{
  "schema_version": "1.1.0",
  "release": "nds-global-ties-us-community-impact-2026-v1.1",
  "title": "Global Ties U.S.: From Citizen Connections to Commercial Opportunity",
  "canonical_url": "https://commercialdiplomacyindex.com/global-ties",
  "score_effect": "NONE",
  "published": "2026-10-30",
  "organization": {
    "name": "Global Ties U.S.",
    "program": "International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP)",
    "program_role": "Global Ties Network members help implement U.S. Department of State-sponsored exchanges; U.S. embassies select international participants."
  },
  "study": {
    "title": "2026 Global Ties U.S. Community Impact Study",
    "source_pages_summarized": "3–11 and appendix 13–19",
    "coverage": {
      "responses": 762,
      "complete": 597,
      "partial": 165,
      "organizations": 48,
      "states": 31,
      "activeMemberCoveragePct": 69.6,
      "professionalSharePct": 63,
      "volunteerSharePct": 37,
      "surveyOpened": "2026-06-01",
      "surveyClosed": "2026-07-15",
      "activityPeriod": "July 2025–June 2026"
    },
    "respondent_role": "Primary role: professional resource or volunteer",
    "missing_values": "Report states listwise deletion for missing data. Appendix supplies varying table-level Ns, reproduced as published. Featured percentages retain their reported respondent groups; exact item denominators are not inferred from table headers.",
    "interpretation": "Participant self-reports; not a representative survey of the U.S. population. Associations do not establish causation."
  },
  "participant_findings": [
    {
      "metric_id": "showcase",
      "reported_percent": 85,
      "display_value": "85%",
      "comparison_operator": "=",
      "meaning": "Agreed that IVLP created opportunities to highlight American excellence and innovation.",
      "respondent_group": "Respondents",
      "exact_item_denominator": null,
      "source_page": 4
    },
    {
      "metric_id": "commercial-ties",
      "reported_percent": 70,
      "display_value": "70%",
      "comparison_operator": "=",
      "meaning": "Agreed that IVLP programs promote local businesses and strengthen international commercial ties.",
      "respondent_group": "Respondents",
      "exact_item_denominator": null,
      "source_page": 4
    },
    {
      "metric_id": "skills",
      "reported_percent": 62,
      "display_value": "62%",
      "comparison_operator": "=",
      "meaning": "Agreed that participation strengthened their skills and improved job performance.",
      "respondent_group": "Respondents",
      "exact_item_denominator": null,
      "source_page": 4
    },
    {
      "metric_id": "development",
      "reported_percent": 56,
      "display_value": "56%",
      "comparison_operator": "=",
      "meaning": "Reported development opportunities they would not otherwise have had.",
      "respondent_group": "Respondents",
      "exact_item_denominator": null,
      "source_page": 4
    },
    {
      "metric_id": "community-contribution",
      "reported_percent": 72,
      "display_value": "72%",
      "comparison_operator": "=",
      "meaning": "Said they gained skills or experiences that helped them contribute to their communities.",
      "respondent_group": "Respondents",
      "exact_item_denominator": null,
      "source_page": 4
    },
    {
      "metric_id": "global-knowledge",
      "reported_percent": 80,
      "display_value": "80%+",
      "comparison_operator": ">",
      "meaning": "Reported greater knowledge of international affairs; the report describes more than 80%.",
      "respondent_group": "Respondents",
      "exact_item_denominator": null,
      "source_page": 5
    },
    {
      "metric_id": "reputation",
      "reported_percent": 79,
      "display_value": "79%",
      "comparison_operator": "=",
      "meaning": "Agreed that visitor programs enhanced their organization’s prestige or their personal reputation.",
      "respondent_group": "Respondents",
      "exact_item_denominator": null,
      "source_page": 4
    },
    {
      "metric_id": "foreign-policy",
      "reported_percent": 62,
      "display_value": "62%",
      "comparison_operator": "=",
      "meaning": "Reported a deeper understanding of U.S. foreign policy.",
      "respondent_group": "Respondents",
      "exact_item_denominator": null,
      "source_page": 5
    },
    {
      "metric_id": "local-issues",
      "reported_percent": 74,
      "display_value": "74%",
      "comparison_operator": "=",
      "meaning": "Reported becoming more engaged with local issues following participation.",
      "respondent_group": "Respondents",
      "exact_item_denominator": null,
      "source_page": 10
    },
    {
      "metric_id": "volunteering",
      "reported_percent": 54,
      "display_value": "54%",
      "comparison_operator": "=",
      "meaning": "Reported volunteering in their communities as a result of their exchange experiences.",
      "respondent_group": "Respondents",
      "exact_item_denominator": null,
      "source_page": 10
    },
    {
      "metric_id": "visit-again",
      "reported_percent": 25,
      "display_value": "25%",
      "comparison_operator": "=",
      "meaning": "Said they had traveled to see a visitor or received international visitors following participation.",
      "respondent_group": "All respondents",
      "exact_item_denominator": null,
      "source_page": 10
    },
    {
      "metric_id": "formal-relationship",
      "reported_percent": 14,
      "display_value": "14%",
      "comparison_operator": "=",
      "meaning": "Reported that their organization began a formal relationship with an international contact met through IVLP.",
      "respondent_group": "Professional resources",
      "exact_item_denominator": null,
      "source_page": 10
    },
    {
      "metric_id": "volunteer-professional",
      "reported_percent": 6,
      "display_value": "6%",
      "comparison_operator": "=",
      "meaning": "Reported developing professional relationships with international visitors.",
      "respondent_group": "Volunteers",
      "exact_item_denominator": null,
      "source_page": 10
    },
    {
      "metric_id": "friendship",
      "reported_percent": 45,
      "display_value": "45%",
      "comparison_operator": "=",
      "meaning": "Reported developing a close personal friendship with international visitors.",
      "respondent_group": "Volunteers",
      "exact_item_denominator": null,
      "source_page": 10
    }
  ],
  "relationship_strength": {
    "name": "Social Ties Index",
    "owner": "Global Ties U.S.",
    "categories": [
      {
        "name": "Strong ties",
        "share": 16,
        "meaning": "A close personal or business relationship, with communication at least monthly."
      },
      {
        "name": "Moderate ties",
        "share": 28,
        "meaning": "A close personal or business relationship, with communication a few times a year or less."
      },
      {
        "name": "Weak ties",
        "share": 56,
        "meaning": "No lasting relationship with international visitors reported under the study’s classification."
      }
    ],
    "meaning": "Reported relationship formation and contact frequency; no NDS score recalculated.",
    "reported_n": 460
  },
  "annual_network_reporting": {
    "coreFederalFunding": 6100000,
    "reportedLocalEconomicImpact": 74700000,
    "reportedRatio": "12:1",
    "professionalMeetings": 5296,
    "industryLeaders": 8640,
    "volunteers": 13059,
    "volunteerHoursApprox": 142000,
    "period": "Last reporting year, as described in the October 26, 2026 announcement; an exact year is not identified there.",
    "measurement_basis": "Separately reported organizational activity and economic-impact figures; not a total derived from the 762 survey responses.",
    "ratio_interpretation": "Reported local economic impact relative to core federal IVLP funding; not financial profit or federal receipts."
  },
  "administration_context": {
    "administration": "Trump administration",
    "interpretation": "A sharper emphasis on commercial diplomacy and tangible benefits for American businesses in the October 29, 2026 professional-exchange discussion.",
    "source": "Previously supplied Global Ties U.S. webinar transcript; not checked against audio",
    "discussion_date": "2026-10-29",
    "speaker": "Shannon Sprenger",
    "related_article": "https://commercialdiplomacyindex.com/research/why-commercial-diplomacy-takes-time"
  },
  "sources": [
    {
      "name": "2026 Community Impact Study",
      "url": "https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CbA5P48l9HX1ddJj58am2PyKhVdJQwq7/view"
    },
    {
      "name": "October 26, 2026 announcement",
      "url": "https://www.globaltiesus.org/new-data-shows-international-exchange-programs-are-an-investment-in-america/"
    },
    {
      "name": "IVLP implementation and selection",
      "url": "https://www.globaltiesus.org/programs/ivlp/"
    },
    {
      "name": "U.S. Department of State IVLP overview",
      "url": "https://exchanges.state.gov/non-us/program/international-visitor-leadership-program-ivlp"
    }
  ],
  "links": {
    "network_directory": "https://www.globaltiesus.org/our-network/network-members/",
    "notebook": "https://commercialdiplomacyindex.com/workspace"
  },
  "appendix_figures": {
    "data_url": "/downloads/global-ties-us-2026-appendix-v1.json",
    "csv_url": "/downloads/global-ties-us-2026-appendix-tables-v1.csv",
    "category_count": 7,
    "question_count": 36,
    "cross_tab_groups": [
      "all",
      "volunteers",
      "resources"
    ],
    "scale_note": "Category means use a 1–5 axis; participation uses 1–6 and hosting 1–4; distributions are percentages.",
    "source_header_notes": [
      "Table header: N=599 overall, N=293 volunteers, N=360 resources, as published. No weights are inferred from the table counts.",
      "Table header: N=671 overall, N=256 volunteers, N=403 resources, as published. Scale endpoints follow the printed table footnote.",
      "Table header: N=629 overall, N=649 volunteers, N=380 resources, as published."
    ]
  },
  "updated": "2026-10-31",
  "us_commercial_diplomacy_model": {
    "interpretation": "Connect American strengths with international relationships that can support practical work together.",
    "pillars": [
      "Showcase local American expertise and innovation",
      "Connect U.S. businesses and strengthen workforce skills",
      "Sustain contact so relationships can develop into cooperation"
    ],
    "basis": "NDS interpretation of the supplied Global Ties U.S. 2026 study and October 29 professional-exchange discussion."
  }
}