This annual report represents the work of an incredible team of people whose dedication to our mission is starting to pay dividends. When we were founded six years ago, we imagined a new type of non-profit that could help organizations that seek to make the world better through sound social science research. A bit of a tall order, but today we can see that our vision was serving a pressing need.

By 2017, we found ourselves working across the US and new project partnerships in Canada and the UK. We had staff located in California and Washington DC, areas where we are growing a number of projects with long-term partners.

Last year, we focused on stability with new board committees, a new strategic plan, refined internal management systems, and a staff who laid the foundation for growth. We reaped the benefits of that work securing our first major multi-year federal grant and an expanded core staff, with many larger projects.

As we looked back on our 2017 fiscal year, we were pleased to note that the majority of our work is built on continuing partnerships. In 2014, the Harvard Business Review published a paper on corporate partnerships, noting that the primary reason for failure was “competitive self-interest, a lack of a fully shared purpose, and a shortage of trust.” We have found that our continuing work is based on a model that positions our efforts as part of a collective and an ecosystem. Rather than treating each project as a stand-alone effort, we’ve tried to find bridges between projects to help all of our partners build on one another’s success. We believe our growth and stability can be attributed to the pluralistic community interested in our work.

We look forward to building new partnerships so our research can help more people live life to their fullest in harmony with a thriving biosphere.

-- Judith Koke, Board Chair John Fraser, President & CEO