Search Institute

For more than 50 years, Search Institute® has been a leader and partner for organizations around the world in discovering what kids need to succeed. Our knowledge and resources help motivate and equip caring adults to create schools, communities, and families where young people thrive.

Based on surveys of more than three million kids, the 150 plus books we’ve published, and the work we’ve done with schools and youth-serving organizations in more than 60 countries, Search Institute can help you solve critical challenges in the lives of young people. Our 40 Developmental Assets are the most widely recognized and most frequently cited approach to positive youth development in North America, and serve as the foundation of our work.
How Do We Work?

Search Institute helps people understand what kids need to succeed and to take action based on that knowledge. We do this by:

Conducting high-quality research and evaluation that deepens knowledge of young people, what they need, and how to care for and work with them more effectively.
Providing tools, resources, and services to equip parents, educators, youth workers, policy makers, and other leaders to create a world where all young people are valued and thrive.
Collaborating with partners (foundations, corporations, schools, communities, faith-based organizations, and other systems) to broaden and deepen commitments, capacity, and effectiveness in fostering healthy development and thriving among children and adolescents.
Whom Do We Serve?

Search Institute serves all sectors of society, including K–12 and higher education, faith communities, youth-serving organizations, social-service organizations, families, businesses, and the public sector.

Nearly 600 communities in 45 states and 5 Canadian provinces have initiatives based on Search Institute’s approach.
In the past decade, approximately 6 million people have attended an asset-building presentation, and 300,000 people have received asset-building training. About 3 million young people in thousands of communities have been surveyed since 1990.
Our Vision

To create a world where all young people are valued and thrive.

Our Mission

To provide leadership, knowledge, and resources to promote healthy children, youth, and communities.

Our Value Proposition

Search Institute is a leading global innovator in discovering what children and adolescents need to become caring, healthy, and responsible adults. Drawing on extensive research, Search Institute brings hopeful solutions to pressing challenges in the lives of young people and their communities.

We Believe . . .

All children and adolescents need and deserve the range of “developmental nutrients” identified in the framework of Developmental Assets.
“All children and adolescents” includes children and adolescents of all races, ethnicities, cultures, genders, religions, economic backgrounds, sexual orientation, and abilities.
Significant community and societal change is needed to ensure the equitable spread of Developmental Assets; the five action strategies we have identified can bring about this change.
All communities have the talent, wisdom, and expertise to create asset-building communities.
Developmental Assets have many sources, including adult influence, peer influence, families, neighborhoods, congregations, schools, and youth organizations.
These resources, individually and in combination, can be powerfully mobilized at the local, community level.
The community and social change needed to reach our vision requires major transformation of how we see, know, and relate with children and adolescents.
Children and adolescents are particularly powerful agents of change and should be positioned as leaders in transforming community and society.
The prime actors in this transformation are all people: children, adolescents, and adults.
Search Institute’s role is to provide knowledge and resources to help them create an environment that supports young people.
We Value . . .

Walking Our Talk as Asset Builders
We recognize, value, and celebrate the gifts of all people; seek to involve young people in our work; appreciate diversity; and cultivate positive relationships within Search Institute and with external audiences, constituencies, and customers. We seek to be a family-friendly organization and strive toward an infrastructure that supports our stated values.

Collaborative Relationships
We work with and learn from others involved in asset building and developmentally attentive communities. We authentically share with the field the roles of experts, leaders, and learners, and seek collaboration with internal and external groups.

Integrity
We seek to do what is right and treat others with honesty, respect, and dignity. We make clear when we know something and when we believe something—and communicate both.

Multiple Ways of Learning and Knowing
We seek to be open to new approaches to learning and sharing what we learn. We use common sense, solid theory, and validated constructs as means of learning, and we celebrate the creative tension between research and application.

Effective Decision Making and Open Communication
We strive to make thoughtful, timely decisions, involving the right people and sharing the results of decisions in a timely manner. We can agree to disagree, step aside, and support the decision. We seek to learn from our mistakes and are not afraid to make them.

Research as a Means, Not an End
We share learning internally and externally and strive to develop user-friendly tools. We unleash creative application of our ideas and research.

Balancing Mission and Margin
We stay true to our mission and recognize that we need money to achieve the mission. We seek to balance mission with good business decisions.