Terra Cognita

Sharing Science : Knowledge Justice and Real Impact

More than two million new research papers are published each year - many of which on publicly funds. Online open-access is a plus, but still does not allow the new ideas or methods to be shared widely, efficiently and fairly. How can people who are illiterate use new insights from environmental sciences in their daily lives? How can someone who suffers from mental health issues get to understand what the new insights from neuroscience or genetics tell, or volunteer their own experience and time to help science? How can younger and older citizens engage more with issues which bear on their vote or enrich their perspectives, such as conservation, algorithmic-fairness, virology, or the origins of the human species ?     


Our way to curate science creates a form of knowledge-injustice : the gap is getting bigger between those who engage and those who don't engage with new ideas, methods and findings.  


Our organization was founded precisely to change this.  We help share science, and make sure it reaches people who need it  and are curious to discover and participate in it.



How we work

  • Why we differ

    Science journalists, documentaries, sciences museums and centers exist to take ideas to people.


     We work in the opposite way : we start with people, and work out how to make ideas come to them. Our experience comes from decades of work in cognitive science, psychology and philosophy looking at how we engage with concepts, methods and formats. 


    We don't have one size-fits-all projects. We work with people and institutions, one content at a time, and use your help to do three things : 

    1. Research to understand which bariers exist between individuals and the knowledge they wish to engage with 

    2.  Design and test new solutions to remove these obstacles, or work better with them. For sometimes, a minus can become a plus....

    3. Grow the engagement of individuals and citizens, by empowering them to share and contribute more widely in the scientific process. 


    We publish reports on our research on the science of science communication and participation, and share them with other actors. 



  • Identify barriers

    Only one-in-six American engages with scientific news [1]. This is not because the information is not there -especially now with internet access, TV programmes and museums. The problem holds elsewhere, sometimes with other issues of access, literacy, lack of resources or education. Yet everyone, old or young, is curious to know about something and has knowledge or experience to share. What are barriers that keep people away from engaging with scientiic ideas - when they want to? 


    Is the communication too passive and didactic? Are the topics too distant? Is the format not bringing up attention to the main issues? Is the information in conflict with other interests and values? 


    These are the questions we raise, and address using surveys and participatory research. 



  • Test solutions

    What can be done to share knowledge better? We work with designers, engineers, institutions, NGOs and of course local communities to shape new participatory strategies - ranging from physical exhibits and objects, online games, participatory forums. 


      

  • Grow engagement

    What works can be measured. We use science to evaluate our projects, and make sure to improve them with the continued participation of actors engaged in the process. 

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