What is PACH?
The Project for the Advancement of Our Common Humanity (PACH) is a think-and-do tank that draws from the science of human connection in order to create a more just and humane world. Our theory of change is that transforming the way we see each other will transform the way we treat each other. Our work involves research, curriculum, and practice involving community interventions and trainings that add insight to, educate about, and tackle our most pressing societal problems. PACH is housed at the Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools at New York University and is/was funded by grants from Einhorn Family Charitable Trust Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.
Why PACH?
At the beginning of the 21st century, we are beset by a global crisis of connection. People are increasingly disconnected from themselves, each other, and the world around them, with alienation, isolation, and fragmentation now common across and within communities. In the place of the “we,” we have been left with the “me,” the solitary individual, whose needs, wants, and desires take precedent over the collective. Yet, despite widespread agreement about the fraying of human connection, there is a lack of consensus as to the root of this crisis of connection and what might be done about it.
Over the past four decades, however, the basis for such a consensus has emerged from discoveries within the human sciences. The collective insights, coalescing in the science of human connection, compose a five-part story about the roots and consequences of the crisis of connection and potential solutions. The aim of PACH is to communicate, research, and apply to practice the five-part story that explains: 1) who we are as humans; 2) what has led to a crisis of connection; 3) the evidence of the crisis; 4) the consequences of the crisis; and 5) the solutions.
How does PACH work?
At PACH, we engage in communicating and conducting research that contributes to the newly emerging field of the science of human connection. We also design community-based interventions to re-sensitize us to our common humanity and address the crisis of connection. Through these strategies, we aim to challenge widely held stereotypes, disrupt practices that silence and marginalize, and create a more just and humane world. Learn more about our solutions: PACHworks.