Tacit knowledge
Methods, practical know-how and intuitions that are written down nowhere and live only in people's heads.
Your know-how, methods and results appear in no indicator. Cortex measures them with the ICRI, then makes them known through science communication.
Five pillars, a score out of 100 and a decision-oriented report.
Articles, videos, podcasts, comics, talks and workshops.
An indicative online diagnostic, no commitment, immediate result.
Measure the scientific capital of your R&D, draw an action plan from it, and make it defensible before a committee, a partner or an investor.
Discover the ICRIMaking your work clear and shareable: articles, infographics, comics, videos, talks and books.
See our formatsA laboratory's value is not limited to what it publishes or patents. Most of it remains invisible, and is lost in silence. This is what we call invisible scientific capital.
Methods, practical know-how and intuitions that are written down nowhere and live only in people's heads.
When a researcher leaves, years of expertise leave the organisation without any usable trace.
Results judged negative or leads set aside that were worth their weight in gold, when reread at the right moment.
The Invisible R&D Capital Index (ICRI) is based on 26 factual indicators, entered in an online questionnaire that you complete at your own pace, with automatic saving. It produces an overall score out of 100, five sub-scores and a personalised, decision-oriented interpretation.
R&D full-time equivalents, training, mentoring, three-year retention, coverage of critical skills.
Prototypes and proofs of concept, technology readiness, reproducibility, documented procedures, FAIR data, patents.
Active partnerships, publications and presentations, conferences and awards, attractiveness to talent, visibility among opinion leaders.
Identified dormant assets, valorisation options, potential value, external funding, opportunities within eighteen months.
Non-market benefits, control of scientific and technical risks, alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals.
An R&D department knows what it spends and what it publishes. It rarely knows what it holds, what it risks losing, and what it could already valorise. Four situations, and what the ICRI changes in each.
Repeating the ICRI a year later shows exactly what has improved.
Take the diagnosticA first, immediate insight into what your organisation does not yet measure. Two minutes, no commitment, results on screen.
Carried out with our team, the full ICRI then reads your capital across 26 factual indicators.
Our work draws on a network of PhDs and on verifiable references.
A public research laboratory of École polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris.
A research laboratory and its start-up: the ICRI read at the boundary between public research and business.
Our approach draws on leading scientists and a network of expert PhDs.
Vulgariser, c'est transformer (To popularise is to transform): our editorial expertise, recognised and published.
See the book →Laboratories, universities and companies, in their own words.
“At the Energy4Climate Centre, we are convinced that the major climate, energy and environmental transitions require as much scientific excellence as entrepreneurial daring. Thank you to Cortex for helping to foster this culture within our research and innovation communities.”
“I was delighted to carry out this first collaboration, which will certainly not be the last. The company was able to adapt to our constraints and deliver quality work. Thank you.”
“We were impressed by the remarkable quality of the writing and science communication provided by Cortex.”
“A very good company, very attentive, deadlines met, a very well made exhibition and a very good workshop, a speaker with an excellent level of knowledge and a gifted teacher. The audience really enjoyed it; you do not need to be a scientist to take part. I highly recommend them.”
“A very good understanding of our needs and a tailor-made workshop.”
“Thank you to Tatiana Kačan of Le Cortex and to Laure Malherbe for their sessions as part of our Business Simulation and Business Plan module. We will be delighted to work with you again next year.”
“The Essonne departmental council called on Cortex to run a participatory workshop on biomimicry for the general public. It was particularly appreciated.”
“Cortex was responsive and adaptable throughout our discussions, and the three workshops offered matched the needs we had expressed perfectly. A wonderful experience!”
“Thank you for your work! We are delighted to have worked with you on our events across the university library network. Until next time!”
Founded in 2022, Cortex also publishes the science communication media Cortex_sciences. It is led by a molecular biologist and draws on a network of around thirty scientific contributors.
What we do: make the scientific capital of R&D organisations visible, measurable and valuable.
Two master's degrees in biology, author and freelance journalist. She chairs the company Cortex and the Cortex_sciences media, and leads the consultancy's editorial vision.
Invisible scientific capital is the share of an R&D organisation's value that is neither measured nor documented: tacit knowledge, unwritten methods, research intuitions, results set aside. It is often lost when people change jobs or leave.
With the ICRI, the Invisible R&D Capital Index: 26 factual indicators, entered in an online questionnaire that you complete at your own pace, spread across five weighted pillars: scientific human capital (20%), technological capital and know-how (25%), relational capital and reputation (25%), opportunity capital (15%), societal and environmental capital (15%).
Three things: deciding where to focus research effort on the basis of measured elements; supporting a funding application, an evaluation or a due diligence with a dated and sourced assessment; giving non-scientific stakeholders a shared basis for discussion, whether an executive committee, a supervisory body, a partner or an investor. Carried out after the actions have been implemented, a second ICRI measures what has improved.
Companies with R&D activities and public research organisations (laboratories, research units, universities, institutes) that want to make their scientific capital visible, measurable and valuable to their peers, partners, funders and investors.
With the ICRI Essential: an overall score out of 100, a sub-score out of 5 for each pillar, a reading of each pillar, recommendations and the expected gains. The ICRI Strategic adds the cross-pillar analysis, the interactive map of your research environment, costed scenarios and a roadmap at 6, 18 and 36 months. In both cases, the report can be presented to management, a supervisory body or an executive committee, as well as to partners, funders or investors.
Cortex does not carry out accounting or financial valuations of assets. We measure and valorise scientific capital in the broad sense, including its invisible part, to make it readable and actionable.