Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University
BDI is a non-partisan research initiative at Princeton University that tracks and mitigates political violence in the United States through quarterly surveys, a longitudinal threat dataset, interactive maps, and State Lead support across eight high-risk states.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersPrinceton, United States
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University does
The Bridging Divides Initiative (BDI) is a non-partisan research initiative housed within Princeton University's School of Public and International Affairs and hosted by Empirical Studies of Conflict (ESOC). Founded in 2019 by Shannon Hiller and Nealin Parker, BDI tracks and mitigates political violence in the United States through action-oriented research, cross-sector collaboration, and policy frameworks. The organization serves a horizontally distributed set of stakeholders including local elected officials, school board members, state-level violence mitigation organizations, community safety nonprofits, election administrators, policymakers, and journalists.
BDI's core products are organized around three pillars. The research pillar centers on the Understanding Threats and Harassment (UTH) project, which combines quarterly representative surveys of more than 5,300 cumulative local officials (conducted with CivicPulse and the Brennan Center), in-depth interviews with 150+ officials, and the Threats and Harassment Dataset (THD), a first-of-its-kind public longitudinal event-level dataset covering January 2022 to the present and updated monthly. The collaboration pillar delivers concierge support through embedded State Leads in at least eight high-risk states (Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin), cross-sector convenings, and early-action rapid-response frameworks. The policy pillar provides briefings and advisory services to decision-makers plus the Community Safety and De-Escalation Directory, an interactive platform built on MapMe that maps 140+ trainer organizations across all 50 states and was upgraded in April 2026 with state-by-state resource hubs and a custom matchmaking portal. Geographic visualization products include the Building Resilience Ecosystem Map and the TRHT Support Map.
BDI operates as a non-profit funded primarily by foundation grants, with no disclosed revenue figures and no commercial pricing model; content is distributed as a public good for non-commercial use with attribution. Funders span non- and multi-partisan organizations including Democracy Fund, Trusted Elections Fund, Joyce Foundation, Spitzer Foundation, Stand Together, Brennan Center for Justice, Catena, and Women Donors Network, with earlier incubation support from LISD, Princeton's Data-Driven Social Science Initiative, Millions of Conversations, E Pluribus Unum, and the Heising-Simons Foundation. The organization reaches stakeholders through its website, email newsletter, LinkedIn, frequent national and local media coverage (Newsweek, The Hill, Axios, Arizona Republic, and others), events, and downloadable publications. Leadership draws from ACLED, the Anti-Defamation League, the Southern Poverty Law Center, USAID, the Stimson Center, and the Middlebury Institute's Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism.
Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University
- Legal name
- Bridging Divides Initiative
- Website
- https://bridgingdivides.princeton.edu
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- BDI is a non-partisan research initiative at Princeton University that tracks and mitigates political violence in the United States through quarterly surveys, a longitudinal threat dataset, interactive maps, and State Lead support across eight high-risk states.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Political violence research and monitoring services
- NAICS
- Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720), Human Rights Organizations (813311)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Counterterrorism & Preventing/Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE) Cooperation (BPADAFAG)
Keywords
Where Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Princeton
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Foundation and Grant Funding: BDI operates as a non-partisan research initiative at Princeton University, funded primarily through grants and donations from foundations and donors including Democracy Fund, Trusted Elections Fund, Joyce Foundation, Spitzer Foundation, Stand Together, Brennan Center for Justice, Women Donors Network, and early supporters including LISD, Data-Driven Social Science Initiative, Millions of Conversations, E Pluribus Unum, and Heising-Simons Foundation.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Free access for research, educational, and non-commercial use with attribution |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University product offering
Product offeringCore offering
BDI is a non-partisan research initiative at Princeton University that tracks and mitigates political violence in the United States through action-oriented research, cross-sector collaboration, and policy frameworks. Its core offerings include the Threats and Harassment Dataset (THD) tracking hostility against local officials, quarterly representative surveys of local elected officials conducted with CivicPulse, in-depth interview programs, interactive mapping tools (Ecosystem Map, TRHT Map, De-Escalation Directory), State Lead concierge support in 8 high-risk states, and tailored policy briefings and advisory services for decision-makers.
Product overview
BDI is a non-partisan research initiative at Princeton University that tracks and mitigates political violence in the United States. The organization operates as a unified research and practice platform with interconnected products organized around three strategic pillars: Action-Oriented Research (Early Warning System, Geographies of Risk and Resilience with Ecosystem Map and TRHT Map, the Understanding Threats and Harassment UTH project comprising Surveys, Interviews, and the Threats and Harassment Dataset THD), Cross-Sector Collaboration (State Leads program, Convening, Early Action and Response), and Policy Response (Briefing and Advisory Services, Community Safety Directory). The core offerings include real-time monitoring and situational awareness, interactive mapping tools, mixed-methods research programs, and training resource directories. The organization also supports future practitioners through its Research Assistant Internship Program.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Early Warning System
Quantifiable outcome
- 76% of local officials report reduced willingness to engage in key political activities due to hostility concerns (highest rate on record)
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
Feature4 records
Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Brennan Center for JusticecoreKey research partner providing support for the BDI-CivicPulse survey program and broader threat research. Co-funds the Understanding Threats and Harassment project.
- CivicPulsecoreResearch partner conducting quarterly representative surveys of local elected officials on threats and harassment. Provides survey data and interactive dashboard access. Partnership launched in 2022.
- ACLED (Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project)coreData partner contributing to the Threats and Harassment Dataset (THD) and broader event tracking. ACLED provides global political violence data and co-produced the US Crisis Monitor with BDI in 2020.
- The Impact ProjectcoreConsortium partner in the Understanding Threats and Harassment (UTH) project, contributing data and analysis on political violence targeting local officials.
- The Prosecution ProjectcoreConsortium partner in UTH project, providing data on prosecution of political violence and terrorism cases in the United States.
- VIP Lab (Violence Inequality Power Lab)coreResearch consortium partner at University of San Diego focusing on violence, inequality, and power dynamics, contributing to UTH project data sharing.
- PLEG (Peace Legacy Education Group)coreConsortium partner contributing to UTH project research on political violence and extremism.
- Mary HochminorMapping partner for the TRHT Support Map, contributing to tracking Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation organizations.
- Think PeaceminorMapping partner for TRHT Support Map, supporting visualization of peacebuilding organizations.
- USTRHT (US Truth, Racial Healing, Transformation)minorPartner organization for TRHT mapping collaboration, tracking transitional justice initiatives.
- New England Law BostonminorAcademic partner for TRHT mapping project, contributing to research on racial healing and transformation efforts.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- ACLED (Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project): ACLED is the leading global collector of political violence event data and a direct data partner of BDI, co-producing the US Crisis Monitor. It is the most direct methodological and data-architecture peer for BDI's Threats and Harassment Dataset.
- Brennan Center for Justice: Brennan Center is a core research partner on BDI's Understanding Threats and Harassment project and co-funds survey work. Both organizations produce non-partisan research on threats to democratic participation and election integrity, with overlapping audiences in policy and media.
- International Crisis Group: Crisis Group produces field-driven analysis on political violence and conflict worldwide. It is comparable to BDI in its combination of rigorous research and policy advisory output aimed at preventing violence and supporting democratic governance.
- Stimson Center: Stimson is a DC-based think tank that produces research on conflict, governance, and security, including work on political violence. BDI's Senior Research Specialist Yvette Deane is a Stimson alum, and the analytic approach is closely aligned.
- Western States Center: Western States Center tracks white nationalist, anti-democracy, and paramilitary movements in the US, with a regional focus on the Mountain West and Pacific Northwest. BDI's Collaborations Director Stephen Piggott previously worked there, and the program portfolios overlap heavily.
- CivicPulse: CivicPulse is BDI's survey partner conducting quarterly representative surveys of local elected officials. It serves a similar audience of local government stakeholders and provides interactive dashboards, making it a direct methodological and audience peer.
Broad incumbents
- Southern Poverty Law Center: SPLC is an established civil rights organization that monitors hate groups and extremist movements in the US. It overlaps significantly with BDI's threat monitoring work, though it operates across a much broader civil rights mandate.
- Anti-Defamation League (ADL): ADL tracks extremism, hate, and antisemitism in the US and produces widely cited annual reports. Several BDI team members (e.g., Collaborations Director) previously worked at ADL, making it a methodological and topical peer.
Emerging players
- Middlebury Institute - Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism (CTEC): CTEC is an academic research center producing analysis of domestic extremism and digital radicalization. BDI's Early Warning Project Manager Robin O'Luanaigh previously led CTEC's digital extremism research, making it a closely related emerging research peer.
Regional players
- New America: New America is a US-based policy research organization addressing democracy, technology, and security. It overlaps with BDI in evidence-based policy research on democratic resilience, though its scope is broader across multiple policy domains.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University social profiles
Digital presenceBridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles11 records
Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
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Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
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Frequently asked questions about Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University
What does Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University do?
BDI is a non-partisan research initiative at Princeton University that tracks and mitigates political violence in the United States through action-oriented research, cross-sector collaboration, and policy frameworks. Its core offerings include the Threats and Harassment Dataset (THD) tracking hostility against local officials, quarterly representative surveys of local elected officials conducted with CivicPulse, in-depth interview programs, interactive mapping tools (Ecosystem Map, TRHT Map, De-Escalation Directory), State Lead concierge support in 8 high-risk states, and tailored policy briefings and advisory services for decision-makers.
Is Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University a public or private company?
Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University founded?
Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University was founded in 2019.
Where is Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University based?
Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University is headquartered in Princeton, United States, in the North America region.
How does Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University make money?
One revenue line is on record: foundation and Grant Funding.
Who are Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are ACLED (Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project), Brennan Center for Justice, International Crisis Group, Stimson Center, Western States Center and CivicPulse. Broad incumbents are Southern Poverty Law Center and Anti-Defamation League (ADL). Middlebury Institute - Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism (CTEC) is listed as an emerging player. New America is listed as a regional player.
Does Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University have an API?
No public API is recorded for Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University.
What industry is Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University in?
Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University's product category is Political violence research and monitoring services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPADAFAG, Counterterrorism & Preventing/Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE) Cooperation. Its NAICS code is 541720 and its SIC code is 8300.