by Claude Revel, Director of Development
SKEMA Publika is now six months old. We continue more than ever in the chosen direction.
This direction arose out of the following observation: we live in a world of large-scale and rapid transitions and transformations. Irrespective of the country we live in, not a single issue to be addressed by politicians is purely domestic or purely sectoral. Public policy makers must have access to reliable, non-compartmentalised information and to possible solutions that are non-partisan, modern, and appropriate for the coming years.
Why Publika?
There is no shortage of think tanks in the world and these are often of a high quality.
Publika was born from the desire to provide thought that is truly international in terms of its sources, its contributors, and the subjects tackled. It was also born from the sense that it is within our capacity to do this, by drawing on SKEMA’s researchers and on the experts we identify in civil society, the business world, academia, and anywhere else.
We produce unbiased, unconventional analyses which are not formatted by doxa and sometimes bridge seemingly unrelated subjects. Our areas of expertise enable us to tackle topics as diverse as how young people feel about political issues impacting the future; artificial intelligence; Big Data and society; sport; young people and work; sustainable finance; strategic intelligence; the international and geopolitical relations of current international conflicts, and others.
The common thread running through all of our work is that, for each subject, we seek to uncover the underlying political issues, the multiple facets, and the as yet only faintly discernible aspects of the transformations now underway and to shape the world of tomorrow, to document them, and to provide policy makers with elements for finding solutions.
Besides media prominence – which is also important to us! –, we wish to become a reference for public policy makers in France and abroad.
How do we work?
For each subject, we assemble informal groups of people with diverse backgrounds who are driven by the desire to bring policy makers solutions. For example, on the subject of young people and work, enlightened by the findings of our study derived from the EYES report and conducted both in person and via social listening, we gathered members of relevant international organisations, but also specialised researchers and… young people.
For each subject where it is pertinent to do so, we carry out online studies and in-depth human analyses. Besides research, experience and field work are essential to us. As we are conscious that others likely use the same approach, we are going to be developing national and international partnerships.
Finally, we are funded by SKEMA, an international school that wished to take on the responsibility of producing high-quality international thought as a contribution to finding solutions. We have complete freedom of thought, drawing on verified facts and thorough analyses. The capacity for productive critical thinking that it affords us is exciting. We will make every effort to ensure it benefits decision-makers and the public debate.