Overview
| Houston Endowment, Inc. has funded three comprehensive surveys, designed to assess systematically Harris County residents' experiences and attitudes with regard to the arts, educational disparities, and public health issues in urban America. The surveys are being developed in consultation with local leaders and experts, many of whom are serving on one of three yearlong Advisory Panels, to help in the process of fashioning and interpreting the survey questions in each of these three key areas of urban life.
Led by Professor Stephen L. Klineberg, the research team is now in the process of finalizing the survey instruments. The actual surveys will be conducted during the fall of 2011 and the spring of 2012, in telephone interviews with a scientifically selected representative sample of at least 1,250 Harris County residents.
The project will culminate in one major conference and one local symposium at Rice University in the spring and fall of 2012, which will bring renowned academic scholars and urban experts into conversation with local leaders and researchers, to review the central findings from these surveys and explore their implications for the development of public policies that can help to strengthen the arts, address the educational disparities, and enhance community health in cities across America.
The specific stated objectives of the research project are as follows:
- Identify the best current practices in survey research and sampling methodologies
- Establish three yearlong advisory panels to identify the critical research questions to be addressed in each area of research.
- Develop new survey questionnaires and oversee the data collection process.
- Analyze and compile the survey findings to provide a comprehensive assessment of the experiences, attitudes, and beliefs of Harris County residents, with regard to central issues affecting the arts, education, and health.
- Make use of the survey findings to encourage new partnerships and conversations throughout the Houston area and beyond.
- Host local and national conferences and symposia to enhance the overall visibility and value of the research being conducted in the social sciences at Rice University.
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Houston Endowment
The SHEA study is majorly funded by Houston Endowment Inc., a philanthropic organization founded in 1937 by Jesse and Mary Gibbs. Their vision was to build a healthy and vibrant community through the establishment and development of institutions and organizations that would nurture the people in the greater Houston area and encourage the growth of the city.
The Houston Endowment supports artistic achievement and cultural knowledge. It also supports initiatives in public and higher education, as well as initiatives to promote wellness, prevent disease and improve access to primary care.
About Us
The Kinder Institute for Urban Research is a new signature institute at Rice University under the direction of Sociology Professors Stephen L. Klineberg and Michael O. Emerson. We seek to advance understanding of the most critical issues faced by Houston and other leading national and international urban centers. The scholars, researchers, and students of the Institute offer a new approach to the study of cities by engaging in empirical research that is directly informed by the concerns of public officials, businesses, and community leaders and is made accessible to them. The Institute offers a model of how research universities and cities can work together to strengthen urban life.
- Last updated on April 15, 2012.