Our work at Cape Horn--whether within the physical sciences, social sciences, the humanities, or the arts--is framed in terms of meeting the needs of communities and policy makers operating at local, regional, national, and international scales. Policy makers need succinct knowledge delivered in a timely manner. This challenges academics to speak in clear language that is sensitive to context.

In both research and education at Cape Horn, knowledge is placed within interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary contexts:

• interdisciplinary, because addressing societal problems requires information and techniques that cross disciplinary boundaries;
• trans-disciplinary, because communities, NGOs, and the public and private sectors need 'de-disciplined' knowledge immediately relevant to their strategic needs.

Our research aims to incorporate a broad range of perspectives from various stakeholders - members of the indigenous Yaghans, members of the Chilean government and military, citizens of Chile, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), such as UNESCO, an international team of science and humanities researchers, and tourism managers - on how to develop the Cape Horn region in a sustainable fashion.