A non-profit think tank in Vienna. With research, consulting and our database, we make visible the assumptions that otherwise operate unnoticed. So they become a matter of choice – and solutions come into view.
ProblemWhen climate action sounds like sacrifice and cooperation like naivety, that rarely lies in the cause itself – more often in assumptions that travel silently.
ApproachWe make them visible and show their effects in the research, so that they no longer decide in the background but become a matter of choice.
AimThen solutions come into view, cooperation succeeds, well-being grows.
In four steps we show how hidden assumptions can be recognised – and how to choose ones that serve the goal.
“Climate action pays off.”
Talk · Business Allianz Klima · September 2026
Strategically sound – and it activates an assumption that works in the opposite direction.
What keeps being told
Also rests on: humans stand apart from nature, which counts insofar as it serves them · human needs are unlimited · and 5 further assumptions.
What it rests on
Also found in: people cooperate mainly when rewarded or punished · sustainability follows external requirements · and 2 further narratives.
How research measures it
This assumption clearly corresponds to the construct. Measured as their priority over intrinsic goals.
What it is linked to
Goes with somewhat lower well-being.
r = −0.22 · 2,216 people in 14 studies
Further links in the database: less pro-environmental behaviour, more social dominance orientation.
“Say openly how serious things are? People can’t be trusted with that.”
Paraphrased · conversation between a ministry and civil society · Vienna 2019
Most people support climate policy. Hardly anyone believes it.
What keeps being told
What it rests on
How research measures it
Systematic misjudgement of how many others share a position.
What the data show
Almost twice as many agree as people assume.
6,119 people, representative
“When it comes to their own place, people come together of their own accord.”
Constructed example sentence · in the style of a funding call
Here the research supports the assumption: people who act from their own values and needs report greater well-being.
What keeps being told
Also rests on: humans are fundamentally trustworthy · contributing is a human need · and one further assumption.
What it rests on
Also found in: sustainability flows from inner conviction · technology is shaped by conscious choices · and 3 further narratives.
How research measures it
This assumption partly corresponds to the construct. Measured as the need for autonomy.
What it is linked to
Goes with clearly higher well-being.
r = +0.46 · 12,906 people in 36 studies
Three offerings, one method: making assumptions visible and tying them to research.
You choose deliberately which assumptions you address.
We show where your communication contradicts its own goal, and practise with your team until they can spot the assumptions behind it themselves.
Practical experience and new cases
We tie assumptions to measured effects.
With our academic partners we study how narratives act on well-being and behaviour through foundational assumptions.
Scientific rigour and new findings
Talking about stories without knowing the specialist literature.
A register of the assumptions inside widespread stories, together with what research knows about their effects. An excerpt will appear with the new website.
An order that grows more precise with every case
Four disciplines, one perspective: making assumptions visible and open to choice. Experience from research, facilitation and business.
Buddhist studies and empirical psychology: how assumptions shape experience. Since the climate movement, with a focus on societal narratives.
Ecological economics, sustainability research. Process facilitator and moderator for transformation projects, including the Austrian Climate Council.
Consultant and artist between systems thinking and creativity, master’s degree with distinction from Cambridge.
Social entrepreneur focused on green finance, speaker and transformation coach.
Analysis of its own communication, 2026.
Pilot studyInstitute for Strategic Organisational Communication. Joint proposal on energy literacy in the Vienna area, decision pending.
Research partnerDepartment of Environmental Systems Sciences. Decision research in sustainability transformations, in the same proposal.
Research partnerTell us what you are working on. We will tell you honestly whether we can help.
Arrange a conversationOr directly: kontakt@flourishingsociety.org
