Developmental Assets & Developmental Relationships:Connections that Help Youth Thrive

Wondering how Developmental Assets® can be used with Developmental Relationships? This workshop is for you! 


This interactive training explores both of Search Institute’s research-based frameworks: Developmental Assets and Developmental Relationships. You will learn how they can be used together to help young people be and become their best selves.

Live Online Workshop:June 21-22, 2022

Relationships and Assets: Working Together

Like the roots of a tree, young people’s development is rooted in their community and in their relationships. The developmental relationships framework provides a way to build these relationships with the young people in your life. 


And research consistently shows that young people from all backgrounds do better when they have a strong foundation of Developmental Assets® in their life. Since 1990, this research-based framework has become one of the foundational frameworks in positive youth development and the most frequently cited and widely utilized in the world.


This workshop will teach you how these two frameworks and bodies of research work together to help young people be and become their best selves.


What are Developmental Assets and Developmental Relationships?

The Developmental Assets® Framework gives communities, schools, and programs a common language to support positive development. The framework focuses on a set of internal factors (social-emotional strengths, values, and commitments) and external factors that protect from risks and promote thriving.


When youth have more assets, they are:

  • More likely to thrive now and in the future
  • Less likely to engage in a wide range of high-risk behaviors
  • More likely to be resilient in the face of challenges


Developmental relationships are the roots of youth success. The framework identifies 5 critical elements and actions that make a relationship developmental, helping youth be and become their best selves. They are

  • Express Care
  • Provide Support
  • Challenge Growth
  • Share Power
  • Expand Possibilities

This workshop will provide participants with a foundational understanding of both these frameworks and ways to use them to foster positive youth development.

Who should attend?

Is it REALLY worth my time?

Staff and leaders from:

  • Schools
  • After-school and out-of-school-time programs
  • Mentoring programs
  • Juvenile justice organizations
  • Libraries
  • Coalitions
  • Faith communities
  • Mental Health community

*NOTE: This workshop is intended for people who have worked with or are familiar with the Developmental Assets®, and would like to understand their connection to developmental relationships. If you are not familiar with Developmental Assets, we recommend the Intentional Relationships Workshop

Yes! The Developmental Relationships Framework is a valuable tool for individuals and organizations committed to building developmental assets. It focuses on specific ways each relationship in young people’s lives can be deepened and strengthened. Like the "roots of a tree," these relationships can help young people withstand the storms of life.

Download theDevelopmental Assets & Developmental Relationships:Connections that Help Youth Thrive Fact Sheet

"After decades of forming hypothesis, conducting surveys, crafting and rewriting definitions, analyzing data, and writing journal articles, Search Institute research and practitioners have arrived at a surprisingly simple conclusion: nothing-nothing-has more impact in the life of a child than positive relationships"


-Peter Benson, former president and CEO of Search Institute

Registration and Pricing


Live Online (via Zoom)June 21-22, 202212:00 pm-2:00 pm CDT(1:00 pm EDT, 10:00 am PDT)

$199 through 6/7/2022$245   6/8/2022-6/16/2022

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About Search Institute

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For more than 60 years, Search Institute® has been a leader and partner for organizations around the world in discovering what kids need to succeed. Our research, resources, and expertise help our partners in organizations, schools, and community coalitions solve critical challenges in the lives of young people.