Think tank · Science policy · Beaverton, Oregon
Roots of Progress Institute (RPI) is a US-based 501(c)(3) public educational nonprofit that works to establish a “new philosophy of progress” for the 21st century and to build a “culture of progress.” It frames progress as something that can be understood, supported, and accelerated rather than treated as automatic or inevitable, and it aims to do this through research and community-building activities centered on progress studies—spanning history, philosophy, and practical public-facing education about scientific, technological, and industrial progress.
Programmatically, RPI runs (1) a fellowship intended to accelerate the careers of “progress intellectuals” (writers/researchers who communicate progress studies to broader audiences), (2) an annual multi-day Progress Conference that convenes writers, builders, policymakers, academics, and other progress-community leaders, and (3) additional community infrastructure such as online spaces (e.g., Progress Forum / Progress Studies Slack referenced by RPI). A distinctive strategic emphasis is “investing in people for a limited time” to produce sustained intellectual output: RPI’s fellowship is explicitly structured around improving fellows’ ability to write and build audiences so that independent writers can continue producing progress studies content after the program. RPI also launched “Progress in Medicine,” a summer career exploration program for high school students, as an initial course offering (with scholarship availability noted by RPI) that uses real-world mentorship and case studies in the history and future of medicine and biotechnology to steer young people toward “builder” careers.
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30 high school students are learning about the history and future of medicine, biotech, health Starting June 15th, the Roots of Progress team brought together 30 teenagers to learn about Progress in Medicine. These talented, ambitious high schoolers are choosing to spend six week
Announcing Progress Conference 2026Oct 8–11 in Berkeley, CA: A four-day event to connect people in the progress movement The post Announcing Progress Conference 2026 appeared first on Roots of Progress Institute .
Save the date: Progress Conference 2026Last year we hosted the second annual Progress Conference. The 2025 conference was bigger than 2024: more days and more people, bringing together over 350 builders, academics, policy makers, investors, and writers who care about progress. Many attendees said it was yet again one
Announcing Progress in Medicine, a high school summer career exploration programStarting today, high school students can apply to Progress in Medicine, a new program by the Roots of Progress Institute. What the Progress in Medicine program offers In this summer program, high school students will explore careers in in medicine, biotech, health policy, and lon
Reflections on Progress Conference 2025Dates for next year: October 8th-11th 2026, at Lighthaven The post Reflections on Progress Conference 2025 appeared first on Roots of Progress Institute .
More great speakers join Progress Conference 2025Progress Conference 2025 is on track to once again be a main event for the progress community, now bringing together well over 300 attendees. Over the last two months we’ve added: Last year, we were cautiously optimistic that 100-150 people might join our inaugural event. Now we
We have two new tracks for our 2025 Blog-Building Intensive FellowshipWrite about agriculture or health, longevity and biotech Applications are now open for the third Blog-Building Intensive fellowship! This year we have two new tracks available for applicants to our Blog Building Intensive Fellowship: agriculture and health, longevity or biotech.
Announcing the 2025 Roots of Progress Blog-Building IntensiveImprove your writing skills, learn from leading progress builders and intellectuals, and publish essays about progress Applications are now open for the 2025 cohort of The Roots of Progress Blog-Building Intensive, a 10-week program for aspiring progress writers. Last year, 24 fe
Save the date: Progress Conference 2025A four-day event to connect people in the progress movement: Berkeley Oct 16-19 The post Save the date: Progress Conference 2025 appeared first on Roots of Progress Institute .
Looking back on the 2024 Blog-Building Intensive FellowshipThis fall, our second class of 24 blog-building fellows completed our eight-week blog building intensive. The second interaction of our fellowship program was a success: several RPI fellows are in the vanguard of the growing progress studies movement. You’ll find them leading the
RPI announced that the Progress in Medicine program began and described a cohort of 30 high school students exploring careers in medicine, biotech, and related fields as part of the program’s inaugural summer offering.
Announcing Progress Conference 2026RPI posted the announcement for Progress Conference 2026, including the event’s timing and location details on its announcements hub.
Roots of Progress Institute posts on X (April 13, 2026)RPI shared an X post pointing readers to a “full announcement” link (content not captured in the snippet returned to this tool).
We are now the Roots of Progress Institute (RPI)RPI published a “new name and logo announcement” describing the transition to the Roots of Progress Institute identity.
The Roots of Progress is now a nonprofit organization (historic)Founder Jason Crawford announced the nonprofit transition for The Roots of Progress and explained the mission and early fundraising and tax-deductibility context.
We’re hiring: Event Manager & Education Program Operations ManagerRPI announced open roles for an Event Manager and an Education Program Operations Manager, describing them as full-time, remote positions in the US.