The GoodWork® Project is a large scale, multi-site effort to identify individuals and institutions that exemplify good work—work that is excellent in quality, socially responsible, and meaningful to its practitioners—and to determine how best to increase the incidence of good work in our society. The project began as a social scientific investigation of how members of different professions approach their work at a time when circumstances are changing very quickly, markets are very powerful, and few if any forces exist to counter overwhelming market forces. From 1996 to 2006, members of the research team conducted over 1200 interviews with leading professionals and our findings have been reported in numerous books, articles, and papers.
While we continue to write and speak about good work, at present most of our attention is focused on the following thrusts:
- The application of our ideas. The project has launched several practical initiatives aimed at encouraging good work, including a GoodWork® Toolkit and a Traveling Curriculum for Good Work in Journalism.
- A set of studies of Trust and Trustworthiness. We are exploring the individuals and institutions within American society that merit or do not merit trust; the reasons why individuals invest or withhold trust; and the means by which trust can be earned and retained.
- The GoodPlay Project: We are investigating the ethical character of young people’s activities in the new digital media, including online games, social networking sites, blogs, and other virtual communities. We seek to understand how young people conceptualize their participation in virtual worlds and the ethical considerations that guide their conduct.
- Good work in a global context. Having focused until now almost exclusively on the context in the United States, we are seeking knowledge, collaborations, and the collection of data in other countries and regions of the world.