Change happens with people.
Trusted coaching, accountability and a community of experienced practitioners create space for honest reflection and challenge.
A research foundation · 2026
What matters most, over a lifetime.
Base Camp takes a long view of human development. The Harvard Study of Adult Development traces its origins to 1938, with early participants first assessed in 1939, and has followed lives over decades to explore what supports health, relationships and well-being as people age.
RESEARCH SELECTION · REVIEWED 7 OCTOBER 2026
The cornerstone · 1938 to today
The Harvard Study of Adult Development
The study began with two groups of men: 268 Harvard graduates and 456 men who grew up in Boston’s inner-city neighborhoods. Researchers have examined how early experience, psychosocial factors and biology relate to healthy aging, late-life well-being and the quality of close relationships. A second-generation study is now extending that work.
One of its best-known insights is that strong, supportive relationships are associated with better health and well-being in later life. This is a finding to take seriously, not a shortcut or guarantee: meaningful lives are shaped by many factors.
1938Grant Study project begins
724men across the original Grant and Glueck cohorts
2cohorts with distinct social backgrounds
The original cohorts were men and were not representative of everyone. The findings are important, but should not be treated as universal or as proof that any one service causes a particular life outcome.
What this means for Base Camp
Long-term outcomes begin with what matters to you.
The research informs our perspective; the following are Base Camp’s program principles, not claims tested by the Harvard study.
Your definition of progress.
We begin with your purpose, strengths and context, then shape development around the outcomes that matter in your life and work.
Insight put into practice.
Progress is revisited over time through agreed priorities, practical action and regular review—not promised as a quick fix.
One current signal · AI & work
Skills matter when they lead to opportunity.
We keep technology in view, while staying centred on people, relationships and the pathways that make growth meaningful.
The next AI divide is between learning and earning
This perspective argues that AI literacy alone does not guarantee access to work or income; practical projects, professional networks and routes into opportunity matter too.
Base Camp question How can people turn new knowledge into demonstrated capability and a realistic next step?
Read the analysisThe article is written by leaders at Goodwall and the HP Foundation; its views are the authors’ own. For broader AI data, see Stanford HAI’s 2026 AI Index.
Bring it into your work