Developmental Research
Institute

Nonprofit · Human Development Research

Advancing the Science of Human Development

DRI conducts and shares research that helps people better understand human development across the lifespan, empowering educators, organizations, communities, and practitioners to navigate an increasingly complex world.

Why It Matters

Why Human Development Matters

Today's most complex challenges cannot be solved by information alone. They also require a deeper understanding of how people develop, the ways we think, learn, relate to others, collaborate, lead, and respond to complexity. Developmental research helps explain how these capacities emerge in childhood and continue evolving across the lifespan. DRI advances this science so families, educators, practitioners, organizations, and communities can better support healthy development at every stage of life.

20+

Published Studies

25+

Years Advancing Developmental Science

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Countries Represented

[#]+

Practitioners, Educators & Leaders Reached

WHAT WE DO

Four Pillars of Our Mission

DRI works across research, education, publication, and community to make developmental science accessible and useful in the world.

Research

Grounding developmental research in application, and application in research

Education

Translating developmental theory into practice for educators, leaders, and organizations

Publication

A clearinghouse for the full-spectrum trajectory of human development research

Community

Fostering a global network of researchers, practitioners, and developmental thinkers

ABOUT DRI

Research That Serves Humanity

The Developmental Research Institute supports individuals, practitioners, educators, and organizations seeking a deeper understanding of human development across the lifespan and its application in practice.

Our purpose is to support the development of humanity through investigating the unfolding of consciousness in individuals and collectives.

— DRI Mission Statement

FEATURED RESEARCH

Advancing the Validation Research Behind STAGES

A peer-reviewed validation of the STAGES developmental model — covering inter-rater reliability, longitudinal growth, Rasch analysis, and more across 10 independent studies.

O’Fallon, Murray et al. · Elsevier Heliyon · ESRAD 2021

A Global Community of Practice

Developmental Research Institute serves an international community of researchers, educators, practitioners, and organizational leaders advancing the science of human development across the lifespan. Now headquartered in Montana, DRI continues to foster research, education, and collaboration with partners around the world while expanding partnerships throughout Montana.

Support the development of humanity

DRI is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Your contribution helps advance developmental research and education worldwide.