Promoting Youth Well-Being Through Evidence-Based Programs
3C Institute’s mission is to promote the health and well-being of youth and families by creating and scaling evidence-based programs and practices. Since its founding in 2001 by Dr. Melissa DeRosier, the company has focused on innovative digital technologies to support social, emotional, and behavioral health as broadly as possible. With an in-house multi-disciplinary team of 40 researchers, software developers, graphic artists, editors, and UX designers, 3C has built and monetized its robust technology infrastructure.
3C has Received Over 100 SBIR Awards
3C has received more than 100 SBIR awards over the life of the company, totaling over $55M from the Department of Health and Human Services (including NIH, CDC, and ACL) and the Department of Education. 3C has leveraged these SBIRs to grow its technologies and digital capacities in strategic ways, including user-centered and efficacy research to establish high engagement, quality, and effectiveness.
For companies that focus on social impact, like 3C, it can be extremely difficult to interest investors. SBIR funds were critical for the survival and growth of 3C. Additionally, SBIRs enabled 3C to both develop products and conduct rigorous research to show that each product achieved its intended goals, a true focus on R&D that can be difficult when a company receives investment capital. Further, non-dilutive SBIR funds ensured 3C could maintain its focus on R&D while also marketing and selling its products.
Transition to a Successful Services Company
In 2008, 3C transitioned to a successful services company, tailoring its SBIR-funded technologies for external clients. 3C now partners with dozens of universities, non-profits, and research institutes across the globe to create and scale custom web applications for behavioral intervention, professional development, and data systems across a broad array of health fields.
In 2024, 3C embarked on a transformation to expand use of its SBIR-developed software tools. Building on more than a decade of R&D and $10M in SBIR funding, 3C launched Quest as a software as a service (SaaS) product in January of 2025. Quest is a full-feature system for creating surveys, collecting data, managing databases, and visualizing results. Quest uniquely offers built-in developmental accommodations and gamified design elements to make it possible to collect high quality data with children as young as 5 years of age. In effect, Quest reduces time and labor costs for research in the social, emotional, and behavioral health fields, and directly engages youth in the data collection process, so they have a voice in the research and evaluations that affect their lives. Further, Quest is HIPAA and FERPA compliant, unlike some competitors, making it possible to securely collect data with confidence.
Launching New Products
The company is now replicating this formula with other products. For example, 3C is launching SHARE (Student Health Assessment, Response, and Evaluation), a behavioral health assessment platform for school mental health providers working with K-12 students. SHARE is currently undergoing SBIR-funded pilot testing in school districts across the U.S. and will be released for commercialization in fall 2025.
SBTDC Assistance
3C first became an SBTDC client in 2003. In those early years, the SBTDC helped 3C navigate both the business world and the SBIR process. Dr. DeRosier participated in multiple conferences, workshops, and roundtables, as well as one-on-one counseling. 3C also benefitted from the SBTDC’s internship program. As the company transitions to a SaaS business, the SBTDC is providing essential consultation and connections to expand globally.
Contact: Melissa DeRosier
Email: derosier@3cisd.com
Websites: 3C - 3cisd.com and Quest quest4data.com
| 
