About us

Our Organization

An engineering organization, not a movement of conviction — how we're structured, governed, and funded.

Our method

Five Poles. Five domains.

The Rational Project operates as a climate-mobilization engineering organization rather than a movement of conviction. Rather than a fixed assembly line, each of our five Poles owns a domain of its own — and reaches into the others whenever a project calls for it:

Research & Data

Economic & regulatory analysis

Isolates sources of economic or regulatory inefficiency — energy markets, supply chains, tax mechanisms — and the data to back it up.

Policy & Int'l Relations

Policy & regulatory strategy

Turns analysis into actionable recommendations, tested against real regulatory frameworks and diplomatic realities.

Engineering & Projects

Prototypes & pilots

Builds and tests the technical solutions our models point to, when a recommendation lends itself to one.

Communication & Events

Our public presence

Manages how we show up — our presence online and in person, from this site to the rooms where we make our case.

Partnerships & Budget

External relations & resourcing

The link between outside and inside: partnerships and sponsors on one side, and the resources that keep the other four Poles running on the other.

A project is only approved if it meets three cumulative criteria: analytical rigor (backed by verifiable data), economic viability (it must hold up without depending indefinitely on subsidies), and consistency with our thesis.

Governance

Three levels, one chain of accountability

The Assembly of Architects

All members, consulted on major strategic decisions: a new thesis, a new Pole, a structuring partnership.

Pole referents

One referent per Pole, responsible for day-to-day execution, recruitment, and project tracking within their Pole.

The Direction

A small team that ensures overall consistency across Poles and arbitrates in case of disagreement between referents.

The Rational Project currently receives no external funding. The project runs entirely on the volunteer commitment of its members — see how that may change — reach out and we can figure it out case by case.

Joining

How a new Architect gets started

01

Apply

A short application via our online form (2 minutes).

02

Get started right away

Immediate access to a first set of projects that don't require prior coordination.

03

Pole assignment

Based on what you shared in your application, you're assigned to a Pole shortly after.

04

Meet your Pole

This is where the human part begins: once assigned, you're put in touch with the Architects already working in your Pole.

05

Grow

Depending on your skills and investment, take on larger tasks or lead a Pole or project over time.

We evaluate applications on three criteria: motivation, applicable skills, and alignment with our method.

Partnerships

Four kinds of partners

Each collaboration is assessed case by case for its consistency with our thesis and the absence of conflict of interest.

Academic

Co-research and data access with universities and research institutions.

Institutional

Local authorities and public bodies helping test or adopt our recommendations.

Non-profit

Other organizations engaged on climate or youth issues, working alongside rather than instead of us.

Corporate

Sponsorship, and real-world testing of our recommendations.

Accountability & independence

Where we stand today

We are a young organization: our legitimacy today rests more on the clarity of our method than on a track record of results. We commit to publishing a periodic account of our actions and their measurable results, even when that account is still modest.

Our political and ideological independence is the subject of a dedicated declaration. For details on the site's publisher and hosting, see our Legal Notice. For any question about our organization, our method, or our governance, write to us at research@therationalproject.com.