Community Research Institute

What Community Research Institute does

Community Research Institute (CRI) is a 5-employee, Charleston, South Carolina-based research and training organization that operates as a partnership between Charleston Southern University's Hans A. Nielsen College of Business and Abbey Research (also known as "The Good Doctors"). Founded in May 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide remote internships for graduating CSU seniors, the institute has since pivoted into a commercial training and research practice focused on generational workplace dynamics, with particular emphasis on Gen Z. CRI's core products are Generations Training (corporate training engagements delivered in-person and virtually covering Generations 101, stereotype myth-busting, and practical management tips), a library of Generations White Papers on Gen Z behaviors, and a Market Research Course Partnership with CSU that supervises student-led primary research each semester.

The business model is professional services: CRI sells bespoke training engagements to corporations (15-500 employees), higher education institutions, non-profits, and professional associations, with bookings handled via direct contact and no publicly disclosed pricing. Go-to-market is enterprise field sales with no intermediaries, supported by content marketing through the institute's WordPress website and free white paper distribution for lead generation. The company is privately held, unfunded, and led by two social science PhDs (Dr. Kristen Donnelly, President and Founder; Dr. Erin Hinson, Vice President) with international conflict-zone research backgrounds. There is no proprietary technology platform, no app, no API, and no AI/ML capability disclosed; the underlying "platform" is a human-delivered curriculum backed by a university-affiliated research pipeline and a published white paper catalog.

Name

Community Research Institute

Legal name

Community Research Institute

Website

https://communityresearchinstitute.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Community Research Institute is a 5-employee Charleston, SC research and training partnership between Charleston Southern University and Abbey Research, delivering corporate training and published white papers on generational workplace dynamics, with a focus on Gen Z.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Philadelphia/Charleston

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

Revenue model

1. Generational Training Services: CRI generates revenue through corporate training engagements focused on generational differences in the workplace. Training covers understanding generations, myth-busting stereotypes, and practical tips for managing multigenerational teams.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Community Research Institute (CRI) provides corporate training programs focused on understanding generational differences in the workplace. The organization helps corporations, higher education institutions, non-profits, and associations manage multigenerational conflicts, increase employee retention, and maintain engagement. CRI also conducts research on Gen Z students and workers, publishing white papers on generational workplace dynamics.

Product overview

Community Research Institute offers a unified portfolio of research and training services designed to help organizations understand and bridge generational gaps, particularly between employers and Gen Z workers. The core offerings consist of Generations Training (corporate training programs addressing multigenerational workplace dynamics), Generations White Papers (research publications on Gen Z behaviors and attitudes), and a Market Research Course Partnership (collaborative academic research program with CSU). These products work together to provide both practical workplace solutions and ongoing research insights into generational dynamics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Good Doctors: Brand identity for Dr. Kristen Donnelly and Dr. Erin Hinson, corporate trainers who focus on employee engagement and retention

Products and services

• Generations Training Program Corporate training programs on multigenerational workplace dynamics designed for organizations with 15-500 employees, higher education institutions, non-profits, and associations. The training helps leaders and managers understand, engage, and retain employees across generations.
• Generations White Papers Research publications and white papers analyzing Gen Z student and worker behaviors, providing data-driven insights for organizations seeking to understand generational shifts in the workplace.
• Market Research Course Partnership An educational market research course offered as a partnership product through CRI's collaboration between Charleston Southern University's Hans A. Nielsen College of Business and The Good Doctors of Abbey Research, providing students with practical research experience.

Named customers4 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

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Charleston Southern University (Hans A. Nielsen College of Business)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2020CRI is a partnership between CSU's Hans A. Nielsen College of Business and The Good Doctors of Abbey Research. The institute was created at CSU to provide remote internships for graduating seniors during the COVID-19 pandemic and has since developed generational training programs.
• Abbey Research (The Good Doctors)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Abbey Research, founded by Dr. Kristen Donnelly and Dr. Erin Hinson in 2015, operates as The Good Doctors of corporate training. Abbey Research runs the CRI as an extension of its empathy framework and passion for mentoring the next generation of leaders.
• Professor Emory Hiott (Charleston Southern University Market Research Course)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCRI partners with Professor Emory Hiott's Market Research course to conduct student-led research projects about Gen Z. Each semester, CRI supervises three research projects with questions developed collaboratively.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Broad incumbents

• Korn Ferry: Korn Ferry is a global organizational consulting firm with a large leadership and talent development practice. It is a broad incumbent peer because it serves the same enterprise buyers on workforce and leadership topics that CRI addresses, but as part of a much broader portfolio of services.
• FranklinCovey: FranklinCovey is a large, established leadership and organizational training company offering enterprise-wide content and training across many topics. It is a broad incumbent peer because it competes for the same corporate training budget with overlapping workforce/leadership content, but is not specialized in generational dynamics.
• DDI (Development Dimensions International): DDI is a long-established leadership and workforce development consultancy selling research-based training to enterprises globally. It is a broad incumbent peer to CRI as both deliver evidence-based leadership and workforce training, though DDI operates at much larger scale across many topics.

Direct peers

• BTS Group: BTS is a global professional services firm focused on leadership development, sales force effectiveness, and strategic transformation through experiential learning. It is comparable to CRI as both deliver custom, research-grounded corporate training and consulting engagements to enterprise clients.
• The Center for Generational Kinetics: Founded by Jason Dorsey, The Center for Generational Kinetics is a leading Gen Z and Millennial research and speaking firm. It is a direct peer to CRI in that both produce proprietary generational research and translate it into corporate keynotes, training, and advisory engagements.
• BridgeWorks: BridgeWorks is one of the longest-standing generational strategy and training consultancies, founded by generational experts Hank Stringer and Amy Lynch. It is a direct peer to CRI as both firms sell research-based training and advisory services focused on generational differences in the workplace.
• LifeLabs Learning: LifeLabs Learning is a global corporate training and coaching firm delivering research-backed learning experiences to managers and teams. It is a comparable peer to CRI as both sell manager/employee training programs — though LifeLabs is much larger, more diversified across topics, and technology-enabled.
• Sheahan Leadership Consulting (Peter Sheahan): Peter Sheahan's firm delivers research-based corporate training and keynotes on workforce trends including generational change. Comparable to CRI in being a thought-leadership-led, bespoke training and advisory practice targeting enterprise buyers on workforce topics.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/research_inst

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Community Research Institute