wordcloud CSS expertise

Who we are

Critical Scientists Switzerland (CSS) is a Swiss association according to article 60 et seqq. in the Swiss Civil Code that promotes independent science and research as well as alternative research approaches and agendas in order to help our society during the unavoidable transformation towards a socio-ecological way of life. CSS was founded on March 16, 2015 and is based in Bern (since 2021).

Our principles

CSS believes that:

  • Scientific research has to be conducted with ethical and moral principles, for the public good and aim at providing sustainable solutions and tools for current and future social and environmental problems.
  • Public research agendas have to be transparent and independent from economic and political influence.
  • New scientific discoveries and technological developments have to be assessed for their benefit to society. Thereby public and environmental safety always have priority over private interests.

What we want to achieve

CSS aims to build a strong network of independent scientists that can collaborate and assist each other in order to provide high quality scientific information for experts and a lay audience that:

  • Promotes critical thinking and discourse.
  • Identifies remaining important knowledge gaps about our unsustainable way of life and associated dangers and about possible alternative solutions related to environmental and social sustainability.
  • Analyses the ecological, health and socioeconomic aspects of new technological developments.
  • Facilitates multifaceted reporting in the media.
  • Contributes to the development of a science which concentrates on sustainable methods and applications to repair past damages for the benefit of society and the environment.

Our aims

CSS aims to:

  • Promote long-term environmental sustainability and social equity.
  • Promote new forms of discourse, interaction and communication within the scientific community and between science and society.
  • Contribute to the termination of damage done with existing technologies.
  • Promote independent science and research to improve the quality of basic science as well as regulatory science used in the risk analysis of existing and emerging technologies and their products..
  • Promote the application of the precautionary principle where lack of knowledge and scientific uncertainties might critically or irrevocably endanger the environment, biodiversity, social integrity and/or human health.
  • Elaborate scientific, ethical and legal criteria with respect to the development and application of science and technology, by integrating transparency, accountability, social equity, public information, public participation and access to justice.
  • Support early-warning scientists and whistleblowers and promote their protection from discrimination.

How we work

To reach these goals, CSS follows an interdisciplinary approach bringing together independent scientific expertise from different fields and uses innovative means such as the arts and participatory approaches to research. Specifically CSS works by:

  • Exchanging research ideas, concepts and results within the association.
  • Analysing the current scientific landscape.
  • Providing independent expertise and information to the public.
  • Collaborating with national and international organisations.
  • Cooperating with citizens’ movements.
  • Increasing public visibility of CSS and the goals it pursues by means of Internet presence, public presentations and media work.
  • Challenging scientists, politicians, media and the industry if they produce misleading or inaccurate information.
  • Informing the public about what is known as scientific facts and where there are still major uncertainties within the scientific community.
  • Exposing major knowledge gaps and/or biased (including one-sided) scientific information.
  • Promoting a critical discourse of the current major societal challenges related to scientific advancements by organising topic-related conferences.

 pdfCSS_Portrait.pdf