Local Leaders Join Edelman CEO to Discuss the Role of Trust in Innovation

SEATTLE, March 12, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Representatives from Seattle's business, government, education and media sectors came together today to discuss the role of innovation in the region against the backdrop of Edelman's unveiling of the 2015 Edelman Trust Barometer, a key annual measure of global perspectives on trust in business and government.

This year's Barometer revealed an alarming evaporation of trust across all institutions – government, business, media and NGOs – reaching the lows of the "Great Recession" in 2009. Notably, the low levels of trust have impacted innovation by hindering acceptance of technological advancements. "The pace of change has never been faster and innovation has become an even greater imperative for business success," said Richard Edelman, president and CEO, Edelman.

A majority of respondents believe innovation is happening too quickly (51 percent) and that it is being driven by greed (54 percent) and business growth imperatives (66 percent), while only some (24 percent) see it being done to make the world a better place.

Still, innovation is key if the education, government, business and media sectors are going to meet the needs of a changing workforce in the years ahead. The challenge is how to do this in a way that is transparent and addresses public concerns.

"Seattle is a strong and vibrant center of change," said Seattle Mayor Ed Murray. "Our local government must be as innovative as the community we serve. This means using technology to measure in real-time how well we're delivering services to make government more efficient and transparent."

Quotes from other panelists at the event:

• "It is imperative we innovate our higher education system and model to broadly provide a trusted and strong return on investment, to develop creative minds and be multidisciplinary and experiential and to better reflect the reality of a global economy. Seattle ranks among the most innovative cities in the world, but Washington ranks 49th in the country for state funding per student. We can and need to do better." Vikram Jandhyala, Vice Provost for Innovation, University of Washington
• "Trust is fundamental for any business tackling unsolved problems and influencing change.  Entrepreneurs must trust their vision, their employees must trust in the mission of the company, and customers must trust in the value the company provides. Without trust on these three levels, no company can thrive." Matt Ehrlichman, CEO and Chairman, Porch
• "Continuous innovation is essential for survival in our business, including constant awareness of technology needs relative to what is demanded by our audience and advertisers, as well as the tools necessary for reporting the news. And while this ever-changing and evolving work is essential, it is critical to remain rooted in mission, which for us is and always has been serving our community with news and information they can trust, enabling readers to be better citizens." Frank Blethen, publisher and CEO, The Seattle Times  

"Innovation should be a trust accelerator, but today it is not," Edelman said while closing the panel. "To invent is no longer enough. There must be a new compact between company and individual, where companies demonstrate that innovations are safe based on independent research, provide both societal and personal benefit and are committed to the protection of customer data."

Other key findings from the 2015 Edelman Trust Barometer include:

• Government remains the least trusted institution for the fourth consecutive year, with trust levels below 50 percent in 19 of 27 countries, including the U.S. (41 percent), U.K. (43 percent) and Japan (40 percent).
• Media as an institution is distrusted by 60 percent of countries and for the first time, online search engines are now a more trusted source for general news and information (64 percent) than traditional media (62 percent).
• Trust in NGOs declined for only the second time but remained the most trusted institution. In 19 of 27 countries, trust in NGOs fell or remained at equal levels to the previous year and saw dramatic drops in the U.K. (16 points) and China (12 points).
• There is a tangible impact of trust. Nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of respondents refuse to buy products and services from a company they do not trust, while 58 percent will criticize them to a friend or colleague. Conversely, 80 percent chose to buy products from companies they trusted, with 68 percent recommending those companies to a friend.
• A majority of respondents (81 percent) believe a company can take specific actions that both increase profits and improve the economic and social conditions in the community where it operates, while three-quarters (75 percent) feel a company can be more profitable by finding ways to solve social and community problems.

ABOUT THE EDELMAN TRUST BAROMETER
The 2015 Edelman Trust Barometer is the firm's 15th annual trust and credibility survey. The survey was powered by research firm Edelman Berland and consisted of 20-minute online interviews conducted on October 13th – November 24th, 2014. The 2015 Edelman Trust Barometer online survey sampled 27,000 general population respondents with an oversample of 6,000 informed publics ages 25-64 across 27 markets. All informed publics met the following criteria: college-educated; household income in the top quartile for their age in their country; read or watch business/news media at least several times a week; follow public policy issues in the news at least several times a week. For more information, visit www.edelman.com/trust2015.

SOURCE Edelman