The Right Question Institute

What The Right Question Institute does

The Right Question Institute (RQI) is a nonprofit educational organization founded in 1990 and co-founded by Dan Rothstein and Luz Santana, headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The organization develops and disseminates three proprietary methodologies: the Question Formulation Technique (QFT), the Voices in Decisions Technique (VIDT), and Microdemocracy. These are pedagogical frameworks designed to teach people, particularly those furthest from power, how to formulate their own questions and participate more effectively in decisions affecting them. The underlying technology is methodological rather than software-based — RQI's IP consists of structured techniques for question generation, prioritization, and analysis, protected by a registered U.S. trademark on "Right Question" and licensed under Creative Commons Sharealike for noncommercial use.

RQI operates a free online community network of 90,079 members across 180+ countries, providing access to hundreds of free resources, educational tools, and videos. Its business model is freemium: core resources are distributed at no cost, while training opportunities and commercial licensing require direct inquiry. The organization serves six primary use-case segments — education (K-12 and higher education), legal empowerment, voter engagement, healthcare, school-family partnerships, and social services — through two main program tracks: the Teaching + Learning Program and the Empowerment Program. Reach is extended through academic partnerships (Yale, Teachers College Columbia, Rhode Island College), institutional partnerships (Rhode Island DCYF), and media features (Stanford Social Innovation Review, podcasts). Operating with a 1-10 person team, RQI is primarily founder-led, donor-supported, and mission-driven rather than revenue-optimized.

Name

The Right Question Institute

Legal name

Right Question Institute

Website

https://rightquestion.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Right Question Institute is a nonprofit founded in 1990 that develops proprietary question-asking methodologies (QFT, VIDT, Microdemocracy) and distributes them through a free online community of 90,000+ members across 180+ countries serving educators, legal aid, healthcare, and civic engagement practitioners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civic Education and Democratic Participation Training

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Project-Based/Inquiry-Based Learning (School-Delivered) (EDAJAFAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Critical Thinking, Problem Solving & Decision-Making (EDAAAKAH), Assessments, Quizzes & Learning Analytics Tools (MPACALAK)

Keywords

• Civic education
• Question formulation methodology
• Democratic participation training
• Educational capacity building
• Voter engagement programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Maussane

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Free Resource Distribution: RQI provides free resources, educational tools, and videos to its community of over 90,000 members across 180+ countries. The organization's materials are available under a Creative Commons Sharealike license for noncommercial use.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Right Question Institute develops and disseminates educational methodologies — chiefly the Question Formulation Technique (QFT), the Voices in Decisions Technique (VIDT), and the Microdemocracy approach — that teach people to formulate their own questions, engage in decisions, and advocate for themselves. These methodologies are delivered through two flagship programs (Teaching + Learning and Empowerment) and supported by a free online community network with 90,079 members across 180+ countries that provides hundreds of resources, tools, and videos.

Product overview

The Right Question Institute offers a suite of educational methodologies and programs centered on teaching people to formulate questions and participate in decisions. The core products include the Question Formulation Technique (QFT), the Voices in Decisions Technique (VIDT), and Microdemocracy, all part of the broader Right Question Strategy methodology. RQI delivers its offerings through two main programs: the Teaching + Learning Program (focused on educational settings) and the Empowerment Program (focused on adult learners and civic participation). These programs are supported by a free online community network with over 90,000 members from 180+ countries who access hundreds of resources, educational tools, and videos. RQI positions itself as a nonprofit educational organization rather than a technology product company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Yale UniversityminorOthersYale University has featured RQI's work and Question Formulation Technique in their press and educational content.
• Stanford Social Innovation ReviewminorOthersRQI has been featured in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, a leading publication on social innovation.
• Teachers College, Columbia UniversityminorOthersTeachers College at Columbia University has featured RQI's teaching strategies in their educational programming.
• Rhode Island CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership connection with Rhode Island College as mentioned in press coverage.
• Rhode Island DCYF (Department of Children, Youth and Families)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership connection with Rhode Island DCYF as mentioned in press coverage.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Mikva Challenge: Nonprofit engaging youth in civic participation and democratic decision-making. Comparable youth-civic engagement segment to RQI's voter engagement and Microdemocracy offerings.
• Public Agenda: Nonprofit research and engagement organization working on civic participation, democratic decision-making, and public deliberation. Comparable mission to RQI's Microdemocracy and civic engagement work.
• Facing History and Ourselves: Nonprofit providing professional development and curricular resources for educators on democracy, civic engagement, and equity. Comparable size, mission, and educator-facing model to RQI.
• EL Education: Nonprofit that designs K-12 curriculum and professional learning around inquiry-based, project-based learning. Closely comparable to RQI's QFT methodology and education-focused mission.
• Generation Citizen: Nonprofit bringing action-based civic education to K-12 and university students. Comparable mission to RQI's voter engagement and student empowerment work.
• iCivics: Founded by Justice O'Connor to expand civic education and voter engagement in schools. Directly comparable to RQI's voter engagement and democratic participation segment.
• Highlander Research and Education Center: Long-standing adult civic education nonprofit focused on grassroots democracy and empowerment of marginalized communities. Closely comparable to RQI's Empowerment Program and voter engagement focus.
• Street Law: Nonprofit that teaches law, democracy, and human rights through educator programs and student-facing materials. Directly comparable to RQI's legal empowerment segment.
• Project Zero (Harvard Graduate School of Education): Research center at Harvard studying thinking, learning, and inquiry in education. Comparable ground in inquiry-based pedagogy and QFT's intellectual foundation.

Broad incumbents

• Common Sense Education: Larger, broader K-12 education nonprofit providing digital literacy, SEL, and classroom resources. Comparable K-12 educator audience to RQI but with a much wider portfolio and substantially greater scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/rightquestion
• Facebookfacebook.com/rightquestion
• Instagraminstagram.com/right_question/?hl=en
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-right-question-institute

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 The Right Question Institute