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HomeEditorials and CommentariesEditorials2012WHY FACTS?

2012

WHY FACTS?

Philippe Kourilsky
Translation(s):
POURQUOI FACTS ? [en]

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1Working to create a science of field actions (FACTS = Field ACTions Science): a hare-brained academic dream? Don’t you believe it!

2Two billion of the planet’s 7 billion people live in extreme poverty. But this enormous scandal hides another: a large proportion of the resources applied to combating poverty –up to 70% according to some sources– are simply frittered away. It is a triple crime, against not only the world’s poor, but also the public and private donors whose generosity is abused, and human spirit. Human ingenuity can –and must– do better, because this intolerable waste of resources is not unavoidable. It is largely the result of cultural and organizational flaws.

3The work actually done in the field, its successes, its innovations and its failures are only rarely checked and/or published. People mostly talk about their plans for purposes of communication and propaganda–and very little about their results. Many NGOs behave in this way. Of course they need to raise funds, and competition is fierce! But it is equally fierce for scientists, for whom the golden rule is always to publish their work after it has been validated by peer review. Anyone can then read the results, hold them as reliable and make use of them. And so science moves forward. Where would science –and institutions like the CNRS (French National Center for Scientific Research) or the NIH (National Institute of Health, in the USA) – be without scientific publications?

4Nothing remotely resembling this practice exists amongst the vast majority of those organizations involved in combating world poverty. Hence a series of disastrous outcomes. No publication means: no capitalization of knowledge and experience gained; errors are repeated and successes are not. The serious lack of Evaluation of the actions is very lacking; field practitioners do not receive the recognition they deserve, whilst local and international communities remain unstructured. The bottom line is a massive loss of efficiency. The solution is obvious: introduce publication of results after validation by peer review.

  • 1  FACTS Reports www.factsreports.org

5It is against this background that the FACTS Reports1 digital journal was launched, with the backing of the Institut Veolia Environnement, its Foresight Committee and its Managing Director. Naturally, access to the journal is free and universal. Everyone, from sponsors to NGOs and field practitioners, recognizes its worth, and even its necessity. It is not an easy undertaking, but it is working! Dozens of articles are already available online, and fifteen special issues of the journal are now in preparation. The HEC international business school has recently launched a FACTS option, allowing students to take part in field experiments and assist in writing up the results. Partnerships have also been formed, including one with the Fondation de France in Haiti.

6But what about France? Well, France is no stranger to poverty, and many local NGOs working in the field hardly ever publish their results, raising all the same issues as we observe in developing countries. FACTS-France is therefore just about to be started.

  • 2  Le Manifeste de l’altruisme, Odile Jacob, 2011
  • 3  Altruisme et Altruité: HEC research workshop (January 17, 2012) and working paper by H.Defalvard ( (...)

7What is the most difficult challenge for FACTS? It is changing the culture of those working in the field. Strangely, one of the problems is the culture of generosity, which people instinctively believe can justify anything and achieve everything. But that is not true. Generosity in itself is not enough. My own thoughts about the concept of “altruity” as I called it2 have led me to demonstrate that its far-reaching ramifications extend into economics (as shown by the work of H. Defalvard3) and political philosophy. The idea of altruity is indissociable from of a rational duty. It is our duty to combat poverty, but it is also our duty to do so in a rational, ‘scientific’ way, using methods already proven to be effective. Creating a field actions science is therefore a realistic, essential and urgent undertaking that applies reason to achieve outcomes that generosity alone can never achieve.

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Notes

1  FACTS Reports www.factsreports.org

2  Le Manifeste de l’altruisme, Odile Jacob, 2011

3  Altruisme et Altruité: HEC research workshop (January 17, 2012) and working paper by H.Defalvard (Chair of ESS-UPEMLV)

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References

Electronic reference

Philippe Kourilsky, “WHY FACTS?”Field Actions Science Reports [Online], Editorials, Online since 08 March 2012, connection on 15 January 2026. URL: http://journals.openedition.org/factsreports/1351

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About the author

Philippe Kourilsky

Professor, Collège de France

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The text only may be used under licence CC BY 4.0. All other elements (illustrations, imported files) may be subject to specific use terms.

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