Why a think-tank?
	The information society gives even greater relevance to poet T.S. Elliot’s question: “Where is the knowledge we lost in information? Where is the wisdom we lost in knowledge?” Knowledge is co-produced and shared. It brings together the implicit and the explicit, the public discoveries and private applications. Wisdom, in as much as one can get close to it, reflects knowledge shared, insights compared, time given. As a think-tank, we consider our role as that of a catalyst in this intellectual sharing process. We contribute to the creation of the conceptual underpinning that can accelerate and focus exchange of ideas. In this spirit, since its creation in 1985, PROMETHEE has pioneered research programs and fostered discussions on the global networked society.
	Why a think-tank in Paris?
	Think-tanks need to network to accomplish their mission. Paris is really a great place from which to network, in English but with a French accent. PROMETHEE has also published in Japanese (Networld, at Toyo Kezaï), in Spanish (El Mundo de Mañana, at Planeta) and of course in French (at Le Seuil, Economica and Flammarion) even if most of the work is done in English. (see WHAT)
	Why the global networked society? And why e=mc3?
	In 1985, seven years before the Internet was open to the public, PROMETHEE already felt that networks and networking were at the center of the watershed transformations under way in the economy and society. A network, however, is not just an electronic tool (networks actually predate electronics by quite a few centuries!). PROMETHEE research suggests that networks must be defined as relationship management tools and not merely as an information-processing device. Relationships can be analyzed as combinations of contact, contract, and commitment. Hence the 3 "C"s in the PROMETHEE formula for excellence (e) in networking as the mastering (m) of contact, contract and commitment (e=mc3). This calls for an analysis of the present transformation as a combination of technology, regulatory/political and cultural changes. Beyond economic globalization, we are witnesses to the emergence of a global community, a global networked society. In 1990, at the initiative of PROMETHEE and its corporate members, the "Tokyo Declaration" brought together leading companies, regulators and thinkers around a shared understanding of the emerging “Networld”. Since then, PROMETHEE has explored the networked society in a multiplicity of ways, combining analysis of technology with that of regulation and of corporate strategies: see the WHAT and HOW sections!