Methodology

CognioPublic assesses UK public sector organisations against their own stated commitments, measured through the Cogniosynthesis 7-dimensional epistemic framework. The question is not "does this organisation tick every box?" — it's "you said you'd do X; your documents show you're doing Y."

How It Works

1. Promise Profile — We first read each organisation's mission statement, values, EDI strategy, sustainability plans, patient involvement pledges, and any other published commitments. From these we build a structured promise profile: what has this organisation committed to?
2. Document Analysis — We then assess the organisation's board papers, governance documents, and public reports to see how well they follow through on those promises.
3. 7-Lens Scoring — Each document is scored against the promise profile using seven epistemic lenses. A dimension only applies if the organisation committed to it — no one is penalised for dimensions they never claimed.

The 7 Dimensions

Each applicable dimension is scored 0–100. A dimension scores N/A if the organisation never committed to it (this is neutral, not a failure):

• Indigenous Knowledge — Do they honour traditional and local knowledge systems as promised?
• Historical Context — Do they learn from history as their strategy claims?
• Cross-Cultural Wisdom — Do they include diverse perspectives as pledged?
• Scientific Evidence — Is decision-making evidence-based as stated?
• Artistic Perception — Do they value narrative and creative approaches as committed?
• Future Generational — Do they plan long-term as their vision promises?
• Marginalised Voices — Do they include underrepresented groups as pledged?

How Scores Are Calculated

Document scores are averaged across all assessed documents for each organisation. The overall score is the mean of all applicable dimension scores — dimensions marked N/A are excluded from the average, so organisations are only measured against what they promised. Organisations are then ranked within their sector and overall.

What We Score

We analyse publicly available documents including board papers, policy documents, annual reports, strategy pages, and public communications. Only materials published by the organisation on its own website are included. We never access internal or restricted materials.

What We Don't Reveal

To maintain fairness and prevent gaming, we never disclose which specific documents were analysed. The leaderboard shows aggregate scores, the number of documents assessed, and the promise profile themes. Full audit trails are maintained internally.

Scoring Frequency

Scores are updated periodically with full reassessments. Score history is preserved so organisations can track their progress over time.

About CognioEngine

CognioPublic is powered by CognioEngine, an epistemic governance platform that helps organisations understand and improve the breadth of perspectives informing their decisions. For a full assessment and improvement programme, get in touch.