3C Institute is a private, for-profit research and development company based in Durham, North Carolina[1] which develops "web- and game-based applications and technology solutions designed to improve the health and well-being of youth and families."[2] The company partners with researchers, program providers, non-profits, and companies to develop customized digital information delivery systems, such as personalized games, e-training courses, and web-based assessments.[3] 3C Institute also develops evidence-based social emotional learning products for children, adolescents, and parents.[4]
3-C Institute for Social Development was founded in 2001 by clinical psychologist Dr. Melissa DeRosier.[5] The organization changed its name to 3C Institute in 2013.[6] Dr. DeRosier received her doctorate from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1992 and completed a two-year fellowship at Duke University Medical Center.[3] She then worked on a five-year federal grant examining bullying and violence prevention in the Wake County Public School System.[3] She observed that teachers and schools were using non-evidence-based programs to improve social and emotional skills and founded the company to address this research-to-practice gap.[4] The company sought Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding for the development of its products.[7] Since 2001, the company has expanded to 75 employees[5] and received $25 million in SBIR funding from agencies such as the U.S. Department of Education, National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.[8] A corporate spin-off, Personalized Learning Games, was founded in 2014 to commercialize 3C Institute's social-emotional learning games.[9]
3C Institute was recognized with the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Tibbetts Award in 2011[10] and received a special Award of Excellence for Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship in 2014 from the U.S. Small Business Administration, which highlights entrepreneurs who find unique and novel solutions to social problems.[3]
3C Institute has developed web- and game-based interventions to address children and adolescents’ behavioral and social problems.[5] The company’s flagship product, Social Skills Group Intervention (S.S.GRIN), received recognition from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) as a mental health promotion winner in 2010.[11] The effectiveness of S.S.GRIN was proven by tracking 1,500 students over three years in 10 schools.[11] S.S.GRIN for High-Functioning Autism is listed in SAMHSA’s National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices [12] and the National Autism Network.[13]
In November 2014, the company released Zoo U, an evidence-based social-emotional learning and assessment game for elementary school students.[14] The game was developed with SBIR funding[15][16] and received a Games for Change nomination for "Most Significant Impact" in 2015.[17]
3C Institute is developing other social-emotional learning games including Stories in Motion, intended for elementary school students with high-functioning autism,[18] and Hall of Heroes, intended for middle school students.[19]
3C Institute also works with outside clients to develop programs to help researchers collect and translate data better.[1] 3C has developed training models for school psychologists and others to help them apply the interventions more accurately and effectively.[1] A notable project has been the Student Curriculum on Resilience Education (SCoRE), which helps first-year college students adjust to the unique stresses of college life and was created in partnership with Leading Education and Awareness for Depression (LEAD).[20][21][22]