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Nonprofit · Palo Alto · United States

Institute for the Future

In research, Institute for the Future stands highest in Social Sciences (#2,292 of 10,521 worldwide), Physical Sciences (#4,398 of 12,888 worldwide) and Social Sciences (#2,207 of 6,365 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Computer Science Applications — Computer Science Applications is 16.2× its share of world research.

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World rank, 2022–2025
#4,919
of 28,054 · #8,023 all time
Rank in United States
#680
of 4,192
Research works
1.4k
▲ 181% vs 2013–17
Citations
16k
11.5 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
26.5%
record average 16.5%
Open access
50%
world 28%

What is Institute for the Future known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022–2025, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Social SciencesDomain #2,292 of 10,521 31.0%213 #2419
Physical SciencesDomain #4,398 of 12,888 24.3%249 #6943
Social SciencesField #2,207 of 6,365 32.0%110 #1607
Computer ScienceField #1,778 of 4,667 36.6%84 #3399
EngineeringField #4,081 of 6,636 17.1%83 #3269

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Institute for the Future sits in it, in the colour of the band that rank falls in. The track under the rate is the rate itself: it carries no world mark, because the world rate differs by field (from about 6% to 21% in this record).

Which of those standings moved

The same fields on both windows: where it stood over the whole record, and where it stands in 2022–2025. The distance is the story, and it is the one thing the two rank columns above cannot show.

  1. Social Sciences#2,419 #2,292
  2. Physical Sciences#6,943 #4,398
  3. Social Sciences#1,607 #2,207
  4. Computer Science#3,399 #1,778
  5. Engineering#3,269 #4,081
all time2022–2025, better2022–2025, worse

A dot further right is a better standing. Fields it was not ranked in over the whole record are left out.

What does Institute for the Future specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Computer Science Applications takes 16.2× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Computer Science ApplicationsSubfield · 22.1 works16×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient, a volume reading rather than an impact one. It surfaces small, lopsided specialities.

Field profile

Location quotient across every field it publishes in: outside the ring is more than an institution of this size would be expected to publish, inside it is less.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 0.63× its world share, 17 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.51× its world share, 15 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.21× its world share, 1 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 1.13× its world share, 10 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.37× its world share, 1 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.66× its world share, 1 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.53× its world share, 5 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.95× its world share, 84 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.63× its world share, 6 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 1.37× its world share, 7 worksEnergyEngineering: 1.00× its world share, 83 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.34× its world share, 37 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.66× its world share, 13 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.86× its world share, 6 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.66× its world share, 8 worksPhysics and AstronomyHealth Professions: 0.77× its world share, 11 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.33× its world share, 35 worksMedicineNursing: 0.63× its world share, 2 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.14× its world share, 0 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.60× its world share, 10 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.70× its world share, 30 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 2.29× its world share, 12 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.08× its world share, 13 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 2.24× its world share, 38 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 1.57× its world share, 110 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Decision Sciences, 2.3×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Institute for the Future?

Ranked on the composite score, Robert Johansen, Bill McKibben and Adriana Bankston lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Institute for the Future.

  1. 1 Robert Johansen United States · #420,456 worldwide 37 citations · 25 works
  2. 2 Bill McKibben United States · #548,280 worldwide 10 citations · 18 works
  3. 3 Adriana Bankston United States · #757,678 worldwide 1 citations · 28 works
  4. 4 Gary S. McDowell United States · #957,966 worldwide 12 citations · 18 works
  5. 5 Julian Cribb United States · #1,360,544 worldwide 3 citations · 23 works
All ranked researchers at Institute for the Future

Which keywords describe research at Institute for the Future?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Innovation, Sustainability, Education, Educational Technology, Knowledge Management, Student Engagement, E-Learning and Distance Learning.

▲ more of its work than of the world’s◆ about the world’s share▼ less than the world’s

Size is fractional works in 2022–2025 in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this institution's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Sustainability41▲ 3.0×57 topics
  2. Education34▲ 3.6×41 topics
  3. Innovation31▲ 5.4×30 topics
  4. Educational Technology29▲ 4.5×28 topics
  5. Machine Learning29▲ 1.61×58 topics
  6. Climate Change25▲ 1.71×56 topics
  7. E-Learning22▲ 3.9×18 topics
  8. Knowledge Management22▲ 7.1×16 topics
  9. Artificial Intelligence20▲ 2.6×30 topics
  10. Globalization20▲ 1.84×42 topics
  11. Big Data19▲ 3.8×19 topics
  12. Student Engagement18▲ 8.2×11 topics
  13. Environmental Impact17▲ 1.79×29 topics
  14. Healthcare16▲ 2.6×19 topics
  15. Online Learning16▲ 3.4×15 topics
  16. Renewable Energy16▲ 1.99×24 topics
  17. Distance Learning15▲ 8.1×7 topics
  18. Higher Education14▲ 4.5×15 topics
  19. Digital Transformation13▲ 4.3×13 topics
  20. Informal Learning12▲ 18×5 topics
  21. Technology12▲ 4.2×12 topics
  22. Engineering Education11▲ 23×4 topics
  23. Lifelong Learning11▲ 9.9×7 topics
  24. Motivation11▲ 4.7×7 topics
  25. STEM Education11▲ 4.2×7 topics
  26. Pedagogy10▲ 3.8×8 topics
  27. Learning Analytics10▲ 15×2 topics
  28. Open Innovation10▲ 29×2 topics
  29. Digital Marketing10▲ 4.2×2 topics
  30. Open Access9▲ 16×2 topics
  31. Educational Projects9▲ 36×1 topic
  32. Remote Learning9▲ 36×1 topic
  33. Biomedical Engineering8▲ 10×2 topics
  34. Digital Divide8▲ 5.9×8 topics
  35. Challenge-Based Learning8▲ 38×1 topic
  36. Hackathons8▲ 38×1 topic
  37. Educational Data Mining8▲ 16×1 topic
  38. Massive Open Online Courses8▲ 16×1 topic
  39. Intrinsic Motivation7▲ 11×3 topics
  40. Competencies6▲ 38×2 topics

Which research topics does Institute for the Future publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: E-Learning and Knowledge Management, Biomedical and Engineering Education, Online Learning and Analytics and Educational Games and Gamification.

E-Learning and Knowledge…9E-Learning and Knowledge Management: 9 fractional worksBiomedical and Engineeri…8Biomedical and Engineering Education: 8 fractional worksOnline Learning and Anal…8Online Learning and Analytics: 8 fractional worksEducational Games and Ga…6Educational Games and Gamification: 6 fractional worksKnowledge Management in Higher Education: 5 fractional worksEngineering Education and Curriculum Development: 4 fractional worksEducational Innovations …4Educational Innovations and Technology: 4 fractional worksExperimental Learning in Engineering: 4 fractional worksEducation and Critical Thinking Development: 4 fractional worksEducational Research and Science Teaching: 4 fractional works
Computer Science ApplicationsBiomedical EngineeringDevelopmental and Educational PsychologyEducation3 others

Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.

  1. 1 E-Learning and Knowledge Management Computer Science Applications 9 works
  2. 2 Biomedical and Engineering Education Biomedical Engineering 8 works
  3. 3 Online Learning and Analytics Computer Science Applications 8 works
  4. 4 Educational Games and Gamification Developmental and Educational Psychology 6 works
  5. 5 Knowledge Management in Higher Education Education 5 works
  6. 6 Engineering Education and Curriculum Development Media Technology 4 works
  7. 7 Educational Innovations and Technology Information Systems 4 works
  8. 8 Experimental Learning in Engineering Media Technology 4 works
  9. 9 Education and Critical Thinking Development Education 4 works
  10. 10 Educational Research and Science Teaching General Agricultural and Biological Sciences 4 works

How open and international is its research?

Against the world’s own shares — the tick on each track. Both are shares of its output, so they sit on one scale and can be read against each other as well as against the world.

openly available50.2%not open49.8%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors41.4%domestic only58.6%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Institute for the Future's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 181% higher than in 2013–2017.

1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Other research institutions in Palo Alto

All research institutions in Palo Alto

Research measures only: rankings here say nothing about teaching, admissions or student experience. Comparable institutions and collaboration partners are in the interactive view on the map.