Sustained Dialogue Institute

Name

Sustained Dialogue Institute

Legal name

Sustained Dialogue Institute

Website

https://sustaineddialogue.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Conflict Resolution and Dialogue Facilitation Services

NAICS

Other Management Consulting Services (541618), Educational Support Services (611710), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Conflict Management, Negotiation & Difficult Conversations (EDABAAAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Post-Conflict Recovery, Reconciliation & Social Cohesion Programs (BPADAFAL), STEM, Digital Skills & Innovation Partnerships (EDADALAJ)

Keywords

• Conflict resolution training
• Dialogue facilitation
• Relationship transformation
• Community peacebuilding
• Workplace diversity training

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: Primary revenue stream from individual donations, corporate sponsors, and foundation grants. Major supporters include W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Fetzer Institute, Boeing, Bloomberg, and various family foundations.
2. Training and Consulting Fees: Fee-for-service training programs, workshops, and consulting engagements for workplaces, campuses, and organizations seeking dialogue facilitation and conflict resolution services.
3. Partnership Programs: Collaborative programs with campuses and organizations that may include participant fees, institutional subscriptions, or partnership contributions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Sustained Dialogue Institute delivers dialogue-based conflict resolution consulting, training, and facilitation services to colleges, workplaces, communities, and international partners through its proprietary five-stage Sustained Dialogue methodology. The Institute equips organizations with trained moderators, structured dialogue processes, and a curriculum library to transform divided relationships into collaborative partnerships, supported by foundational grants and donations as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

Product overview

The Sustained Dialogue Institute offers a portfolio of dialogue facilitation products and services centered on its core five-stage Sustained Dialogue methodology. The primary offerings include the Sustained Dialogue Campus Network (SDCN) for higher education institutions, Workplace Dialogue Programs, Community Dialogue Programs, and International Peacebuilding Programs. Supporting these core programs are add-on modules including the Campus Conflict and Conversation Help Desk (in partnership with AAC&U), Virtual Skill Series training workshops, Dialogue Curriculum and Materials with topic-specific guides, Moderator Training programs, Online Resources for Campuses, and Campus Program Implementation Consulting. The organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit incorporated in 2002 and based in Washington, D.C.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sustained Dialogue Campus Network (SDCN): Campus-focused branch of SDI's work that trains students, faculty, and staff to create dialogue-to-action initiatives on college campuses. Currently active on 100 U.S. campuses.

Products and services

• Sustained Dialogue Campus Network (SDCN) A network of student-led, administrator-supported dialogue-to-action initiatives across 100+ U.S. campuses and select international sites, training thousands of students, faculty, and staff annually in the five-stage Sustained Dialogue process.
• Workplace Dialogue Programs Specialized training and assistance for corporations, hospitals, government agencies, and nonprofits to build employee capacity for difficult conversations, conflict management, and inclusion, offered as one-time workshops and ongoing employee-led dialogue circles under quote-based contracts.
• Community Dialogue Programs Local dialogue initiatives in Washington, D.C. (Kindred), Columbus, Indiana, Puerto Rico, and other U.S. communities focused on building trusting relationships and addressing obstacles for economically challenged citizens to achieve self-sufficiency.
• International Peacebuilding Programs Long-standing international dialogue programs including the Dartmouth Conference (U.S.-Russia), Tajikistan peacebuilding, Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue, Southern Africa initiatives, and the Arab-American-European Dialogue, spanning 50+ countries.
• Campus Conflict and Conversation Help Desk A free, on-demand support service in partnership with AAC&U's Institute for Democracy in Higher Education that offers timely advice and troubleshooting to campus educators and practitioners facing difficult conversations.
• Virtual Skill Series A virtual training workshop and ongoing skill-development series for individuals and organizations seeking to enhance dialogue facilitation capabilities, including introductory virtual dialogue offerings accessible via the SDI calendar.
• Moderator Training A comprehensive training program certifying individuals as Sustained Dialogue moderators, including full moderator manuals, mini-manuals on specific topics, and facilitator certification.

Quantifiable outcome

• Employees who felt they could bring their full selves to work doubled from 40% to 80% after 10 weeks of workplace dialogue
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• AAC&U's Institute for Democracy in Higher EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Joint Campus Conflict and Conversation Help Desk offering free on-demand support to campus educators facing difficult conversations. SDI's Campus Network team partners with IDHE's consulting scholars and practitioners.
• Essential PartnersmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Collaboration on a free facilitation guide for dialogues about the Israel and Gaza crisis. Joint effort to provide resources for campuses navigating difficult Middle East conversations.
• Life and Peace InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2002Long-term partnership spanning Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya, and Sweden. SDI collaborates with LPI to implement Sustained Dialogue programs in African universities and communities, including a four-way partnership with Addis Ababa University and Peace and Development Center since 2009.
• Peace and Development CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1999Partnership with LPI and SDI for implementing SD in Ethiopian universities. Started at Addis Ababa University in 2008 with 150 students, expanded to Haramaya University and Jimma University.
• Bridge AlliancemajorGTM or Marketing PartnerCoalition of over 80 organizations working towards strengthening democratic practice in America. SDI is a member organization.
• George Mason UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDigitization and hosting of Harold H. Saunders Conflict and Peace Studies Collection through GMU Libraries, making the archive available to the global scholarly community.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• The Kettering Foundation: Major U.S. philanthropy advancing democratic practice and citizen deliberation. Directly comparable on dialogue-and-democracy mission and a longstanding SDI partner and funder.
• Interfaith America: Larger nonprofit advancing interfaith cooperation on campuses and workplaces (formerly IFYC). Overlap on dialogue-based campus programming and corporate engagement, with broader interfaith focus.

Direct peers

• National Institute for Civil Discourse: University-affiliated organization promoting constructive dialogue on campuses and in public life. Direct overlap on campus conversation programming and convening function.
• The Village Square: Nonpartisan nonprofit that brings together citizens of differing views for civil discourse at the community level. Comparable civility-and-dialogue mission with a community event model.
• The Convergence Center for Policy Resolution: DC-based nonprofit that brings divided stakeholders together to find common ground on policy issues. Comparable dialogue-based methodology with a more elite, policy-focused audience.
• Living Room Conversations: Nonprofit that connects people across political, religious, and ideological differences via guided conversations. Closely aligned dialogue-to-action methodology and volunteer-led model.
• Braver Angels: National nonprofit organizing structured conversations between Americans of opposing political views. Directly comparable mission to bridge polarization through dialogue, with a grassroots chapter model.
• Search for Common Ground: One of the world's largest dedicated peacebuilding NGOs, using dialogue and mediation to transform conflict. Highly comparable mission and methodology, with deeper international footprint.
• Essential Partners: Public charity that designs and facilitates dialogue across tough community divides. Direct, sometimes collaborating, peer; SDI and Essential Partners co-produced a facilitation guide on the Israel-Gaza crisis.

Emerging players

• NewGround: Los Angeles-based nonprofit building Muslim-Jewish relations through dialogue and convening. Direct overlap on facilitated intergroup dialogue and community-level conflict transformation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SustainDialogue
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/SDCampusNetwork
• Facebookfacebook.com/sustaineddialogue
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sustained-dialogue-institute
• Instagraminstagram.com/sustaineddialoguenetwork

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 Sustained Dialogue Institute