Knology is a non-profit research organization dedicated to producing practical social science for a better world. Knology was founded in 2012, and our transdisciplinary team consists of over 20 social scientists, writers, and educators who draw on their varied areas of expertise to untangle complex social issues. Through our research, we seek to help news organizations and other producers create more effective media, improve human relationships with the biosphere, to help cultural institutions become agents of social change, and to improve individual and collective wellbeing. We study these topics by examining people’s behaviors and the broader systems that shape our actions.

Our general approach is guided by the following ideals:

1. Research and Practice – Instead of creating knowledge in a vacuum, our research is designed to have direct applications that reflect practitioners’ needs, goals, and the real-world constraints under which they operate;
2. Collaboration – At every step of the process (be it formulating questions, designing methods and tools, analyzing data, or interpreting findings), we work with our partners to produce co-created knowledge that helps them deepen their missions and effectively engage with their communities;
3. Cultural Responsiveness – Our work foregrounds the lived experiences and priorities of those we study, and utilizes a culturally responsive framework to ensure the production of context-specific, culturally appropriate knowledge (https://knology.org/article/resource-culturally-responsive-research/);
4. Openness – Our work process is characterized by both open-mindedness and transparency, as we actively seek out diverse voices and alternative perspectives and are committed to making our research accessible to a variety of audiences;
5. Capacity Building – Through workshops, training sessions, and the production of accessible reports, we build our partners’ capacities in ways that help them integrate research into their day-to-day operations.