The Franxini Project
About Us
To address societal challenges, close collaboration between researchers and politicians is essential. The Franxini project was launched three years ago to strengthen the bridge between these two worlds. It promotes mutual understanding by connecting scientists and politicians and facilitating a dialogue at eye-level.
The Franxini Project is committed to a trust-based cooperation between politics and research. We approach this from two sides: On the one hand, we help to translate scientific findings into the language of politics. On the other hand, we show which questions from politics need a scientific answer and which do not. The Franxini Project thereby offers representatives from politics and administration direct access to scientific expertise, while researchers learn where their expertise is needed in politics and administration and how it can be used.
Why
Franxini?
The Franxini Project is named after Stefano Franscini: a teacher, statistician, publicist, and member of Switzerland's first Federal Council. Born to Ticino farmers, Franscini came from a poor background and early on recognised the central importance education holds for the common good. As a politician and scientist himself, he mediated between these two worlds and was convinced that political activities should be based on reliable information and factual analyses. As a Federal Councillor, Franscini played a key role in laying the foundations for Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office, for establishing what is now the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), and for putting into place Switzerland’s first federal administration.
As a grassroots think tank, Reatch has been advocating for a research-friendly culture for the last ten years. With the Franxini Project, we strengthen this commitment and promote fruitful cooperation between researchers and politicians. Thanks to our extensive network of researchers and politicians, we speak the languages of both politics and science. This enables us to bring together stakeholders from both worlds.
