An independent, interdisciplinary non-profit initiative that studies who is fit to hold power, and how institutions stay healthy even when the people inside them are not.
We spend enormous effort deciding whether someone is qualified to fly a plane, perform surgery or manage complex systems. But when people are entrusted with extraordinary power over countries, institutions or companies, we still understand surprisingly little about what makes someone truly suitable for that responsibility, or what power itself may do to them.
How can we better understand and assess people's suitability for positions of exceptional authority and responsibility?
How can organisations and institutions be designed so that power is exercised responsibly, and the risks of its concentration and abuse are reduced?
The goal is not to decide who should rule. It is to replace blind spots with evidence, and to build better safeguards around power.
No single discipline can explain power. The Institute brings together researchers and practitioners from different fields to turn an old question into evidence instead of opinion.
We look at three levels together: the individual who holds power, the institution that surrounds them, and the wider social and economic system that rewards or restrains them. We study structures and safeguards. We do not judge or rank individual people.
We welcome researchers, institutions and funders who share this question.