A shared basis for decisions that need more than a promise

Make anticipation useful in a real decision

Emerging technologies bring possibilities before all the evidence is available. A useful response needs to connect scientific promise with people’s needs, practical constraints, responsibilities and alternatives

Compass makes those connections explicit. Someone exploring a communication need, a researcher describing a study and a reviewer considering a proposal may begin in different places. They should still be able to see which question is being asked, what supports an answer and what remains unresolved

The companion website explains the approach and helps readers find a useful starting point. The application supports exploration, assessment and monitoring; specialist knowledge maintenance sits in the separate Cartographer experience

BCI is the available application

The current Explore, Assess and Monitor family is available for brain–computer interfaces. Explore and the published landscape are public. Saving assessments and using a private portfolio require sign-in and the appropriate record access

The shared method and platform support work on other domains. Each adaptation still needs domain evidence, indicators, pathways, responsibilities, examples and validation. Development status differs across those applications

Support for judgment, with responsibility visible

Compass does not certify a technology, approve a project or determine an individual’s suitability for a system. Its outputs depend on the evidence, inputs and decision context. People and institutions remain responsible for scientific, ethical, legal and practical decisions

Choosing a stakeholder perspective helps orient the questions. It does not confer professional authority or access to another person’s private assessment

Public cases are source-based records, with coverage and gaps that need to be inspected. An exploration draft is local to the browser. A saved assessment is a separate record that can be changed. Understanding those distinctions is part of using Compass well

Read about knowledge maintenance and stewardship →

Developing the method and its applications

Useful contributions can include subject expertise, evidence review, experience of living or working with a technology, testing of guidance, and evaluation in a concrete decision setting. Domain adaptation requires these contributions to be brought together around a clearly defined scope

These pages describe potential forms of collaboration. It does not announce partnerships, funding commitments or new domain launches

Ways to contribute to Compass →