Robert S. Hartman Institute

What Robert S. Hartman Institute does

The Robert S. Hartman Institute for Formal and Applied Axiology is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1976 by John W. Davis, David Mefford, and Linda Laws to preserve and advance the work of Dr. Robert S. Hartman, the mathematician-philosopher who developed formal axiology (the science of value). The Institute is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors and operates without paid executive leadership; its day-to-day leadership is distributed across Board President Jonathan Ciampi (CEO of Bright Heart Health), Treasurer Michael Patton (Service Delivery Executive at Broadcom), VP of Membership Sophie Coulthard (co-founder of AxioGrow), and VP of Education Peter Demarest (President of Axiogenics), among others.

The Institute's core product is the Hartman Value Profile (HVP), a proprietary task-based personality assessment instrument that measures individual value judgment across three dimensions — intrinsic (valuing persons, dignity, inner experience), extrinsic (valuing actions, performance, functions), and systemic (valuing ideas, rules, logic). Supporting products include the Journal of Formal Axiology (a scholarly publication launched in 2008, now in Volume 17), the free Axiology 101 introductory course, the annual conference (50th edition scheduled for October 2026 in Savannah), the Leadership Impact Series webinars, the monthly Hartman Happy Hour, a bookstore, and access to Hartman's approximately 100,000 pages of archived writings housed at the University of Tennessee Hoskins Library. The Institute also maintains an Axiological Service Provider Directory of certified consultants.

The Institute's revenue model is decentralized and non-profit: annual membership dues across four tiers ($100 Academic, $150 Ambassador, $250 Consultant, $500 Axiological Service Developer), one-time conference registration ($400 members / $500 non-members), $25 individual journal issues for non-members, bookstore sales, and branded merchandise. Customer segments span business leaders, coaches and consultants, academics and students, and the broader public. Distribution is direct-to-consumer via the Institute's website, with a global community of practitioners in the US, Mexico, Brazil, China, the UK, Russia, and Australia. The go-to-market model is community-led, centered on educational content, events, and a network of certified Axiological Service Developers who deliver HVP-based consulting services worldwide.

Name

Robert S. Hartman Institute

Legal name

Robert S. Hartman Institute for Formal and Applied Axiology

Website

https://hartmaninstitute.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Robert S. Hartman Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in 1976 that advances formal axiology through the Hartman Value Profile assessment, a peer-reviewed journal, annual conferences, and a tiered membership program serving coaches, consultants, academics, and business leaders worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Education & Value-Based Assessment

NAICS

Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Survey, Panel & Fieldwork Services (BPAHALAJ)

Keywords

• Formal axiology research
• Value-based psychological assessment
• Professional axiology education
• Hartman Value Profile
• Axiological consulting services

Headquarters

HQ city

Athens

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees at four tiers: Ambassador ($150), Academic ($100), Consultant ($250), and Axiological Service Developer ($500). All memberships are tax deductible.
2. Conference Registration: Registration fees for annual conferences including the 50th Annual Conference at $400 for members and $500 for non-members, including sessions, meals, networking events, and gala dinner.
3. Journal Sales: The Journal of Formal Axiology is available for $25 per issue for non-members; members receive complimentary access.
4. Bookstore Sales: Sale of books on axiology through the online bookstore including works by Robert S. Hartman and other authors.
5. Merchandise: Sale of branded merchandise including hats, stickers, water bottles, notebooks, hoodies, and mugs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

The Robert S. Hartman Institute advances formal axiology (the science of value) through research, education, and community-building. Its core product is the Hartman Value Profile (HVP), a proprietary psychological assessment that measures individuals across intrinsic, extrinsic, and systemic dimensions. The Institute supports this with the peer-reviewed Journal of Formal Axiology, the Axiology 101 educational course, annual conferences, and a tiered membership program for professionals and organizations.

Product overview

The Robert S. Hartman Institute offers a portfolio of educational and professional resources centered on formal axiology, the science of value developed by Dr. Robert S. Hartman. The core offering is the Hartman Value Profile (HVP), a psychological assessment instrument that measures values across systemic, extrinsic, and intrinsic dimensions. Supporting products include the Journal of Formal Axiology (scholarly publication since 2008), the free Axiology 101 Course for foundational learning, annual conferences, the Leadership Impact Series, and Hartman Happy Hour events. The institute operates a membership program with four tiers (Ambassador, Academic, Consultant, Axiological Service Developer) providing varying levels of access to resources, directory listings, and professional development. Additional offerings include a bookstore, The Archives containing Hartman's unpublished works, and an Axiological Service Provider Directory connecting practitioners with clients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hartman Value Profile (HVP)

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 70% of the variance in authentic personality explained by composite intrinsic, extrinsic, and systemic judgment scores from HVP (Malcolm North research)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Kimpton Brice Hotel (Savannah)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe 50th Annual Conference venue partner. The Kimpton Brice Hotel in Savannah's Historic District serves as the conference location, with a custom booking link for attendees to receive conference group rates.
• University of Tennessee Hoskins LibrarycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHartman's archives (approximately 100,000 pages of writings) are housed at the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections. The Institute maintains connection to these archives for research purposes.
• Axiological Service Developer NetworkcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGlobal network of certified consultants and organizations (ASDs) providing HVP assessments and axiology consulting services. Includes members like TTI Success Insights Brasil, Axiogenics, and others worldwide.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• The Myers-Briggs Company: The Myers-Briggs Company is a broad incumbent: the dominant commercial personality assessment publisher (MBTI), operating at much greater scale than RSHI but competing for the same coaching/consulting wallet share where the HVP is administered.
• Predictive Index: Predictive Index is a broad incumbent: provides behavioral and cognitive assessments widely used in talent management, occupying the same procurement slots as HVP when enterprises evaluate people-development tooling.
• Gallup: Gallup is a broad incumbent: CliftonStrengths and other Gallup assessments compete head-on in the leadership/strengths evaluation space where HVP is positioned as a value-science alternative.
• Hogan Assessments: Hogan Assessments is a broad incumbent: a leader in personality-based leadership and executive assessment tools, overlapping with HVP's enterprise leadership-development use case at significantly larger commercial scale.
• Wiley (Everything DiSC): Wiley's Everything DiSC is a broad incumbent: a widely adopted workplace behavioral assessment that competes with HVP in team development, coaching, and HR training contexts.

Emerging players

• VIA Institute on Character: VIA Institute on Character is an emerging player: a non-profit advancing scientific character research (VIA Survey), structurally similar to RSHI as a research-backed non-profit with a science-of-values assessment serving educational and professional audiences.

Direct peers

• TTI Success Insights: TTI Success Insights is a direct peer: an assessment company offering talent, behavioral, and motivation tools; board member Carol Mettenbrink is a Sr. Business Services Consultant there, evidencing overlap in practitioner networks and adjacent assessment methodologies to the HVP.
• Axiometrics International: Axiometrics International is a direct peer: founded by Wisdom Council Chair Emeritus Wayne Carpenter to deliver computerized axiological analysis, it provides HVP-adjacent value-assessment services and shares founder/leadership overlap with the Institute.

Others

• International Coach Federation: The International Coach Federation is an adjacent membership organization: a global, non-profit professional body credentialing coaches and consultants, mirroring RSHI's role as the certifying/curating body for HVP practitioners.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/RSH_Institute
• Facebookfacebook.com/RSHInstitute

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Robert S. Hartman Institute