For over fifty years, Search Institute has been a trailblazer and innovator in promoting positive change on behalf of young people.
Since its founding in 1958, the Institute has been a pioneer in positive child and adolescent human development, and generates and disseminates applied social science research designed to strengthen how societies and their citizens and communities raise children and adolescents. Five years after Dr. Benson became its president in 1985, Search Institute premiered the concept of Developmental Assets—building blocks of positive development crucial for advancing academic success, civic engagement, and the reduction of risk behaviors. In 1995, Search Institute began a national diffusion and community support initiative under the banner of Healthy Communities • Healthy Youth. Today we are on the crest of breaking new ground, working with culture-changing domestic and international organizations and communities to learn together about the intersection of assets, community and social change, and the full spectrum of human development.
