About the Institute for Salutogenesis
The research partner behind the Democracy, Opportunity, and Citizenship Moonshot.
The Institute for Salutogenesis is a research institute built on a simple conviction: every person, regardless of background or circumstance, deserves the opportunity to thrive. We study salutogenesis — the science of what creates health, not just what causes disease — and apply it across the life course, healthcare systems, workplaces, and communities.
We are the research and evidence partner behind Moonshot Press and its initiatives, including Thrive in Montco PA and the People’s Commissions on Children’s Health and on Technology and the American Future. Where our partners build public engagement, media, and civic process, we provide the theoretical grounding and applied research those efforts stand on.
We don’t publish findings and move on. Our research is meant to be used — by citizens, by communities, by the initiatives we partner with, and by the policymakers and practitioners working toward the same goal.
Who We Are
The Institute for Salutogenesis exists on a simple conviction: every person, regardless of background or circumstance, deserves the opportunity to thrive and reach their full potential.
We take our name from salutogenesis — the study of what creates health, rather than only what causes disease. It’s a shift in the question we ask. Instead of starting with illness and working backward, we start with flourishing and ask what makes it possible: in the first 1,000 days of life, in our healthcare systems, in our workplaces, and in the communities we build together.
That question led us to a guiding framework we call Citizenism — grounded in the Declaration of Independence’s assertion that all people are created equal, with the right to pursue a life worth living. We treat health not as a private matter alone, but as the foundation that makes active, engaged citizenship possible.
[This section is a good place to add: when and why the Institute was founded, and by whom — a short origin story grounds the “who we are” question in something concrete rather than only conceptual. Currently the site doesn’t state this anywhere; worth adding once you’ve decided how much of that story you want public.]
[Button: Read Our Full Approach → /approach]
Our Values
Evidence Over Assumption We ground every recommendation, framework, and partnership in research — not intuition, not ideology.
Flourishing, Not Just the Absence of Illness Salutogenesis asks what creates health and resilience, not only what prevents disease. We hold our partners — and ourselves — to that same standard.
Equity as a Starting Point Every person deserves the resources and conditions to thrive, regardless of background or circumstance. This isn’t an aspiration we work toward; it’s the premise we start from.
The Long View Health is built over a lifetime, beginning in the first 1,000 days. We favor research and interventions that compound over years, not just quarters.
Partnership Over Ownership We don’t do this work alone. We serve as research partner to Moonshot Press, Thrive in Montco PA, and the People’s Commissions — contributing evidence, not claiming credit.
Transparency We disclose our methods, our sources, and the limits of what current evidence can tell us. Where we don’t know something, we say so.
Civic Responsibility Grounded in the Declaration of Independence’s promise of equality and the pursuit of happiness, we believe healthy citizens are the foundation of a functioning democracy — and that research in service of that foundation is civic work.
Leadership
[Content gap flagged earlier — this section doesn’t exist anywhere on the current site, and it matters more here than anywhere else. A research institute asking to be taken seriously as a “research partner” needs to show who’s doing the research. At minimum: founder/director name, brief bio establishing relevant expertise, and a photo. Add additional team members, advisors, or a research board as they’re formalized.]
Organizational Details
[If the Institute has formal nonprofit status (501(c)(3) or otherwise), state it here along with an EIN if you’re comfortable publishing one — this is standard on institutional “About” pages and matters to funders and partners evaluating credibility. If formal status isn’t established yet, it’s fine to omit this section entirely rather than leave a placeholder that undersells you — better to add it once true than to gesture at it early.]
Part of the Moonshot Ecosystem
The Institute doesn’t work in isolation — see how we partner with Moonshot Press and Thrive in Montco PA.
[Button: See the Moonshot Ecosystem → /ecosystem]
Creating health. Facilitating flourishing.
For partnership inquiries, research collaboration, or general questions, see [Get Involved → /getinvolved].