TIDAInstitute for Social InquiryInquiry in motion
Understanding leads us to responsible action.
We begin with lived questions, investigate them through social-science inquiry, bring different forms of knowledge into dialogue, and turn understanding into responsible choices and meaningful action.
Where we begin
Our questions arise within communities, in public debates and institutions, and in the work of researchers and practitioners. Their importance comes from their ability to illuminate a significant social reality.
Our work combines rigour with a close engagement with reality, collaboration with critical judgement, and a commitment to action. We take the time to understand each problem fully before shaping solutions.
The TIDA inquiry cycle
Research may reshape the question. Dialogue may reveal a new dimension. Action produces new knowledge. The spiral continues.
We listen before we define.
We listen to communities, local actors, institutions, researchers, and practitioners. We examine how a problem is understood, who is heard, and who has the power to define it—then frame a question that preserves its complexity.
We investigate before we propose.
We use social research, political and legal analysis, comparison, data, history, and contextual knowledge to understand the relationships, institutions, and forces shaping the issue.
Different forms of knowledge deepen understanding.
We bring academic research, professional expertise, local knowledge, lived experience, memory, history, data, and evidence into a shared field, examining every claim critically and ethically.
Dialogue is a way of producing knowledge.
Dialogue creates the space to test assumptions, make differences visible, and bring experiences that conventional research may miss into the process of understanding.
We move from findings to informed choices.
We translate understanding into options, scenarios, frameworks, policies, programmes, or institutional models. Stakeholders help shape possibilities while TIDA protects its intellectual and methodological independence.
Every intervention creates new knowledge.
Where relevant, we accompany action, observe intended and unintended effects, and return what is learned to public life. Learning reshapes the question—and the cycle begins again.
Principles that guide every process
These principles protect the quality, independence, and public value of every TIDA process—from the first question to what returns to society.
We develop each approach from the realities of the society and context concerned.
We understand the problem fully before shaping a response.
We draw on many sources of knowledge while maintaining rigour and discernment.
People help shape decisions from the beginning and throughout the process.
We protect intellectual independence and remain transparent about funding and decisions.
We protect people and information and attend to risk, representation, and unequal power.
We communicate knowledge in language people can understand, question, and use.
We revisit assumptions, name limits, and remain willing to change course.
Different questions require different paths
We select and combine methods according to the question, context, risks, people involved, and kind of knowledge needed.
Knowledge returns to public life
Knowledge becomes meaningful when people can question it, use it, challenge it, and build upon it. Research opens dialogue. Dialogue reshapes understanding. Understanding informs choices. Action generates learning—and learning returns us to society with better questions.
Begin with a question
