What Constructive Dialogue Institute does

The Constructive Dialogue Institute (CDI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2017 by Jonathan Haidt (NYU Stern professor and author of "The Anxious Generation") and Caroline Mehl. The organization develops evidence-based educational programs that teach dialogue, intellectual humility, and conflict-management skills across ideological and cultural differences. Its primary audience is U.S. higher education, with 170+ partner colleges and universities and 500,000+ students impacted as of June 2026; secondary audiences include K-12 schools (e.g., Suffern High School), workplaces (e.g., Griffith Foods), and public service institutions. Prior disclosures cite 160,000+ learners across 570 institutions in 20 states.

CDI's flagship product is Perspectives, a blended learning program delivered at programs.constructivedialogue.org that combines asynchronous modules with interactive scenarios grounded in social psychology. The curriculum is supported by an unusual evidence base for the social-emotional learning category: a randomized controlled trial with N=775 college students, an RCT with N=341 government finance officers, and a longitudinal dataset of N=35,209 learners. Adjacent products include Workshops & Certifications, Campus-Wide Offerings, Live Programs for faculty/staff and student leaders, the invitation-only CDI Leadership Institute for senior university administrators, and the proprietary Five Pillars Framework. In June 2026, CDI launched "Perspectives with Personalized Practice," an AI-powered adaptive practice layer built on a purpose-built, pedagogically constrained AI Dialogue Coaching Engine designed to preserve productive friction and deliver rubric-based feedback.

CDI operates a hybrid nonprofit revenue model. Institutional partnerships—Campus-Wide Offerings, Workshops, and the Leadership Institute—are sold by a dedicated Partnerships and Growth team to colleges, universities, K-12 systems, employers, and civic organizations. Multi-year restricted grants from philanthropic foundations provide a second major revenue line, anchored by a $4.5 million, three-year grant from the John Templeton Foundation announced in November 2025, with additional support from the Templeton Religion Trust and the Segal Foundation. Individual donations at tiers ranging from $25 to $1,000+ form a third stream, and individual learners can access Perspectives content for free. The go-to-market motion is sales-led, reinforced by content marketing (white papers, frameworks, webinars) and an account-based executive program (the Leadership Institute) that generates senior-level relationships and multi-year campus engagements.

Name

Constructive Dialogue Institute

Legal name

Constructive Dialogue Institute, Inc.

Website

https://constructivedialogue.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Constructive Dialogue Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit developing evidence-based educational programs—led by its flagship Perspectives blended learning curriculum—to teach dialogue and intellectual humility to 170+ U.S. colleges, K-12 schools, workplaces, and civic institutions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Dialogue Education and Training Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Peer Feedback, Discussion Forums & Social Learning Communities (EDAFAGAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Online Public Speaking & Debate Programs (Live/Recorded) (EDAMAOAD), Conversational NLP & Dialogue Management (chatbots, agents) (HDAAADAF)

Keywords

• Dialogue education
• Constructive dialogue programs
• Polarization reduction
• Intellectual humility training
• Civic discourse platforms

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations from Individuals: CDI is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (Tax ID 83-3388563). The website accepts tax-deductible donations at preset tiers of $25, $100, $250, $500, $1,000, plus custom 'Other' amounts. 100% tax-deductible per the donate page.
2. Institutional Grants from Philanthropic Foundations: Multi-year restricted grants from major foundations. Includes a $4.5 million, three-year (2026-2028) grant from the John Templeton Foundation to reach 1.75 million college students, plus gifts from Templeton Religion Trust (2025 Leadership Institute cohort) and Mike and Sofia Segal Foundation (2024 Leadership Institute cohort).
3. Institutional Partnerships / Programs: Sales of Campus-Wide Offerings, Perspectives blended learning, Workshops & Certifications, and Leadership Institute engagements to higher-ed, K-12, workplace, and public-sector institutions. Supported by dedicated Partnerships and Growth teams; delivered via direct sales motion.
4. Educational Resource Access (Free / Freemium): Free Perspectives online learning program and free webinars, resource library, blog, and publications to drive reach, pipeline, and mission impact. Conversion to institutional sales and donations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Constructive Dialogue Institute (CDI) develops and delivers research-backed educational programs that teach individuals and institutions the mindset and skills for constructive dialogue across political, ideological, and cultural differences. Its core product, Perspectives, is an asynchronous online blended learning program with interactive scenarios, complemented by live workshops, certifications, campus-wide packages, and an invitation-only executive Leadership Institute, all aimed at reducing affective polarization and building intellectual humility in higher education, K-12, workplace, and public-sector settings.

Product overview

CDI offers a platform-plus-modules portfolio organized around its evidence-based constructive-dialogue methodology. The core product is Perspectives, an asynchronous online blended learning program (the same platform previously called Open Mind) that delivers interactive psychology-based scenarios to students, staff, and faculty; this core is extended by Perspectives with Personalized Practice (adaptive exercises with real-time feedback, launched June 24, 2026). Around it, CDI layers a set of live and cohort-based programs: Workshops & Certifications, Live Programs for Faculty and Staff, Live Programs for Student Leaders, the Senior Leadership Programs track, and the invitation-only CDI Leadership Institute executive program. At the institutional level, these are packaged as customizable Campus-Wide Offerings, supported by the Five Pillars of a Culture of Inquiry and Dialogue strategic framework. The portfolio is also distributed by sector (High Schools, Workplaces, Public Service) and accompanied by a research and evaluation function that uses randomized controlled trials and survey-based outcomes (affective polarization, intellectual humility, conflict behaviors, sense of belonging).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Perspectives: CDI's research-backed blended learning program that uses psychology concepts and interactive scenarios to equip students, staff, and faculty with the skills for conversation, collaboration, and problem-solving across differences.
• CDI Leadership Institute
• Five Pillars Framework

Products and services

• Perspectives (Blended Learning Program) CDI's flagship asynchronous online blended learning program that uses psychology concepts and interactive scenarios to equip students, staff, and faculty with the mindset and skills for conversation, collaboration, and problem-solving across differences. Validated by two randomized controlled trials (N=775 college students) showing reductions in affective polarization, gains in intellectual humility, and reductions in negative conflict behaviors.
• Workshops & Certifications A range of workshops and certification programs that equip administrators, faculty, staff, and student leaders with skills and strategies to facilitate difficult conversations and support meaningful campus-wide dialogue programming.
• Campus-Wide Offerings A customizable campus package providing a roadmap and expert support to infuse the principles and practices of dialogue into campus culture at every level, giving the institution a shared language, set of norms, and skills to navigate differences.
• Live Programs for Faculty and Staff Live (virtual/in-person) training for faculty and staff, equipping them to facilitate difficult conversations and support dialogue programming in classrooms, residence halls, and across the institution.
• Live Programs for Student Leaders Live training programs for student leaders that develop skills to facilitate peer dialogue and shape campus dialogue culture. Used by institutions like Miami University (100-student leader pilot) and CUNY.
• CDI Leadership Institute An invitation-only, year-long executive leadership program (2-day in-person DC summit plus 8-month virtual professional learning community) for university presidents, provosts, and senior leaders. Cohort members leave with campus-specific blueprints, practical skills for leading dialogue, and an ongoing peer network. 2024 cohort supported by the Mike and Sofia Segal Foundation; 2025 cohort supported by Templeton Religion Trust.
• Senior Leadership Programs Senior leadership offerings for higher education institutions that complement the CDI Leadership Institute by helping senior teams align on a vision for constructive dialogue and open inquiry.
• High Schools Program Adaptation of CDI's dialogue education programs for high school audiences, including Global Perspectives and Research classrooms (e.g., Suffern High School case study).
• Workplaces Program Dialogue education offerings for corporations, nonprofits, and philanthropic organizations. Includes case examples from Griffith Foods and government finance officers (RCT with N=341).
• Public Service Program Dialogue education offerings for civic and religious institutions, local governments, faith communities, and similar public-service contexts.

Quantifiable outcome

• 73% of students showed a decrease in polarization
• +9 more outcomes

Named customers19 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability7 records

Feature4 records

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Bipartisan Policy Center: Washington-based think tank producing policy research on polarization and governance. Adjacent in the depolarization ecosystem, but operates as a policy-research shop rather than a higher-ed curriculum or training provider.

Emerging players

• Generation Citizen: Nonprofit that brings action civics into high schools and colleges. Comparable in higher-ed and K-12 civic-education GTM, with a focus on experiential civic action rather than dialogue skills and intellectual humility.

Direct peers

• Interfaith America (formerly Interfaith Youth Core): Builds interfaith cooperation and bridge-building skills on college campuses using a workshop-based model. Comparable in higher-ed GTM and dialogue/bridge-building methodology, but oriented to religious identity rather than ideological/political polarization.
• Heterodox Academy: An organization of 5,000+ academics advancing viewpoint diversity and open inquiry in higher education. Closely comparable in addressing campus polarization and free expression, but focused on research, advocacy, and community-building rather than a curriculum product.
• BridgeUSA: College-student organization building viewpoint-diverse dialogue and debate chapters on US campuses. Comparable in targeting higher-ed dialogue culture, but operates as a student-led chapter network rather than a paid curriculum platform.
• More in Common: International nonprofit that studies and addresses societal divides (CDI has co-published research with its US team). Comparable in its polarization-research base and segment-bridging interventions, but oriented to broad public-attitudes work rather than campus curriculum.
• Braver Angels: A national nonprofit running structured workshops and depolarization programs for Americans across the political spectrum. Closely comparable mission and red/blue dialogue methodology, but lacks CDI's RCT-validated digital curriculum and higher-ed institutional focus.
• Essential Partners: Provides dialogue training, facilitation, and reflective-structured-conversation programs to communities and organizations. Closely comparable methodology around reflective structured dialogue, but without CDI's RCT evidence base or higher-ed institutional scale.

Broad incumbents

• Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE): The largest US free-expression advocacy organization, with a well-known campus free-speech rating and policy focus. Comparable in higher-ed audience and topic area, but operates as advocacy/think tank rather than as a curriculum provider.
• Facing History and Ourselves: Established civic-education nonprofit with research-backed K-12 and high-school curricula on identity, history, and ethical reasoning. Comparable as a research-driven civic-education provider, with a deeper K-12 footprint and a different historical-civic scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CDI_America
• Facebookfacebook.com/CDIamerica
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/constructive-dialogue

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Constructive Dialogue Institute