Principles and Philosophy

PRISM centers "3 Es" equity, ecosystems and engagement in its work.

Equity

We believe that the inequality and injustice within our transport systems globally must be addressed including within our efforts to address climate and other environmental crises. We also believe that the research teams and approaches to addressing ISM improvements should also reflect the value of diversity, equity and inclusion.

Ecosystems 

Informal and shared mobility systems emerge out of the absence of public transport options and are operated and sustained by a myriad of small businesses and workers and serve diverse passengers and other small businesses like food vendors essential for sustaining life and communities. Thus, we believe we must take a holistic systems thinking approach that looks beyond ISM as simply a way to get from A to B but services embedded in webs or relationships and communities that must also be understood in order to understand these systems and also pathways to improve services, livelihoods and ultimately communities and places.

Engagement

While our research aims for robustness, we believe much can be gained from engagement and coproduction of research agendas, designs, methods, implementation and sharing. By establishing urban 'living labs' in eight cities (Accra, Bangkok, Beijing, Bogotá, Cape Town, Kumasi, Mumbai, and Metro San José), our approach involves diverse actors in these systems like drivers, operators, passengers, government bodies, and technology firms in a bottom-up research process. This method aims to co-create knowledge and solutions for challenges like affordability, safety, emission reduction, and public health. This process of co-creation also enables networks and coalitions for needed policy, investment and change at local, national and global levels.