We’re not usually domain experts in the problems we research. We see this as an advantage for the following reasons:
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We’re not biased. We don’t have a research agenda or a pet project we would like to see featured as a solution. This means we can have a more objective view when considering solutions and their potential to solve the problem.
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We think across domains. For every problem we look into, we try to get a balanced picture of what is causing it. It could be a technological barrier, a social, economic or a political one, or a complex combination of these. We try to understand the problem from a systemic view and see whether solutions can come from different, unexpected or not previously considered domains.
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We can make mistakes – and we often do. But that’s ok. Whenever someone points out that an assumption we made is wrong, it’s a step closer to getting it right. We don’t claim to have an absolute knowledge of a problem. We just want to understand it. This position allows us to ask questions that experts might be too self-conscious to ask, or make proposals that an expert would be too cautious to make. However, both avenues can open up new ways of thinking about a problem and potential pathways towards a solution.
