVilla Montalvo

William DavidowGeneral PartnerMohr Davidow Ventures

Bruce DavisExecutive DirectorArts Council Silicon Valley

Chris Dwyer Vice PresidentRMC Research

Todd FlynnFounderSmartCalendar, Inc.

Peter GilesExecutive DirectorThe Tech Museum of Innovation

Nancy GlazeDirector, Arts ProgramThe David and Lucile PackardFoundation

Susan HammerMemberState of California Board of Education

Scott HeckesAssistant Chief of Grant ProgramsCalifornia Arts Council

Doug HentonPresidentCollaborative Economics

Alan HessColumnistSan José Mercury News

Nancy RageyVice PresidentCommunity Foundation Silicon Valley

Alberto TorresPartnerMcKinsey & Company

Kim WaleshDirectorCollaborative Economics

Barbara WaughWorldwide Change ManagerHewlett-Packard Company

Board of Directors

Dr. Harry Saal, PresidentSusan Hammer, Vice PresidentRobert Wayman, TreasurerPat ComptonTodd Flynn

Ann GralnekMichael HackworthChristine HarrisKim PoleseKim Walesh

Cultural Initiatives Staff

John Kreidler, Executive DirectorKate Cochran, COO & Director, Leadership DevelopmentBrendan Rawson, Director, Community & Neighborhood Arts ProgramDana Powell, Ed.D., Director, Creative Education ProgramAimée Ipson, Professional Development Coordinator, Creative Education ProgramLilia Agüero, School Grants Coordinator, Creative Education ProgramJennifer Leclerc, Communications CoordinatorVanessa Shieh, Administrative Coordinator

This project has been a collaborative effort of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Americans for theArts, the City of San José Office of Cultural Affairs, and Cultural Initiatives Silicon Valley. In addition, CulturalInitiatives convened a group of leaders from industry, the arts, and government to develop the framework of thisdocument. The group was expertly guided by Doug Henton and Kim Walesh of Collaborative Economics. Wegreatly appreciate the generosity of our project advisors toward shaping this research.

The Knight Foundation has been a leader in the development of community indicators projects throughout thecountry. In partnership with Americans for the Arts, the Knight Foundation chose three communities—FortWayne, Indiana, Charlotte, North Carolina, and San José—for a unique demonstration project. Each local community was asked to develop the quantitative indicators that best measure the health and vitality of its local arts and cultural sector. Cultural Initiatives Silicon Valley partnered with the City of San José to performthe local data collection and analysis. Through an open process of information sharing with the KnightFoundation, Americans for the Arts, and the two other pilot communities, we developed indicators that webelieve best capture Silicon Valley’s arts and cultural sector.

Welcome to Cultural Initiatives Creative Community Index. CulturalInitiatives developed the Index to provide an objective source of information about the artistic, creative and cultural life of Silicon Valley.We hope this document will help promote public dialogue and informdecisions about these issues and serve as a foundation for monitoringour progress toward shared goals for the arts and cultural sector in our region.

We would like to thank the Knight Foundation, Americans for the Artsand the City of San José for their generous support in the publication ofthe Index.

Our research for this project has been extensive. Through personalinterviews in three different languages with over 350 Silicon Valley residents, we have gained a solid understanding of what residents thinkabout arts and culture in the region. Using 125 survey responses fromlocal arts and cultural organizations, we have broadened our understanding of the programming, audiences, finances, and operationsof the nonprofit cultural sector. We also collected information from arange of secondary data sources to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the role of creativity and cultural life in the region. All of this information is summarized in this report.

To initiate this project, it was necessary to establish an organizingframework for understanding the arts, culture and creativity of SiliconValley. We convened an Indicators Advisory Group to assist us in developing our framework. Through a process of facilitated discussions,the advisors established a basic tenet for us to build upon: in order toinsure the future prosperity, vitality and overall quality of life of ourregion, we must intelligently leverage our most valued assets of creativity and cultural participation.

The advisors identified four key observations as the basis for this belief:1. Creativity is highly valued in the Silicon Valley economy.2. The Creative Industries sector is becoming an increasingly

important part of the region's "Innovation Habitat."3. Cultural participation plays a major role in connecting divergent

groups and in connecting individuals to their community.4. New, creative approaches are needed to address the civic and

social challenges facing the region.

Building from this foundation, we have established an organizing framework for the development of quantitative indicators. Beyond thequantitative data available within this Index, we hope readers will alsoconsider the framework as a useful tool for discussion and developmentof Silicon Valley’s unique cultural milieu.

Dr. Harry Saal John KreidlerBoard President Executive Director

CREATIVE COMMUNITY INDEX | TABLE OF CONTENTS

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The Creative Community Framework 3

What You Need to Know About This Report 5

Overview 6

Cultural Indicators:

Outcomes 8

Creativity 8

Connectedness 11

Contribution 12

Participation 14

Participation in Arts and Cultural Activities 14

Assets 18

The Creative Sector 18

Venues and Facilities 20

Civic Aesthetics 21

Levers 22

Creative Education 22

Leadership 24

Policies 25

Investment 26

End Notes 28

Methodology 29

CONTENTS

The Creative Community Index helps illustrate a growing body of evidencethat the arts produce tangible social and economic benefits. For the pasttwo decades, a variety of research has documented the positive influenceof the arts on human development and on robust economies. Morerecently, research has also begun to highlight the impact of the arts onthe ambient creativity of cities or regions and on the ability of communities to establish bonds of social trust and understanding.

To measure the health and vitality of the arts and cultural sector inSilicon Valley, it was first necessary to establish a model or hypothesisof how the sector works in our region. Josephine Ramirez at the GettyCenter in Los Angeles describes this issue clearly in her research onquantitative efforts to measure the arts: “The need to better under-stand and articulate the broad societal value of arts and culture is atthe heart of a discussion among a growing circle of arts scholars in theU.S. The problem with most arts-related data and the way it is collectedis that it tends not to be anchored in any theories about the societalimpacts of the arts. Instead, the arts community usually gathers datathat relates narrowly to itself.”

Through the Creative Community Index, we hope to establish a workingmodel of the broad dynamics of the arts and cultural sector in SiliconValley and of the sector’s interactions with our region’s broader community life.

A Guiding FrameworkAt the outset of this project, our Advisory Group sought conceptual constructs about how the arts and culture operate in Silicon Valley.Many of the advisors are active leaders in the region’s arts sector,while others are occasional participants and thoughtful observers.

With their assistance, we established a simple conceptual frameworkbased on a causal theory of the impact of the cultural sector on a com-munity. The theory is that various levers are available for influencingthe dynamics of the arts and culture in Silicon Valley. As these leversare exercised (e.g., a local city government establishes an ordinance tosupport the acquisition of public works of art), they generate assets(e.g. sculptures, fountains or murals). These assets, in turn, provide abasis for public participation in the arts and culture (e.g. enjoying apiece of sculpture in the midst of a shopping district). Finally, the accumulated results of this participation are measurable outcomes,such as increased feelings of connectedness to neighbors or heightenedsense of community identification as a result of living in an aestheticallyinspiring environment.

Assumptions Underlying the Framework The Advisory Group established the following assumptions in the devel-opment of this framework:• The vision of Silicon Valley is that of a creative, connected, contributing

region with a prosperous economy and an attractive quality of life.• Cultural life is a key element of Silicon Valley’s general quality of life.• Participation in cultural life can enhance people’s connections to

each other and to place.• Creativity is important to Silicon Valley’s future. Cultural participation

can enhance creativity.• Silicon Valley should aspire to contribute to the world, going beyond

its contributions in technology. Cultural participation can producenew ideas and expressions that contribute to global well-being.

• Twenty-first-century Silicon Valley will define “desired outcomes” ofcultural life differently than will other regions and generations.

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THE CREATIVE COMMUNITY FRAMEWORK

Cultural Assets

Cultural Levers

Cultural Participation

Cultural OutcomesCreativity

Connectedness

Contribution

Participation in Arts &Cultural Activities

CreativeSector

Venues and Facilities

CivicAesthetics

Leadership

Investment

Policies

Arts Education

Defining Our Desired OutcomesAs described above, we needed to establish a strong understanding ofthe sector’s relationship to the broader community in order to successfullymeasure the arts and cultural sector of the region. As a first step, wedefined the desired outcomes for the sector as it impacts that broadercommunity. Given the specific character of Silicon Valley, the IndexAdvisory Group determined that two of the most important outcomes to

be addressed were creativity, seen as a significant element in theregion’s capacity for sustaining technological and business innovation,and social connectedness, which was found to be weak in Silicon Valleyin national research conducted by the Social Capital Benchmark Study.The group also found merit in attempting to document Silicon Valley’scontribution to the advancement of the arts, in parallel with the region’swidely acknowledged contribution to the advancement of technology.

“If we can direct our creativity outward toward a noble end, it would inspire great work and a wonderful community. Great teams are not formed in the absence of great and worthy goals, nor great communities in the absence of great and worthy visions.”

Barbara Waugh, Hewlett-Packard Company

CREATIVE COMMUNITY INDEX | CREATIVE COMMUNITY FRAMEWORK

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What Do We Know About Creativity? We can define creativity as “the ability to bring something new or originalinto being.” But beyond this simple definition, what do we know aboutcreativity that is important for thinking about the future of Silicon Valley?

Creativity is Fundamental to InnovationSome may think of creativity as an attribute confined to artists or thearts. But here in Silicon Valley, we know that creativity is foundational;it has complex impacts on our society and economy. Historically, theapplication of creativity has proved critical across the breadth of humanenterprise: commerce, philosophy, science, law, aesthetics, trades,even athletics. To understand the importance of creativity in SiliconValley today, three areas are of particular interest:

• Technological and Business Innovation—Creativity in the economy isabout devising new products, services, technologies, industries, and waysof doing business. Silicon Valley pioneered a new kind of economy thatcompetes based on innovation—the generation and application of newideas. Innovation results from creative people and the creative process.

• Artistic and Cultural Innovation—Creativity is about advancing thefine and performing arts, literature, commercial arts, popular culture,and amateur arts. creativity has produced entirely new forms of literature, painting, dance, music, architecture, and other aestheticexpressions. For example, Silicon Valley is at the leading edge of thedevelopment of new digital media for artistic expression.

• Civic Innovation—Creativity in civic life has produced a range of publicinnovations in the built environment and in social institutions: the apart-ment block, the aqueduct, the subway, the skyscraper, public education,social security, and democratic institutions. In Silicon Valley today, creativity is also key to improving how we live together as a communityand how we solve the civic challenges associated with growth and technological advances, including social cohesion, urban form, trans-portation, educational opportunity, and environmental stewardship.

Thinking broadly about the application of creativity in Silicon Valleyleads to a working definition: Creativity is the process by which ideasare generated, connected and transformed into things that are valued.This broad notion of creativity encompasses innovation, entrepreneurshipand expression. It connotes both the art of generating new ideas andthe discipline of developing, sharing and applying those ideas.

What Do We Know About Connectedness?What do we know about connectedness that is important in thinkingabout the future of Silicon Valley?

Arts and cultural activities can play a critical role in connecting peopleacross cultures and affinity groups, helping them to identify commonalitiesand value differences. As people participate in enjoying an activitytogether—whether singing in a choral society or attending an ethnicstreet festival—they can connect with one another and form personalbonds. Cultural participation can include amateur arts, community celebrations, festivals, vibrant public spaces where people gather, recreational tournaments, and neighborhood block parties.

Cultural Participation Builds Social CapitalCultural participation helps build a more cohesive, connected community.Evidence is growing that the long-term health of communities andeconomies is tied to a healthy stock of social capital—bonds of trusting,knowing, reciprocal relationships.

As a form of civic engagement, cultural participation is an importantway of strengthening social capital. Professor Robert Putnam ofHarvard University explains that some civic engagement—voter education, neighborhood watch, attending community meetings—can belike “civic broccoli,” important and purposive, but not necessarily fun orinspiring. In contrast, people tend to participate in the arts and culturefor personal growth or sheer enjoyment. Opportunities to create socialcapital through cultural participation are highest when people areinvolved as active participants or presenters of an activity; opportunitiesare lowest when the people are primarily spectators (e.g., looking at a

painting or listening to a concert). Putnam writes:

To build bridging social capital requires that we transcend oursocial and political and professional identities to connect with people unlike ourselves. This is why team sports provide good venues for social capital creation. Equally important and lessexploited in this connection are the arts and cultural activities.Singing together (like bowling together) does not require sharedideology or shared social or ethnic provenance. For this reason,among others, I challenge America’s artists, the leaders and funders of our cultural institutions, as well as ordinary Americans:Let us find ways to ensure that by 2010 significantly moreAmericans will participate in (not merely consume or “appreciate”)cultural activities from group dance to songfests to community theatre to rap festivals. Let us discover new ways to use the artsas a vehicle for convening diverse groups of fellow citizens.

Art manifestly matters for its own sake, far beyond the favorableeffects it can have on rebuilding American communities. Aestheticobjectives, not merely social ones, are obviously important. Thatsaid, art is especially useful in transcending conventional social barriers. Moreover, social capital is often a valuable by-product ofcultural activities whose main purpose is purely artistic. (Putnam, Bowling Alone, p.411)

Participation in arts and culture is a step toward engaging people morebroadly in other elements of civic life—life beyond their family and work.

What Do We Know About Contribution? What do we know about contribution that is important in thinking aboutthe future of Silicon Valley?

The notion of contribution can be viewed from at least two perspectives:1.) the contribution that Silicon Valley makes to the global advancementof the arts and culture; and 2.) the local contribution that the arts maketo the enrichment of our families, our communities and our personal lives.

Artists and arts institutions in Silicon Valley are often pressing the limits of performance and the visual arts by using leading technologies that notonly define the frontiers of art, but also, through the Internet and othertechnologies, have the capacity to reach audiences throughout the world.Among the local organizations that have actively promoted this global contribution are ZeroOne–the Art and Technology Network, A.D. Gallery,Xerox PARC, The Djerassi Foundation, The Tech Museum of Innovation,and Children’s Musical Theater. Local artists are uniquely positioned towrestle with, and interpret the impacts of, Silicon Valley’s innovations.Living here, we are often on the cusp of how technological advances inte-grate with our personal and community lives. It is a prime perch for manyartists. This potential cross-fertilizing of the sciences and humanities is atremendous opportunity for Silicon Valley to contribute to the broaderhuman community.

Creating and sharing art—whether as a spectator, professional artist, or amateur practitioner— can be both a personal and a social experience.The arts provide value requiring no further justification due to theirinherent contribution to the health, inspiration, and fullness of our lives.This potential contribution of the arts to the quality of life in SiliconValley cannot be ignored. Too often, residents consider the Valley anuninspiring and sterile place. In a 1999 San José Mercury News poll ofmore than 1,000 residents, two out of every five workers would leavethe Valley if they could take their jobs with them. More recently, empirical research has begun to demonstrate some of the more practicalcontributions of artistically rich regions: public schools that producemotivated, well-rounded students, robust economies that can adapt toshifting trends and attract global talent, and communities that can perceive and solve difficult challenges.

In summary, our work at Cultural Initiatives Silicon Valley is based on ourbelief that creativity, connectedness and contribution are deeply relevantto our community. The Creative Community Index seeks to test our theories and to examine in detail the importance and impact of theseoutcomes to the residents and arts providers of the Silicon Valley region.

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How To Read This Report This report is structured according to a guiding framework that organizes measured indicators into four categories.

Outcomes: The desired outcomes of a healthy cultural life; broad-based creativity, social connectedness among diverse people and contribution to the quality of life in Silicon Valley

Participation: Residents’ participation in arts and cultural activities, including the extent to whichdiverse people participate together

Assets: The mix of cultural assets present in the community, including talent in the creativesector (nonprofit, public and private), venues and facilities, and the aesthetic quality of our environment

Levers: The extent to which we leverage and build our cultural assets and encourage people’sinteraction with these assets through arts education, leadership, investment, and policies

Survey MethodologiesFor the development of this report, Cultural Initiatives Silicon Valley contracted the survey research firmCultural Access Group to implement a major in-person “intercept” survey of 361 Silicon Valley residents abouttheir behavior and beliefs regarding arts and culture in their community. Cultural Access Group specializes insurveying across cultural and language barriers. Interviews were conducted in English, Spanish andVietnamese at 18 locations throughout Santa Clara County. In addition, Cultural Initiatives developed anexhaustive database of 531 Silicon Valley nonprofit arts and cultural organizations and surveyed them on arange of programming, financial and management issues. We received responses from 125 organizations andconducted in-depth interviews with 22 of them. For an expanded discussion of this research process pleasesee the Methodology section beginning on page 29.

Future Research Plans The Creative Community Index is a quantitative research project seeking to measure creativity and culturalvitality—intangible constructs that are difficult to quantify. Cultural Initiatives believes it is important to complement this work with an established qualitative methodology that will shed light on these issues using a different, yet equally valid, approach. To this end, we are in the process of launching sociological fieldresearch of participatory arts in the region. We will be gathering stories and observations of how SiliconValley residents become engaged in the arts and how the arts impact their lives.

Glossary of Terms

Arts Education: Includes the spectrum of dance, music, theatre, visual and multi-arts program instruction occurring in Silicon Valley schools and institutions

Creativity: The process by which ideas are generated, connected and transformed into things that are valued

Creative Sector: The mix of nonprofit arts and for-profit creative industries such as technology develop-ment, arts and entertainment, design, filmmaking, and architecture that exhibit highrates of per employee value-added input to the goods and services they produce

Civic Aesthetics: The combination of elements that contribute to an attractive urban design, and the devel-opment of buildings and public spaces that foster community and encourage creativity

Connectedness: The extent to which people feel connected to other people and to their neighborhoods,cities or region; the social networks of trust and reciprocity that define social capital

Contribution: The opportunities that the arts provide to enrich our lives and to creatively give backto our communities

Cultural Participation: Includes attending the visual and performing arts, as well as a range of arts and cultural activities that bring people together to interact, experience, share, and enjoy creative expression

Cultural Policies: The decisions, regulations and incentives put into place by private and public entitiesthat affect the cultural sector of a community

CREATIVE COMMUNITY INDEX | WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THIS REPORT

Silicon Valley’s OpportunitySilicon Valley’s reputation for excellence lies in its technological andeconomic achievement. Building on this base and the incredible milieufor business innovation, Silicon Valley can pioneer a next-generation metropolitan community where creativity leads not only to continuedtechnological excellence, but to artistic, cultural and civic innovation.Throughout human history, certain cities and regions have emerged aspinnacles of human creativity. Sir Peter Hall, in his landmark book Citiesin Civilization, examines the combination of forces that fostered particularcities as centers of cultural, technological or civic excellence. Hall findsthat cities have historically tended to excel in a single realm. He holdsopen the possibility that a truly creative city of the twenty-first centurywill excel in multiple realms, building on the creative fusion of art andtechnology that began to emerge in twentieth-century America.

What Have We Learned?Through this Index project we have found that two of the most importantissues to be addressed in fostering a vital community are creativity andsocial connectedness.

CreativityAsked whether they thought of themselves as an artist in any fashionand, if so, how, 51% of 361 Silicon Valley interviewees said, “Yes,” anddescribed a myriad of activities such as playing a musical instrument,knitting, singing, or various other creative pursuits. Many also mentionedthat their work in the technology sector allowed them to be creative—12% mentioned activities such as computer programming, softwaredevelopment or web design. Residents of Silicon Valley recognize thatcreativity directly affects our society and economy. From idea generationthrough experimentation, prototyping, commercialization, positioning,and marketing, creativity is woven throughout the economic life of ourregion. Graphic designers, creative writers, photographers, animators,and music producers are taking their place in the technology workforce.At least 12% of Silicon Valley jobs can be described as creative innature. On average, these jobs pay more than 40% above the averagewages for all other jobs in the region.

Arts education is also fundamental to our community’s creativehealth, and local residents are adamant about its importance. Ninety-two percent of survey respondents said that the arts should be

required for school children. However, compared to national data, wesee that the amount of arts instruction offered in our public schools isfar below the national average (see chart at left).

ConnectednessA key factor in the life of any community is the extent to which peoplefeel connected to each other and to their neighborhood, city or region.Developing connection to place is increasingly important in our highlymobile society and can help overcome a sense of isolation that peoplemay feel living far from extended family and their community of origin.This is especially important in Silicon Valley, where the proportion of foreign-born residents is more than three times the national average.

Participating in cultural traditions and social interactions in neighborhoodsettings is a particularly powerful way of creating community. Becausecultural participation often provides a neutral meeting ground, it is particularly conducive to bridging differences, be they socioeconomic,ethnic, educational, or generational.

Our forms of preferred cultural participation in Silicon Valley vary acrossdemographic factors, providing a rich mix of active engagement. Forexample, 50% of Latinos mention dancing (many different kinds) as one of their favorite forms of cultural participation with others; amongAsians, 23% mentioned singing in a group as a favorite form of participation. Men were twice as likely as women to mention playing

CREATIVE COMMUNITY INDEX | OVERVIEW

OVERVIEW

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OVERVIEW

• Rapid accumulation of new wealth in new hands during a time ofrapid economic transition

• Attraction of talented and ambitious people, bringing new ideas,worldviews and an understanding of the significance of a period,and passion to influence its unfolding

• Crossroads of culture, where information from different traditionswas exchanged and synthesized through “interculturalism” and trade

• Social and values tension, including a clashing of new values withtraditional values that led to new lifestyles, roles, relationships, andbases for class distinction

• Reconfiguration of social networks as individuals from differentoccupations and positions in society—such as intellectuals, wealthmakers, artists, and aristocrats—commingled in new relationships,leading to cross-fertilization of ideas and perspectives

• High civic aspirations and collective action as individuals and associations (e.g., professional, business and civic associations)expected and demanded that the public aspects of their city be great

• Physical places that fostered interaction and mixing of peoplewith diverse talents and views, such as plazas, salons, meetinghouses, and cafes.

ELEMENTS OF A CREATIVE CULTURAL ENVIRONMENTSir Peter Hall’s research aimed to answer the question, “Whatmakes for a creative city?” Hall finds a number of common factorsthat historically have worked together to foster a particularly creative cultural environment.

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Arts Education, Local vs. NationalAvailability of local arts education falls well below national average.

Percentage of elementary grade level students receiving arts education, by artistic discipline

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“Silicon Valley has been the creative hotbed of the innovation economy. It istime to channel that creativity to make the Valley a better place to live.” – Alberto Torres, McKinsey & Company

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QUESTIONS FOR REGIONAL DISCUSSION: We hope the Creative Community Index will provide a foundation for readers to further explore three key questions:

• How important are culture and creativity to Silicon Valley’seconomic and civic future?

• What should be the desired outcomes of arts and cultural life in twenty-first-century Silicon Valley?

• How would you measure progress?

Importance of the arts and rating of the regionMany Silicon Valley residents highly value their arts and cultural activities, however,the region does not receive as high of marks as a place to pursue such interests.

Percentage of SiliconValley residents that “high-ly” value their personalartistic activities and thepercentage that rate theregion as a good place topursue such interests

Percentage of Silicon Valleyresidents that “highly” valueparticipating in artisticactivites with others and thepercentage that rate theregion as a good place topursue such interests

What Residents Would Like to LearnResidents have many creative interests; one in four would like to learn to play a musical instrument.

Silicon Valley Opinion Survey: If you had the opportunity to learn a new form of creative expression, what would that be?

Looking Forward Creativity and cultural participation offer Silicon Valley tremendousopportunities. The region can evolve a distinctive identity as a placethat nurtures creative exchange and cultural connections among all ourresidents—a vibrant creative and cultural milieu.

Cultural Initiatives Silicon Valley believes that developing Silicon Valleyas a diverse Creative Community is essential for sustaining the localinnovation economy and for strengthening fundamental elements ofcommunity vitality—social capital, sense of place, civic spirit, communityinnovation. As we look to the not-so-distant future, we see four mainreasons why Silicon Valley needs to value and nurture creativity andcultural participation in a fundamental way:

1. New economics values creativity. Creativity is essential for the new economics of Silicon Valley, where our competitive advantage relies uponour ability to innovate. Cultural participation helps develop the creativeskills that will be required by the Silicon Valley workforce as a whole.

2. Creative sector is a key part of an innovation “habitat.” The creativeand cultural sector—including commercial businesses, nonprofit institutions and independent artists—is becoming a more importantpart of Silicon Valley’s innovation “habitat.”

3. Culture connects people and place. Talented people—the Valley’smost important resource—are increasingly sophisticated consumersof place. Cultural participation can help bond Silicon Valley residentsto each other and to this place while providing a unique quality-of-lifeasset for all.

4. Civic and social creativity is vital. Creativity is essential to addressingcivic and social concerns in Silicon Valley. Cultural participationopens the door to civic and social creativity and can inspire morevisionary strategies and novel approaches.

If we enhance Silicon Valley’s creative and cultural life and connect itmore deeply to the economic life of the region, Silicon Valley’s legacy to future generations and the world will not only be a new kind of economy, but a new and better kind of world community.

music with others, whereas women more frequently mentioned singingin a choir. These facts only scratch the surface of our diverse interestsin cultural activities. Unfortunately, only 56% of Silicon Valley residentsgave their community a good rating as a place to participate with others in their favorite cultural activities.

Attending performances and visiting exhibitions can also serve to buildconnectedness. Indeed, many residents described these as forms ofactive participation that they enjoy doing with others. Unfortunately,we do not attend such events on a very consistent basis. Only 46% ofresidents attended a live performance more than twice in the past year,and only 23% visited a museum of any kind more than twice. Further-more, when asked to rate Silicon Valley as a place to attend live performances and visit museums, only 53% gave the region a good wsrating. However, the manner in which we attend is interesting—only23% of the attended performances were in facilities designed as performance venues: concert halls, theatres or opera houses. Theremaining 77% were in multi-purpose facilities, both indoor and outdoor,such as stadiums, school gyms or auditoriums, parks, or places of worship.

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CREATIVE COMMUNITY INDEX | OUTCOMES

OUTCOMESWhat does a creative community look like? Picturing the ideal vibrant arts and cultural sector for our community isnot easy. People have different ideas of how this sector should ultimately benefit both individuals and entire communities.For the purposes of this report, we have sketched out three categories as a basis for understanding the benefits of avibrant arts and cultural sector—creativity, connectedness and contribution. Each of these categories is closely interwoven with the other supporting elements of our framework. Our objective is to provide a foundation for discussion of what our community values most as the desired outcomes of this sector.

CREATIVITYWhy Does It Matter? Creativity is found not only in the arts, but in all forms of human enterprise both individual and collective.Creativity is dual in nature as both an end unto itself, such as when we create a painting for our own enjoymentand fulfillment, as well as a practical means to an end, such as when we invent useful products. In this section, we have divided creativity into two categories, Expressive and Innovative.

Expressive CreativityCreativity’s intrinsic benefits are in personal fulfillment and community identity. Creative expression helps us, individually and collectively, to understand who are, where we have come from and where we are going.Individual and community creativity are significant assets for a region that is in constant flux and is a pioneerof change in so many arenas. Our capacity to creatively adapt to new challenges can color our attitude toboth personal and social opportunities and dilemmas.

What Have We Learned About Expressive Creativity? When asked, “Do you consider yourself to be an artist in any way?” 51% of Santa Clara County survey respondents said, “Yes.” When asked, “How do you express yourself artistically?” residents replied with awide spectrum of answers, with 55% giving multiple answers. The largest portion of all respondents (26%)said they played a musical instrument, followed by 21% who mentioned some form of creative writing. Across the region’s rich mix of ethnic communities, we found an interesting diversity of artistic expression.Many Latinos (28%) mentioned a textile art such as weaving or knitting, while many Asians mentionedsinging (32%) as a favorite activity. In addition to these personal artistic pursuits, 44% of residents mentioned that they consider at least one other immediate family member to be artistic in some way.

Artistic ExpressionSilicon Valley ethnic diversity is reflected in varied artistic interests.

Silicon Valley Opinion Survey: How do you express yourself artistically?

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These artistic pursuits are usually a creative outlet unassociated withan individual’s job. While they may not all be professional artists, residentsstill strongly value their opportunities for personal creative expression.For those who considered themselves to be artists in some way, 77%rated their personal artistic activities as seven or higher on a ten pointscale where one meant “unimportant” and ten meant “very important.”However, when asked how they rated their community as a place to pursue their artistic interests, only 54% gave the region a score ofseven or higher. Fourteen percent gave the region a low ratingbetween one and three.

Defining what might be considered “artistic” or “creative expression” is obviously tricky. For this reason, we used open-ended questions, andresidents described their own artistic or creative interests. In additionto asking about artistic self-definition, we also asked residents if theyhad a hobby or work activity that allows them to be creative. Fifty-fivepercent said, “Yes.” Of the 49% of respondents who earlier had notidentified themselves as artists, 38% said they do have a hobby or workactivity that allows them to be creative. Many individuals explainedthat their work in the technology sector allowed them to be creative—12% mentioned activities such as computer programming, softwaredevelopment or web design. Responses also included, “I make andmodify motorcycles,” “I am a radio disc jockey,” and “I work in my garden.”

Silicon Valley Opinion Survey: Aside from any artistic activities that you do, what other hobby or work activity allows you to be creative?

Other Creative OutletsSilicon Valley technology development provides creative outlet for many residents.

Silicon Valley Opinion Survey: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 meaning “not important” and 10 meaning “very important,” how important to you areyour personal artistic activities?

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 meaning “poor” and 10 meaning “excellent,” how do you rate your community as a place to pursue your own artistic interests?

Artistic Expression’s Personal ImportanceResidents highly value artistic activities but rate the regionweak as a place to pursue these interests .

When asked, “Do you consider yourself to be an artist in any way?” 51% of Santa Clara County residents said, “Yes.”

12

Innovative CreativityAs a practical matter, creativity plays an important role in our economy,our education and our addressing of societal concerns. Creativity is keyin a chain of activities that make Silicon Valley a strong economic force.From idea generation through experimentation, prototyping, commercial-ization, positioning, and marketing, creativity is woven throughout theeconomic life of this region.

What Have We Learned About Innovative Creativity? Patent activity is one measure that helps us gauge our ongoing ability toinnovate and create in these arenas. Patents reflect the initial discoveryand registration of innovative ideas. Despite the recent economic downturn, Silicon Valley continues to innovate and patent. In 2001,8,646 patents were issued to Santa Clara County companies andindividuals—a growth of more than 100% over the past four years. On aper capita basis, Santa Clara County leads the nation and is granted 300patents for every 100,000 residents. The closest significant competi-tors are Boulder, Colorado (167 per 100K), Rochester, New York (162per 100K), and Austin, Texas (130 per 100K).

Not only do local individuals and companies produce many patents, butthe patents themselves are often highly “creative” and influential.Silicon Valley patents tend to be cited by other patent applications at a rate of about twice the national average, 11.6 times versus 5.5 timesfor a five year-old patent. High citation counts are associated withimportant inventions that are fundamental to future innovation. In addition, the rate of innovation in our region continues to quicken. The median age in years of those patents cited by the latest patentapplications has dropped from 6.9 to 6.5 in the past four years.

The fastest growing sectors of patent activity in Silicon Valley arebiotechnology, primary metals, and computers and peripherals.Annual patent activity in each of these sectors more than doubledin the last five years.

CREATIVE COMMUNITY INDEX | OUTCOMES

CREATIVITY

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Patented InnovationNumber of new Silicon Valley patents quadrupled since 1992.

Rate of InnovationCycle time of patent innovations continues to quicken.

Total number of patents issued to Santa Clara Countycompanies and residents each year, 1992-2001

Median age, in years, of past patents cited by newly awardedSilicon Valley patents, 1992-2001

“A creative economy is the fuel of magnificence.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

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13

In Silicon Valley, education and income are the two primary factors thatdefine individuals’ levels of social capital or connectedness to their community. College-educated residents and those with higher householdincomes are far more likely to experience greater levels of social capital.For example, 44% of college-educated residents exhibit a high level of“social trust” compared to only 14% for those with a high school educationor less. While our friendships are more diverse, and our trust of otherracial groups is stronger than in other parts of the country, Silicon Valleyresidents are less likely to have friendships that cut across class lines. A result of this divide is that those with lower household incomes andless education are more likely to be cut off from networks that could leadto a better life—the social capital equivalent of a “digital divide.”

Cultural participation is one way to build that sense of community. A key benefit of the arts in a community as diverse as Silicon Valley is the connectedness generated among friends, colleagues and neighbors.Better Together, a national report on civic engagement, states that “thearts represent perhaps the most significant underutilized forum forrebuilding community in America.” The report notes that the arts areeffective drivers of connectedness “because they can provide a safespace to shelve political and ideological differences, or at least managethose differences without conflict. We need not be of the same race,generation, gender, political party, religion, or income group to sing, actor create together.” In particular, artistic activities that engage peopleas direct participants, rather than as spectators, are seen as effectivemeans for building social interaction and trust.

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Percentage of SiliconValley residents with“high social trust”and “diverse networkof friends,” asdefined by the SocialCapital CommunityBenchmark Survey,by educationalattainment andhousehold income

Indexed measures of social capital factors comparedto other emerging technology regions

Why Does It Matter?A key factor in the life of any community is the extent to which residents feel connected to other people and to their neighborhoods,cities or region. As people develop a connection to others and feel valued for their contributions, they become more tied to place.Developing connection to place is increasingly important in our highlymobile society and can help overcome a sense of isolation and rootlessness that many may feel living far from extended family or their community of origin. These issues are acutely present in SiliconValley, where the portion of foreign-born residents is more than threetimes the national average. Nearly two-thirds of Silicon Valley residentsare born in another country or are the children of immigrant parents.

What Have We Learned About Connectedness?A major study of connectedness in 40 American metropolitan areas, the Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey, found that SiliconValley ranks at or near the bottom in many traditional measures ofsocial capital such as informal socializing, sense of community, giving,volunteering, and membership in civic groups or faith-based communities.Of all 40 communities, Silicon Valley ranked the lowest on an indexedmeasure of participation and membership in associations and similarkinds of groups such as sports leagues, neighborhood associations orservice clubs. However, Silicon Valley does exhibit higher levels ofsocial capital associated with less traditional social groups. For exam-ple, half of high-tech workers say that their work life is taking the placeof traditional community for them.

Silicon Valley Social Capital Silicon Valley connectedness is largely defined by income and education.

Social Capital Regional ComparisonsSilicon Valley has a relatively high level of social trust and diversity of friendships.

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“Artists and entrepreneurs are similar in wanting to create something new – the next big thing.” Todd Flynn, Blue Bridge Corporation

14

CREATIVE COMMUNITY INDEX | OUTCOMES

For the arts to play an important role in strengthening social capital, theSeminar identified three necessary guiding principals:

• Through the arts, we must look for opportunities to bridge. The arts areexceptionally well situated to enable us to connect and to form trusting tieswith people unlike ourselves. They uniquely build bridging social capital.

• We must revive arts organizations as community institutions. TheNational Endowment for the Arts was created less then 40 years ago. It is still within our recent history when the arts were a far more volunteer-based and participatory endeavor. Too often today the arts havebecome high-priced entertainment venues where people consume culture rather than connect socially. We need to return to an era inwhich arts institutions are more akin to public libraries and townsquares than to sports arenas and multiplexes.

• Artists and cultural institutions must be included in Community Planning.“While policy makers have begun to understand the economic benefits ofa strong cultural sector, they have not fully understood the civic benefits.”Leaders of the local arts community need to be incorporated fully into thebreadth of planning efforts at the local, state and national levels.

Based upon these three principles, the Saguaro Seminar makes five recommendations for rebuilding social capital through the arts. Each recommendation is elaborated upon within the report:

1. Increase funding for “community arts”2. Create opportunities for collaboration between arts organizations3. Make civic dialogue integral to artistic productions4. Incorporate the arts into social problem solving5. Connect the arts to community service

In its conclusion, the Saguaro Seminar attests to the arts as a “powerfulforce for illuminating civic experience through its ability to create indelibleimages, to express difficult ideas through metaphor, and to communicatebeyond the limits of language.” The Seminar asserts that “America needsto commit itself to creating new and exciting opportunities for shared cultural experiences. Cultural institutions are eagerly reinventing themselves,and all of us need to join them in finding new and innovative roles for thearts to play in building social capital.”

THE SAGUARO SEMINARIn its final report, Better Together, Robert Putnam’s Harvard-based Saguaro Seminar identified “five institutional arenas in which the business of rebuildingsocial capital must take place.” Prominent among these is the arts. The Seminar concluded that “the arts represent the most underutilized forum forrebuilding community in America.”

CONTRIBUTION

Why Does It Matter?The arts offer tremendous opportunities to enrich our lives and providepersonal fulfillment. Creating and sharing art—whether as a spectator,participant, performer, or producer—is an inherently public and socialexperience. The arts contribute to the quality of life in our region andalso offer national and international observers insight into the life ofSilicon Valley. This region has made tremendous creative contributionsto the global village through innovations in the sciences and in hightechnology. How are we leveraging our creative talents in the arts tohelp understand and explain our experiences here in Silicon Valley toourselves and to the rest of the world?

Joan MacIntosh and Holly Hunter in San JoséRepertory Theatre’s production of By theBog of Cats

Photo by Tom Chargin, courtesy of San JoséRepertory Theatre

15

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22%

New works– locally specific

43%

What Have We Learned About Contribution? During the last five years, 65% of Silicon Valley arts groups developedsome form of new work. These activities included original visual artexhibits, commissioning of new music compositions and commissioningof new plays, original choreography of new dance pieces, and developmentof original works for storytelling.

Forty-three percent of local arts organizations described their newworks as having a “specific or unique connection to the local SantaClara County community.” Some of these focused on exhibiting localtalent of Silicon Valley residents who are visual artists and filmmakers,or commissioning local composers or playwrights. Other projects haveincluded the local “Sharkbyte” exhibition in downtown San José or theTech Museum of Innovation’s production of the film “Spirit of SiliconValley.” Looking forward, ZeroOne–the Art and Technology Network willhost its second major international conference on the nexus of art andtechnology in 2003. Organizations with budgets between $100K and$1 million are the most likely to be developing new works.

In addition, new works developed here are highly reflective of ourdiverse ethnic heritages. Some of these have included visual art exhibitions focused on immigrant and refugee experiences, or the commissioning of new works for cultural festivals. For example, Ballet Afsaneh developed a new dance piece for the Persian Zoroastrian Center’s New Year celebration. Another unique SiliconValley project is MACLA’s oral history and visual art exhibition, TiesThat Bind, which explored the history of intermarriage between Asiansand Latinos in the Santa Clara Valley.

Creation of New Artistic WorksSixty-five percent of local arts groups have developed new works in the past five years (1996-2001).

Percentage of Santa Clara County arts organizations that created original exhibitions or performances between 1996 and 2001, including those new works with specific connection to the local community

Creation of New Artistic WorksMid-size arts groups lead the way in creating new works.

Percentage of Santa Clara County arts organizations creating at least onenew original work between 1996 and 2001, by budget size

“The arts represent perhaps the most significant underutilizedforum for rebuilding community in America.” – Saguaro Seminar

16

PARTICIPATIONCultural participation is at the heart of our framework. It is the nexus where the community’s cultural and creativeassets intersect with the lives of actual residents to generate community outcomes. Cultural participation as a formof civic engagement is an important way of generating creativity, strengthening connectedness and inspiring contribution.Above all, arts and cultural participation can play a critical role in connecting people, helping them to identify commonalities and to value differences.

CREATIVE COMMUNITY INDEX | PARTICIPATION

PARTICIPATION IN ARTS AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES Why Does It Matter? As people participate in enjoying an activity together—whether singing in a choral society or attending an ethnic street festival—they areable to connect with one another and form personal bonds. Because cultural participation often provides a neutral meeting ground, it isparticularly conducive to bridging differences, be they socioeconomic, ethnic, educational, or generational.

Forms of ParticipationSilicon Valley’s ethnic mix gives rise to many forms of participation and diverse interests.

Silicon Valley Opinion Survey: What are your favorite arts and cultural activities that you enjoy participating in with others?

Silicon Valley Opinion Survey: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 meaning “poor” and 10meaning “excellent,” how do you rate your communityas a place to attend live performances or visit museums?

Rating the RegionFifty-three percent of residents give the region a good rating as a place to attend live performances and visit museums.

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Because cultural participation often provides a neutral meeting ground, it isparticularly conducive to bridging differences, be they socioeconomic, ethnic,educational, or generational.

17

What Have We Learned About Cultural Participation? Residents participate in a wide range of cultural activities. We asked,“What are your favorite arts and cultural activities that you enjoy participating in with other people?” Ninety-two percent were able todescribe some form of participatory activity. Almost half, 48%, mentionedmultiple activities. Forms of cultural participation in the region varyacross ethnic communities. For example, 50% of Latinos mentionedvarious forms of dance, and 23% of Asians mentioned singing with agroup. Caucasians and all others largely described attending performancesand events with others as a form of active cultural participation.Attending events was also more frequently mentioned by technologyindustry workers and by those who have lived in the region for morethan ten years.

Interestingly, men more frequently mentioned playing music with othersas their favorite form of cultural participation—eight percent comparedto women at three percent—whereas women more frequently mentionedsigning in a choir—fourteen percent compared to six percent for men.Those born in a foreign country also mentioned singing with others morefrequently—22% versus five percent for those born in the United States.

After asking residents to name their favorite participatory cultural activities, we asked them to rate their community as a place to do such activities. Fifty-six percent of residents gave the region a good rating.

As previously mentioned, attending cultural performances and visitingmuseums is often considered by residents as an active form of culturalparticipation. Eighty percent of Silicon Valley residents attended at leastsome form of live performance during the past year. Additionally, 60%visited a museum of any kind. However, the frequency of attendancedrops off very quickly. Only 46% of residents attended a performancemore than twice in the past year, and only 23% visited a museum morethan twice. Only 35% of parents attended a cultural performance morethan twice in the past year compared to 52% for those without children.

An underlying belief in the structure of our framework is that active participation and familiarity with the arts nurtures long term audience development. Interestingly, of those survey respondents that consideredthemselves to be an artist in some way, 67% attended more than two performances in the past year compared to 34% for those who did not identify themselves as an artist. When asked to rate the region as a placeto attend performances and visit museums, 53% gave the region a good rating.

Attendance at Cultural EventsEighty percent of residents attended a live arts performance in the last year.

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How many times did you visit an art, science or history museum?

How many times did you attend live performances of music, dance or theatre in the past 12 months?

30+13-306-123-51-20

Silicon Valley Opinion Survey:

CREATIVE COMMUNITY INDEX | PARTICIPATION

PARTICIPATION IN ARTS AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES

18

Interest in cultural participation in the region appears to be significantlydriven by residents’ interest in learning. When asked, “If you had theopportunity to learn a new form of creative expression, what would thatbe?” virtually everyone had something to say. Less than one percent ofrespondents did not mention any activity, and 43% offered multipleresponses. One in four residents said they would like to learn to play amusical instrument. Cooking was a common response among Latinoand Asian respondents, 22% and 24% respectively. For Latinos, other popular responses were photography/film and drawing. For Asians,popular responses included gardening, acting/theatre and creative writing. Among Caucasians and all others, learning to play a musicalinstrument was the most common response, followed by painting andphotography/film. Parents often mentioned utilitarian forms of creativeexpression such as carpentry, cooking and sewing. Technology industryworkers frequently mentioned wanting to learn dance, photography/filmand gardening compared to those outside the technology industry.Between men and women, the two most significant differences werethat 25% of women wished to learn some form of creative cooking versus13% of men, and that 30% of men wished to learn to play a musicalinstrument compared with 18% of women.

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%

SewingOthers

CarpentryCeramics/Sculpture

GardeningCreative writing

SingingDance (all kinds)

Acting/TheatreDrawing

Photography/FilmPaintingCooking

Play musical instrument

What Residents Would Like to LearnSilicon Valley has many creative interests; one in four wouldlike to learn to play a musical instrument.

Silicon Valley Opinion Survey: If you had the opportunity to learn a new form of creativeexpression, what would that be?

19

THE INFORMAL ARTS “If we think of communities as groups of people who make culture together,which is not a bad working definition, the informal arts are activities thatgive people the chance to actively build community in a society that isfrequently divided and atomized.”

Some years ago, sociologist Paul DiMaggio noted that the historic thrustof arts policy in the United States has been directed toward the buildingof arts institutions. But this focus has tended to obscure the breadth anddepth of the informal arts in American life. The informal arts are a massphenomenon, without a doubt. In a nation of 200 million adults, over 25million of them play classical music or jazz. Over 35 million sing in choirs,operas or musicals. Over 30 million paint or draw, and over 23 millionwrite creatively. Over 7 million compose music. Millions more undoubtedlyparticipate in other artistic activities such as dance, ceramics and variedforms of popular culture.

These are numbers that would please any mass marketer, but the informalarts have never advertised. People make art informally because it givesthem pleasure, they learn from it, it satisfies their need to communicate,to create beauty, tell stories, or make something with friends and neighbors.They don’t need to be sold a bill of goods. They know the arts have valueand are a good thing in their lives. They deepen their connections to eachother and their understanding of themselves and the world they inhabit.They remind them of why it is good to be alive.

The Informal Arts tells us that people will go to great lengths to make art.

It is often inconvenient to secure a small theatre for a community production.Or a space for choir practice. Or a teacher who can advance one’s skills inthe Irish fiddle tradition. And it takes time, precious time, to practice anddevelop the discipline, skill and expressive nuances for which artists—whether informal or professional—strive. The value people get back fromparticipation in the informal arts makes it worth the effort, though.

The value of the informal arts is largely derived from the generative act ofcreating culture oneself. This is a society that mass produces culture andmarkets it globally. The informal arts are activities that give people theopportunity to exercise and develop their own creative powers. If wethink of communities as groups of people who make culture together,which is not a bad working definition, the informal arts are activities thatgive people the chance to actively build community in a society that is frequently divided and atomized.

While there is no doubt the arts are of enormous importance to individualsand society, most research has focused on audience consumption of artproduced by professionals and presented by cultural institutions. Its purposes have conformed to the historic priority of arts policy—to supportarts institutions. The Informal Arts broadens the scope of inquiry aboutthe arts to include the creative enterprises of “regular folks” in less institutional settings. This approach is emblematic of the roles the artsplay in enriching community life and democratic society.

Nick Rabkin is the Executive Director of the Chicago Center for ArtsPolicy at Columbia College.

Music In The P

arkphoto by M

ark Leet, courtesy of the San José D

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20

ASSETSFundamental to a vibrant arts and cultural sector is the presence of a strong asset base. Key assets treated in thissection include a healthy creative industries sector, appropriate stock of facilities and venues, and broad communitysupport that values good design. These assets provide the opportunities for cultural participation and, in turn, areshaped by the levers of education, policies, and investments.

CREATIVE COMMUNITY INDEX | ASSETS

What Have We Learned About The Creative Sector? According to Carnegie Mellon’s Richard Florida, thepercent of our total work force that could bedescribed as generally “creative” is 34.8%, whichranks the Bay Area/Silicon Valley fifth in a survey ofmajor metropolitan areas, behind Washington, DC,Raleigh-Durham, Boston, and Austin. It is importantto note, however, that on the basis of a combinationof all the factors considered in his book, Florida ranksthis region first overall as a place for creative peopleto live and work. An analysis of census data using amore narrowly-defined interpretation shows that ofthe more than one million jobs in Santa Clara County,at least 12% are “super-creative,” and those jobspay, on average, 42% higher than the average for allother jobs in the county. When asked about jobs,81% of residents described their own jobs as requir-ing at least some level of creativity. Forty-two percentsaid that their jobs required “a lot of creativity.”Among high tech workers, 77% of respondents saidtheir jobs require “a lot of creativity.” Interestingly,only 46% of high tech workers said that their bosseswere supportive of their being creative on the job.

Silicon Valley’s nonprofit cultural sector is made up of about 400 active arts and cultural organizations.The 125 that we surveyed represent a fairly even mixof disciplines with relatively small budgets, with morethan half (53%) showing annual expenditures under$100,000. The 125 organizations reported totalattendance figures of 3.9 million. Of that figure, 66%of the regional audience attends events produced byorganizations with budgets of $1 million orgreater–16% of surveyed organizations.

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CREATIVE SECTORWhy Does It Matter? In recent years, sociologists and urban planners have charted the rise of a new segment of a community’scommercial and community health—the creative sector. Including a mix of nonprofit arts and for-profit creative industries such as design, filmmaking and architecture, this newly-defined segment is highly desirable for its often high-paying jobs. More and more, the development, production, marketing, and sales of technology products involve people trained in artistic skills. Graphic designers, creative writers, photographers,animators, and music producers are taking their place in the technology workforce. People trained in theapplied arts, visual arts, literary arts, and media are in demand as technology companies race to make products engaging, exciting and aesthetically pleasing.

Creativity on the JobMore than 40% of workers describe their jobs as requiring a lot of creativity.

Silicon Valley Opinion Survey: How much creativity does your job require in order for you to do your work well?

Of the more than one million jobs in Santa Clara County, 12% are“super-creative,” and those jobs pay, on average, 42% higher than theaverage for all other jobs in the county.

21

Other15%

Theatre/Opera14%

Music17%

Museums/Arts Centers13%

Dance14%

Heritage/Folk Arts11%

Arts Services & Support16%

Mix of Silicon Valley Arts OrganizationsLocal arts groups are evenly distributed across artistic disciplines

THE CULTURAL MILIEUThere are creative jobs that we typically view asfueling Silicon Valley’s culture of innovation—scientists, technologists, product designers, andeven forward-thinking venture capitalists. RichardFlorida also points out, however, that all forms ofcreativity should be supported to maximize thecommunity’s creative potential.

“The final element of the social structure of creativity,and the one that has received the least attention,is a supportive social milieu that is open to allforms of creativity—artistic and cultural as wellas technological and economic. This milieu providesthe underlying ecosystem of habitat in which themultidimensional forms of creativity take root andflourish. By supporting lifestyle and cultural institutions, like a cutting-edge music scene orvibrant artistic community for instance, it helpsto attract and stimulate those who create in business and technology. It also facilitates cross-fertilization between and among these forms, asis evident throughout history in the rise of creative-content industries, from publishing and music tofilm and video games. The social and culturalmilieu also provides a mechanism for attractingnew and different kinds of people and facilitatingthe rapid transmission of knowledge and ideas.”

Richard Florida, from the book, The Rise of theCreative Class: And How It's Transforming Work,Leisure, Community and Everyday Life

Distribution of Santa Clara County arts organizations by artistic discipline categories, 2001

Using Richard Florida's definition of the “super-creative core,” we identified 98job types prevalent in Silicon Valley. The total employment for these “super-creative” jobs equals 12% of the county's work force. Listed below is a sampleof these jobs, in categories defined by Richard Florida.

2000 Employment Estimates Computer and MathematicalSoftware Engineers 22,400 Computer Programmers 16,050 Computer Scientists 840

Architecture and EngineeringElectrical Engineers 9,170 Mechanical Engineers 5,760 Architects, except Landscape and Naval 70

Life, Physical and Social SciencePsychologists 870 Biochemists and Biophysicists 550 Atmospheric and Space Scientists 130

Education and LearningElementary School Teachers 8,650 Self-Enrichment Education Teachers 1,520 Librarians 510

Art, Design, Entertainment and MediaGraphic Designers 1,040 Multi-media Artists and Animators 740 Musicians and Singers 460

The Tech Museum

of InnovationP

hoto courtesy of The Tech Museum

of Innovation

22

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Respondents that said "Yes"

Private home

Church or Synagogue

School Auditorium, gym

Large arena, stadium

Restaurant, bar, nightclub

Outdoor park or amphitheatre

Concert hall, theatre, etc.

CREATIVE COMMUNITY INDEX | ASSETS

What Have We Learned About Venues and Facilities? Eighty percent of all survey respondents attended alive performance in the past year. However, only23% of the attended performances were in facilitiesexpressly designed as performance venues: concerthalls, theatres or opera houses. The remaining 77%were in multi-purpose facilities, both indoor and out-door, such as stadiums, school gyms or auditoriums,parks, or places of worship. Similarly, exhibitingorganizations made substantial use of non-art venues:60% of the region’s museums and galleries employednon-art facilities for some portion of their annualexhibition programs.

Residents responding to our survey also revealed thatoutdoor venues are a major component of the culturallife of Silicon Valley. Fully two-thirds of respondentsindicated that they had attended an outdoor festival

in the past twelve months, and of these attendees,70% had attended two or more times. San José andMountain View were prominently cited as venues forthese outdoor festivals, which included the Afribbeanand Art & Wine festivals in Mountain View, and theCinco de Mayo, Vietnamese New Year, and jazz festivalsin San José.

Most would agree that Silicon Valley has beenblessed with a stunning natural environment—fromthe open foothills and tree-covered ridges to the dramatic cliffs and beaches of the Pacific Ocean.But what of the built environment? As the populationgrows and industry expands, how is Silicon Valleybalancing the need for more development with adesire to create and maintain attractive, accessiblebuildings and public spaces that foster communityand encourage creativity?

10+1%

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3-521%

223%

120%

032%

Why Does It Matter? A robust cultural environment requires a blend of elements, including professional artists, knowledgeable audiences and well-managed, well-fundedcultural institutions. One key element is conveniently located and technically appropriate performance and exhibition facilities. The 1997 RegionalCultural Plan found that Santa Clara County was deficient in the availability of performance facilities in comparison to 15 similar-sized metropolitanareas. The Plan also found that audience demand for the performing arts could be enhanced by increased availability of conveniently located facilities.For example, 30% of survey respondents with interests in popular music and musical theatre indicated that they would attend “a lot more often” ifa theatre facility were located close to their home.

Venues for Cultural PerformancesSilicon Valley residents attend performances in a broad mix of settings.

Festival AttendanceSixty-eight percent of residents attendeda free outdoor festival this past year

Silicon Valley Opinion Survey: In the past year, have you attended a live arts performance at any of the following venues?

Silicon Valley Opinion Survey: How many free outdoor festivals didyou attend in the past 12 months?

VENUES & FACILITIES

VenuesSilicon Valley's ratio of seats to population ranks low compared to similar sized regions.

Metropolitan Area Number of seats* Seats per 1,000 residents

San Francisco 20,226 12.23

San Antonio 14,998 10.62

Oakland 11,400 8.91

Denver 14,918 8.25

Seattle 16,842 7.71

Ft. Lauderdale 9,559 7.03

Sacramento 10,274 6.92

Cincinnati 9,972 6.33

Milwaukee 8,988 6.10

Silicon Valley 8,964 5.99

Indianapolis 6,981 4.83

Kansas City 7,798 4.73

Forth Worth-Arlington 6,828 4.63

Tampa Bay 10,074 4.57

Orlando 5,542 4.05

*Includes performance venues larger than 750 seats only

23

Awareness of Public ArtHalf of residents surveyed identified a work of public art in their neighborhood or city.

Silicon Valley Opinion Survey: Can you think of a work of pubic art in your neighborhood or city? Do you like or dislike this work of public art?

Why Does It Matter? If creativity is, among other things, a social process, then the qualities of a particular environment or placeare bound to matter. Surroundings—both the immediate environment and the macroenvironment—can affectthe creative capacity of individuals and the likelihood of realizing that potential. University of Chicago creativityexpert Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi writes that “certain environments have greater density of interaction and providemore excitement and an effervescence of ideas” that prompt a person to break away from conventions andexperiment with novelty.

What Have We Learned About Civic Aesthetics? One indicator of interest in civic aesthetics in the region is support forpublic art. Of 15 municipalities surveyed, three (Mountain View, SanJosé and Sunnyvale) have policies in place that require a percentage ofbuilding costs to be set aside for public art. Two other municipalitieshope to establish a “percent-for-art” policy in the near future. Nationally,these types of policies are most prevalent within California, but of the 50largest cities in the country, 88% have percent-for-art policies.

Fifty-one percent of survey respondents were able to identify a work ofpublic art in their neighborhood or city. However, survey results showthat the community is generally appreciative of the public art that theydo see—88% of those respondents who were able to identify a work ofpublic art indicated that they were appreciative of that work. There isroom for improvement in our cities’ efforts at enhancing public spaceswith art. Fifty-three percent of respondents rated their city with a sixor lower on a ten-point scale in terms of civic aesthetics.

Public art is, of course, only one small element of our public landscape.A major part of a successful built environment is the design and qualityof building projects in our cities. While measuring the quality of designis difficult, we do know that 14 out of 15 municipalities employ archi-tectural design reviews at some level and at least five have specific orprecise urban design plans in place to target the development of certain neighborhoods.

CREATIVE PLACECreativity is influenced by place. In art and culture, as in scienceand business, information andideas grow much faster in “hotspots” where concentrations ofpeople—including perceived “out-siders”—interact in close physicalproximity.

John Seely Brown writes in TheSocial Life of Information thatthese “clusters of dense cross-hatched relationships of practicesand processes act as ecologies ofknowledge.” The information andideas born of this ecology realizevalue in the context of these socialnetworks. A creative place, or creative community, is a geographic

area with a concentration of creative people, businesses andorganizations. Sometimes this areaappears also as a “creativemilieu.” This creative milieu fostersconstant cross-fertilization of ideasacross disciplines, ethnicities andprofessions.

“At Xerox PARC the artists revital-ize the atmosphere by bringing innew ideas, new ways of thinking,new modes of seeing, and newcontexts for doing. All of theseinnovations mulch the soil andplant new unexpected seeds.”

John Seely BrownFormer Director, Xerox PARC

Identified a public art piece that they do not like

6%

Identified a public art piece that they like

43%

Could not identify any public art

51%

CIVIC AESTHETICS

Rating of Local Public Art ProgramsLess than half of all residents give public artefforts a good rating.

Silicon Valley Opinion Survey: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 meaning “poor” and10 meaning “excellent,” how do you rate yourcity’s efforts at enhancing public spaces such asparks and community centers with public art?

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7-104-61-3

“Our culture is where our shared meanings are created and where we create our identity as a people. In a world of cyberspace the local will have to be brought back.You’ll have to have intimacy, rootedness, a sense of place.”

–Jeremy Rifkin, Wharton School of Business Fellow

24

LEVERSAt the foundation of our framework is the concept of cultural sector policy levers: thoseimportant “policy leverage” points where strategic initiatives can significantly affect systemicchange—building or depleting our cultural assets. To this end, we have identified four criticalpolicy lever categories: Creative Education, Leadership, Policies, and Investment.

CREATIVE COMMUNITY INDEX | LEVERS

What Have We Learned About Creative Education? Compared to national data, we see that the amount of arts instructionoffered in our public schools is far below the national average. And yet,we know that in-school arts education is a priority for the residents ofthis community. Ninety-two percent of survey respondents said thatthe arts should be required for school children.

Another discrepancy was found between the amount of arts educationthat residents believe students should receive on a weekly basis andthe actual amount received by most students. Ninety-five percentresponded that students should receive at least one hour per week,with 26% responding that all students should receive at least five hoursper week. Data collected from two-thirds of the county’s public elementary and unified school districts indicates that only 36% of theseelementary students receive one or more hours of arts instruction perweek throughout the school year.

Beyond school, there are other arts education opportunities for youth.When parents were asked if any of their children had taken art, dance,theatre, or music lessons of any sort in the past twelve months, 62%said, “Yes.” Thirty-eight percent responded that none of their childrenreceived any instruction in the arts at all in the last year.

As our schools struggle to provide arts instruction to their students, thenonprofit arts sector is trying to fill the gap. Our survey of 125 organiza-tions showed that 52% report working with K-12 schools on an ongoingbasis. Of the 17 largest organizations with budgets of $1 million or more,85% reported having programs aimed at serving K-12 schools.

These programs can be either at the school site or in the form of fieldtrips that students take to a performing arts venue or museum. Sixty-seven percent of parents reported that their children had visited amuseum in the past twelve months. Of those who had, they werealmost twice as likely to have gone with a school group than with afamily member. Further, while 63% of parents reported that their childrenhad been to a live performance, they were as likely to have seen thatperformance with a school group as with a family member.

0%

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60%

70%

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90%

100%Silicon Valley

Nation

TheatreDanceVisual ArtsMusic

>5 hours

5 hours

3-4 hours

1-2 hours

no hours5%

29%

28%

26%

12%

CREATIVE EDUCATIONWhy Does It Matter? Fundamental to our community’s creativity is the education our students receive both in andout of school. This section examines the state of arts instruction that our children receivetoday and its importance to their parents and our community.

Arts Education, Local vs. NationalAvailability of local arts education falls well belowthe national average.

Percentage of elementary grade level students receivingarts education, by artistic discipline

Local Demand for Arts EducationNinety-five percent of residents believe students should receive atleast one hour of arts education each week; less than 36% of elementary students receive this amount.

Silicon Valley Opinion Survey: How many hours per week of classroom time do you think shouldbe devoted to arts education?

“I would teach children music, physics, and philosophy; but most importantlymusic, for in the patterns of music and all the arts are the keys of learning.”- Plato

25

THE ROLE OF ARTS ORGANIZATIONS IN K-12 ARTS INSTRUCTIONIn the past 20 years, schools have increasingly created partnershipswith visual and performing arts organizations in the community to fillthe gap in arts instruction.

Outreach programs are currently provided to schools by a wide range ofarts groups including ArtPath, Children’s Musical Theater, CommunitySchool of Music and Arts, Mexican Heritage Plaza, Opera San José, SanJosé Museum of Art, San José Museum of Quilts and Textiles, San JoséRepertory Theatre, Triton Museum of Art, Villa Montalvo, and YoungAudiences. These programs range in duration from one-time assembliesto weekly, year-round artist residencies.

In the 2001/2002 academic year, 267,858* students participated inoutreach programs. However, of that number, only 15% are included inprograms that involve more than one contact with the student.Assemblies provide students with valuable exposure to a variety of artsand cultures; however, they do not achieve the developmental outcomesof a consistent, sequential, standards-based arts program. Multi-visitartist residency programs serve approximately 40,956 students, whichrepresents 16% of the K-12 public school students in the county. Theseextended experiences provide increased educational benefits to stu-dents, but many outreach programs have had to reduce services andincrease fees in recent years, creating economic barriers to school participation. The three largest artist residency providers have seenschool participation drop more than 50% during the past five years.

* Figure exceeds the actual number of students in the county (248,777) due to“double-counted” students at schools receiving more than one outreach program.

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Youth Exposure to the ArtsLocal children are exposed to the arts primarily through school and family trips.

Silicon Valley Opinion Survey:Who brings your children to liveperformances and museums?

Arts Groups Partnering with Local SchoolsFifty-seven percent of arts groups partner with local schools to provide arts education programming.

Percentage of Santa Clara County arts organizations working withK-12 schools in long-term partnerships, by budget size, 2001

Music programPalo Alto Unified School District

Percentage of Santa Clara County arts organizations that received anindividual or corporate gift of$100,000 or more in 2001

0%

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% with less than full-time compensation

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Arts Management LeadershipOnly 40% of local arts groups have full-time paid directors.

Percentage of Santa Clara County arts organizationswith a paid full-time or part-time senior director positionby budget size, 2001

26

CREATIVE COMMUNITY INDEX | LEVERS

What Have We Learned About Leadership? When asked, “Can you name any community leaderwho you would consider to be a strong advocate foradvancing arts and culture in Santa Clara County?”only 16% of respondents said, “Yes.” Given SiliconValley’s significant rate of population turnover, thismay not seem surprising. However, the survey datashowed something interesting—residents who wereforeign-born immigrants to the region were about 2.5times more likely to be able to name a communityleader. Within the Vietnamese community, almostall survey respondents were able to name someonethey considered a strong advocate for advancingarts and culture in their community.

Leadership is critical in channeling resources to support the arts and cultural sector. A fundamentalbasis for encouraging broad support of the arts and

cultural sector is a significant community leadershipthat is directly committed to local organizations.Among local cultural organizations, just under tenpercent have received a gift of $100,000 or morefrom an individual or a corporation. The most significantrecipient of such “Leadership Level” giving has beenThe Tech Museum of Innovation.

Another critical form of leadership necessary for ahealthy arts and cultural sector is the presence ofprofessional directors at the helm of local organizations.These professionals are often on the front lines ofcultural policy making and are most adept ataddressing the role of the arts to interpret, critiqueand celebrate how we live as a community. Fifty-nine percent of responding local arts groups had apaid senior-level director within their organization;40% had a paid full-time director.

0%

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90%

NoYes

LEADERSHIP

Awareness of Cultural LeadersArts leaders are largely unknown to the community.

Silicon Valley Opinion Survey: Can you name any community leader who you wouldconsider to be a strong advocate for advancing thearts and culture of Santa Clara County?

No

Yes9.6%

90.4%

Leadership Donations to the ArtsLess than 10% of arts groups havereceived a “Leadership Level” gift ofmore than $100,000.

Why Does It Matter? Richard Florida writes that “most civic leaders have failed to understand that what is true for corporations is also truefor cities and regions: places that succeed in attracting and retaining creative people prosper; those that fail don’t.”

Local leadership is key in defining goals and strategies, rallying community support and channeling resources.Leadership in the arts and cultural sector crosses many realms including government officials, nonprofit directors andboard members, for-profit arts and entertainment entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, and grassroots cultural activists.

“Most civic leaders have failed to understand that what is true for corporations isalso true for cities and regions: Places that succeed in attracting and retaining creative people prosper; those that fail don’t.”– Richard Florida

What Have We Learned About Policies?Of the 15 municipalities in Santa Clara County, ten operate councils,commissions or divisions expressly related to arts and culture. In addition, a nonprofit organization, Arts Council Silicon Valley, is designatedand partially funded by Santa Clara County to serve as the County’sarts agency. Given that the preponderance of the County’s arts organizations reside in the City of San José, it is especially noteworthythat the city contains a fully staffed arts agency, the Office of CulturalAffairs. In 2001, the Office dispensed grants amounting to $4.5 million to 88 arts organizations, parades and festivals, far eclipsing all other federal, state or local governmental sources of arts funding in this region.

For some municipalities, the issue of public aesthetics is addressedthrough zoning, building ordinances or public art works. Of the 15cities, four (Mountain View, Palo Alto, San José, and Sunnyvale) havepolicies that require development projects to include public art, or provide public funds for the regular acquisition of public art. San Joséhas by far the largest and most developed public art acquisition program in the County. A fifth city, Cupertino, is currently consideringa proposal to require the allocation of one percent of commercial building projects over $500,000 to public art projects.

As arts groups have become increasingly sophisticated at generatingand diversifying their revenue sources as a means for ensuring survival,they have often sought to expand their traditional audience basesthrough collaborations with governmental and nonprofit social serviceagencies. These agencies can often include housing authorities, substanceabuse programs, immigrant service groups, and prisons. ThroughoutCalifornia, anti-smoking funds have become a significant source ofincome, especially for theatre companies performing in schools. InSilicon Valley, 48% of arts organizations engaged in collaborative activitieswith social service agencies in 2001.

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POLICIES

Why Does It Matter?The United States has never been a nation of centralized cultural policies, and the national government’s influence on culture has been narrow—copyrights and patents, tax regulation and relatively small, but oftencontroversial, funding programs. Cultural policies tend to be more significant at the local level, where decisions are made about arts education in schools, public art, ordinances affecting artists’ live/work spaces,the operation of municipal museums and performance halls, and support for nonprofit arts organizations. Thesepolicies have a major bearing on the advancement of Silicon Valley as a rich cultural environment.

“The innovative cities of the coming age will develop a creative union of technology, arts and civics.”– Sir Peter Hall

Collaborations with Social ServicesA diverse mix of arts groups partner with local socialservice agencies.

Percentage of Santa Clara County arts organizations collaboratingwith social service providers by artistic discipline, 2001

THE GREAT CITIES SIMULATORWould you like to try your hand as the Cultural Policy Czar of Silicon Valley? The Great Cities simulator gamecan be your laboratory for experimenting with policies aimed at transforming Silicon Valley into a region asdistinguished in its cultural life as it is in technology and business. In Great Cities, you become President ofthe Largecap Renaissance Foundation, with an endowment of $500 million. You have total discretion over aspan of 40 years to spend the income from the endowment on improving arts education, increasing artisticprogramming, developing consumer demand for the arts, upgrading the management and financial capabilitiesof arts organizations, or building cultural facilities. The Great Cities CD-ROM operates on both Windows andMacintosh operating systems and is available free of charge from Cultural Initiatives Silicon Valley at408.283.7000.

27

28

CREATIVE COMMUNITY INDEX | LEVERS

INVESTMENT

What Have We Learned About Investment? The 125 nonprofit arts organizations surveyed reported nearly $47 million in annual contributed income, which represents 2.7% of all givingto nonprofits across Santa Clara County. That compares to a national figure of 6.3% of all giving to nonprofits in the country directed to artsand cultural organizations. Recent research by Community FoundationSilicon Valley confirms that arts giving is not a top priority amongSilicon Valley residents, with only 18% of donors identifying the arts asa beneficiary of their charitable giving within the last 12 months, behindreligious causes, education, the environment, health-related causes, andgiving to programs outside the United States.

The funds that are contributed to these organizations are then leveragedto generate operating income through ticket sales, admissions fees,rentals, etc. Organizations in Silicon Valley tend to do slightly betterthan the national average by earning 60% of their budgets through

earned income, compared to a national average of 50%. An interestingexample of a local group’s attention to earned income is AmericanMusical Theatre’s partnership with the New York-based NederlanderOrganization to bring more Broadway shows to Silicon Valley. How thiswill impact the cultural and creative ecosystem locally is yet to beseen.

Contributions to endowments signal a commitment to the long-termhealth of an organization and tend to be garnered by more matureorganizations with well-developed relationships with donors. Of theresponding organizations, 19% reported an endowment of any kind andonly one organization met the National Arts Stabilization standard of anendowment that is twice an organization’s operating budget. Therecent establishment of an endowment fund campaign by the San JoséRepertory Theatre illustrates how some local organizations are maturingand establishing their roles as important community assets.

Why Does It Matter? Silicon Valley’s financial investment in cultural organizations is an important indicator of the value of the artsin our community. Since the technology boom of the last decade, corporations have gone to great lengths toattract and retain employees, investing in such ‘perks’ as elaborately stocked kitchens, foosball tables andafter hours social mixers. It would stand to reason that a city or community could benefit from the samelevel of investment commitment to attract and retain residents. Richard Florida describes a general strategyto attract people by “remaining open to diversity and actively working to cultivate it, and investing in thelifestyle amenities that people really want and use often.”

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Local arts groups' earned income surpasses the national average.Local giving to the arts is less than half the national average.

Arts organizations' average earned income as a percentage ofannual operating budget, Silicon Valley and national average, 2000

Annual contributed income to nonprofit arts organizations as a portion of all giving to nonprofits, Santa Clara County and nationwide

29

Sources of contributed funds for arts groups in Silicon Valley demonstratestrong support from institutional and public sources—far more thannational averages. With two of the largest foundations in the countrylocated in this area, it is not surprising that foundation support for ourarts organizations is higher as a percentage of total giving than in otherareas. The percentages of funding from corporate and public sources,however, are also higher than the national average.

Surveyed organizations reported that 53% had received contributionsfrom corporations in 2001. The median amount of support was $12,000.When asked how they feel about local corporate support of the arts,residents were less than enthusiastic. Only 40% gave local corporationsa good rating. When asked whether they or a family member had personally given money to a cultural organization or an arts fund in thepast year, 39% of residents responded that they had.

The very small and the very large budget organizations surveyed havebeen most successful at identifying individual donor contributions relativeto their total budget size. The very small organizations (budgets<$20,000) received 44% of their contributions from individuals, while thevery large (>$1 million) receive 38% of their contributions from individuals.The remaining organizations receive 21% to 28% of their donations fromindividuals.

Contributions to the ArtsIn Silicon Valley, individual contributions are much less significantthan the national average.

Distribution of contributed income by source, national average andSilicon Valley, 2001

Corporate

Government

Foundation

Individual35%

23%

21%

21%

“The quality of life in Silicon Valley must be consistent with the technology innovationthat is going on here. There’s a risk that we may have hit a plateau and will not beable to attract new employees and their families anymore.”– Mike Hackworth, Cirrus Logic

NATION

SILICON VALLEY

Corporations12%

Government13%

Foundations14%

Individuals61%

The San José Repertory TheatrePhoto courtesy of the San José Repertory Theatre

30

CREATIVE COMMUNITY INDEX

Creativity–Creative ExpressionData for this indicator is derived from the Cultural Initiatives survey of361 Santa Clara County residents in January and February of 2002.Surveys were conducted in person in English, Spanish and Vietnameseat 18 locations throughout Santa Clara County. Please seeMethodology for a full discussion of this survey.

Creativity–Creative Innovation Data is provided by CHI Research of Haddon Heights, New Jersey. Datafor regional per capita comparisons is from the United States Patentand Trademark Office.

ConnectednessData for this indicator is derived from the Cultural Initiatives survey ofSanta Clara County residents and from The Social Capital BenchmarkStudy. Data from the Social Capital Benchmark Study is available onthe web site of Community Foundation Silicon Valley, www.cfsv.org.

ContributionData for this indicator is derived from the Cultural Initiatives survey ofSanta Clara County arts and cultural organizations.

Participation in Arts and Cultural Activities Data for this indicator is derived from the Cultural Initiatives survey of 361 Santa Clara County residents in January and February of 2002.

Creative Sector Data for this indicator is derived from the Cultural Initiatives survey ofSanta Clara County residents and from the Cultural Initiatives survey oflocal arts organizations. Data from Richard Florida can be found in hisbook, The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It's Transforming Work,Leisure, Community and Everyday Life. Copyright © 2002. Reprintedby arrangement with Basic Books, a member of the Perseus BooksGroup. All rights reserved. Florida bases his research on a more inclusiveregional definition of the “Bay Area.”

Venues and Facilities Data for this indicator is derived from the Cultural Initiatives survey ofSanta Clara County residents and from the Cultural Initiatives survey oflocal arts organizations.

Civic AestheticsData for this indicator is derived from the Cultural Initiatives survey ofSanta Clara County residents.

Creative EducationData for this indicator is derived from the Cultural Initiatives survey ofSanta Clara County residents and from the Cultural Initiatives survey oflocal arts organizations. National comparison data is from the NationalCenter for Education Statistics and the 20/21 Silicon Valley RegionalCultural Plan, 1997. Arts organization outreach program data was collected via phone and email survey in June, 2002.

LeadershipData for this indicator is derived from the Cultural Initiatives survey ofSanta Clara County residents and from the Cultural Initiatives survey oflocal arts organizations.

InvestmentData on total charitable giving, both national and local, is provided bythe Urban Institute’s National Center for Charitable Statistics. Data onlocal giving by individuals is provided by the Community FoundationSilicon Valley report, Giving Back - the Silicon Valley Way, 2002. Publicrevenue data is provided by Americans for the Arts and the NationalAssembly of State Arts Agencies. Foundation data is provided by theFoundation Center, 2000. Corporate data is provided by the BusinessCouncil on the Arts, 2000. Individual giving data is derived throughAmerican Association of Fundraising Executives, Giving USA 2000.

PoliciesData for this indicator is derived from the Cultural Initiatives survey ofSanta Clara County residents and from the Cultural Initiatives survey oflocal arts organizations.

END NOTES

31

Survey of Silicon Valley ResidentsCultural Initiatives Silicon Valleycontracted with Audience Insightof Fairfield, Connecticut, to devel-op an in-person interview surveyprotocol about residents’ behaviorand beliefs regarding arts and cul-tural programming in Santa ClaraCounty. For field implementationof the survey, Cultural Initiativescontracted with Cultural AccessGroup (CAG) of Los Angeles toimplement the in-person inter-views with 361 Santa ClaraCounty residents. CAG special-izes in surveying across culturaland language barriers. Interviewswere conducted in English,Spanish and Vietnamese at 18locations throughout Santa ClaraCounty. CAG conducted 12- to15-minute interviews via a mobileintercept methodology. All inter-views were conducted on a con-tinuous basis, seven days a week,daytime and evening hours, toensure proportional representationof the total Santa Clara Countyregion. Interviews were conduct-ed in January and February, 2002.Of the 361 interviews, 80 wereconducted in Spanish, and 80were conducted in Vietnamese.The margin of error as derived byCAG, for this survey of SantaClara County residents was ± twopercent to ± five percent for toplevel responses at the 95%Confidence Level. Weighting ofsurvey responses according to the2000 Census demographics ofSanta Clara County was conductedby Audience Insight.

Survey of Cultural OrganizationsCultural Initiatives Silicon Valleyconstructed an exhaustive data-base of 857 organizationsthroughout Santa Clara Countyusing information provided by theCity of San José, Arts CouncilSilicon Valley, tax filing informa-tion from the IRS, and incorpora-tion filings from the CaliforniaSecretary of State. These organi-zations were considered to be theentire universe of potential non-profit arts and culture-relatedorganizations in Santa ClaraCounty. After a thorough processof refining this database andassigning National Taxonomy ofExempt Entities (NTEE) code classifications, we arrived at auniverse of 531 organizations andassociations that we consideredto be potential providers of artsand cultural programming andservices in the region. We esti-mated that between 350 and 400organizations are active providersof cultural programming to thepublic, or service providers to amembership base.

Representativeness of the Arts Organization SurveyOne hundred twenty-five organiza-tions out of 531 responded to theSurvey of Santa Clara County ArtsOrganizations. Thirty-five surveyswere returned as undeliverable.

In order to establish how repre-sentative the survey respondentsare of the entire population ofarts organizations in the region,

we can derive a correlation coeffi-cient between the survey respon-dents and the database of artsorganizations. Establishing astrong correlation coefficientbetween these datasets enhancesour confidence in inferring fromthe survey the current state ofthe nonprofit arts community inthe region.

By comparing data derived fromboth our survey respondents andour database of arts organiza-tions, we can measure thedegrees of association betweenthese two groups. We are fortu-nate to have comprehensive datafor two variables for both groups:

1. Distribution according to theNational Taxonomy of ExemptEntities

2. Distribution according to geography

These two variables are good fac-tors for using the statistical func-tion of a correlation coefficient tocompare the datasets. Thesevariables allow us to compare fac-tors that are core to ourresearch–NTEE classificationallows us to compare the diversityof artistic activity of bothdatasets, and geographic distribu-tion is a useful proxy for ethnicand socio-economic distribution.

The correlation coefficient r indi-cates the strength of the relation-ship between the survey respon-dents dataset and the database of

arts organizations. A value ofplus or minus one represents aperfect correlation, either positiveor negative respectively, betweenthe two groups. If there is littleor no relationship, r will approxi-mate zero.

Examining the distribution ofNTEE classifications for bothdatasets returns a correlationcoefficient of .90 (p<.05), andexamining the distribution of ZIPcodes for both datasets returns acoefficient of .73 (p<.05). Thepattern of distribution acrossthese two variables exhibits con-siderable correlation between thetwo datasets. Based upon thecorrelation between these twodatasets and the exhaustivenessof the database developed for thisproject, we believe the responsesto this survey are a good repre-sentation of the community ofnonprofit arts organizations inSilicon Valley.

The 125 survey respondent organ-izations are estimated to repre-sent more than 30% of all current-ly operating organizations present-ing or performing works for thepublic or for members, and respon-sible for more than 80% of allattendance at nonprofit artsevents in Silicon Valley throughoutthe 2001 year.

Creative Community Index Brendan Rawson, Research Director and Primary Author. Brendan Rawson is the Director of the Community & Neighborhood Arts Program at Cultural Initiatives SiliconValley. Prior to his work with Cultural Initiatives, Brendan worked as an Associate with CollaborativeEconomics. He also worked with the original Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network team to develop and pub-lish the 1996 Index of Silicon Valley.

Creative Community Index editorial and design team:John Kreidler, Executive DirectorKate Cochran, COO & Director, Leadership DevelopmentJennifer Leclerc, Communications CoordinatorVanessa Shieh, Administrative Coordinator

Cultural Initiatives Silicon Valley is a nonprofit organization whose goal is to advance the vitality of SiliconValley through broad cultural participation, quality arts education in our public schools, and development ofan informed and committed leadership in the community.

For more information about Cultural Initiatives Silicon Valley or the Creative Community Index study, please contact Brendan Rawson at [email protected] or 408.283.7000.

METHODOLOGY

Cultural Initiatives Silicon Valley1153 Lincoln Avenue, Suite I San José CA 95125 408.283.7000

www.ci-sv.org