Research That Matters
CROWN’s academic collaboration programme connects the rigour of university-based research with CROWN’s mission-driven focus on producing evidence that changes policy. Our model is simple: universities bring deep methodological expertise, institutional credibility, and access to peer review. CROWN brings a clearly defined research problem, a growing dataset, and a direct pathway from research findings to legislative impact.
Our developing relationships with the University of Geneva and ETH Zürich illustrate this model in practice.
Emerging Academic Relationships
University of Geneva
CROWN is in active dialogue with the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, exploring collaboration on the CROWN Discrimination Index — the measurement instrument that quantifies hair discrimination prevalence, severity, and economic impact.
The collaboration encompasses survey instrument design, statistical validation methodology, and the integration of hardware-verified diagnostic data with psychosocial measurement. The CDI pilot study, currently in progress, represents the first systematic attempt to measure hair discrimination prevalence in a European population.
ETH Zürich
CROWN is in advanced discussions with a professor in biosensors and bioelectronics at ETH Zürich regarding the supervision of student projects on CROWN’s multi-sensor diagnostic device. The proposed collaboration would encompass semester projects, master theses, and a potential Pioneer Fellowship application (CHF 150,000, 18 months).
ETH students working on CROWN projects engage with real-world, multi-modal sensing challenges — integrating optical micro-imaging, near-infrared spectroscopy, and impedance sensing into a miniaturised platform. The work has direct social impact and clear publication potential.
Collaboration Formats
CROWN offers several structured collaboration formats, each designed to produce peer-reviewable research with direct policy relevance.
Joint Grant Applications
CROWN collaborates with university partners on grant applications to national and European funding bodies. Relevant programmes include:
- Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF): Fundamental and applied research across social sciences and engineering
- Innosuisse: Applied research partnerships between academic institutions and organisations
- Horizon Europe: EU framework programme calls relevant to social inclusion, health technology, and AI ethics
- CERV Programme: EU funding for civil society organisations working on equality and non-discrimination
- European Research Council (ERC): Frontier research grants for principal investigators
CROWN contributes to grant applications by defining research questions grounded in real-world policy needs, providing access to data and diagnostic infrastructure, and committing to the translation of research findings into actionable evidence.
Co-Supervised Theses
CROWN welcomes master’s and doctoral students whose research interests align with our mission. Thesis topics may include:
- Validation of the CDI survey instrument in specific European linguistic or cultural contexts
- Multi-modal sensor integration for non-destructive hair fibre analysis
- AI classification model development for diverse hair types using the CROWN Hair Commons
- Cross-cultural comparison of hair discrimination prevalence and expression
- Economic modelling of discrimination costs at organisational and national levels
- Legal analysis of appearance-based discrimination in European jurisdictions
Students are co-supervised by their university advisor and a CROWN senior researcher, ensuring both academic rigour and practical relevance. CROWN provides access to data, infrastructure, and — where relevant — research participants.
Data Access
The CROWN Hair Commons is being developed as an open research infrastructure with tiered access.
Academic access: Researchers at accredited universities and research institutions will have access to anonymised CROWN Hair Commons data at nominal or no cost, for the purpose of non-commercial research. Access is subject to ethical review approval and a data use agreement that ensures participant privacy.
Collaborative access: Research partners who contribute data to the CROWN Hair Commons — for example, through diagnostic device deployments or survey administration — receive enhanced access to the full dataset, enabling longitudinal and cross-institutional analysis.
What CROWN Brings to the Partnership
Academic partners working with CROWN gain access to:
- A clearly defined research problem with direct societal relevance and policy impact
- A growing, multi-ethnic dataset that does not exist elsewhere in Europe
- Diagnostic hardware that produces sensor-verified measurements — objective ground truth for AI and statistical models
- A direct pathway from research to policy — CROWN’s legislative hub translates academic findings into formats that inform legal deliberation
- Publication opportunities in an under-researched field where original contributions have outsized impact
What CROWN Seeks in Partners
CROWN seeks academic partners who bring:
- Methodological rigour in survey design, statistical analysis, sensor engineering, machine learning, or legal analysis
- Commitment to open science — a willingness to publish findings and contribute to shared research infrastructure
- Ethical research practice — adherence to institutional review board requirements and respect for the communities whose experiences are being studied
- Long-term perspective — willingness to build a sustained research programme, not just a single publication
Expression of Interest
Researchers and institutions interested in exploring collaboration with CROWN are invited to contact us at [email protected] with:
- A brief description of their research interests and how they intersect with CROWN’s mission
- Their institutional affiliation and relevant publications
- The collaboration format(s) they are interested in
- Any specific dataset, methodology, or infrastructure needs
CROWN responds to all academic enquiries within ten business days. We prioritise partnerships that advance our core mission: producing the evidence that makes identity-based discrimination measurable, visible, and actionable.