We provide content, processes and support to policymakers to tackle complex problems in a collaborative way. We run qualitative research, ask fundamental questions, challenge assumptions and test ideas that can lead to innovative solutions.
We synthesize and make sense of information, visualise systems and interactions, give form to policy concepts and make them tangible and relatable.
We identify user and system needs, engage stakeholders and facilitate cross-teams, sciences and policy collaboration and experiments to bring new practical and radical perspectives to current and future challenges.
Design for policy tools
Design tools make policies more tangible and collaborative, turning abstract ideas into experiences that can be explored and improved with users:
- Co‑creation workshops bringing policymakers, scientists and stakeholders together to frame problems and imagine alternatives.
- Prototyping of policy options, services or interfaces to test feasibility and usability early.
- Visual and participatory methods (journey maps, system maps, mock‑ups) to align diverse actors around shared solutions.
These approaches are used in initiatives like Futures Garden, the EU Harmonised Waste Sorting Labelling System, Intergenerational Fairness or the Water Resilience Experiment to bridge science, creativity and governance.
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Design for policy (35)
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When artists, scientists, and policymakers collaborate over time, new forms of sense-making become possible: weak signals are detected earlier, insights flow across disciplines, and the very definition of what counts as evidence broadens.
- EU Policy Lab tags
- Design for policy
- Foresight
The EU Policy Lab launched a policy experiment exploring how a trauma‑informed approach can enrich ongoing work such as the Directorate-General for Agriculture work on Generational Renewal in Agriculture.
- EU Policy Lab tags
- Foresight
- Behavioural insights
- Design for policy
Across Europe, ambitious environmental policies have been multiplying, most notably under the European Green Deal. Yet translating these commitments into practical change is often uneven, slow, or incomplete. Read on to learn why this happens and can be done about it.
- EU Policy Lab tags
- Behavioural insights
- Design for policy
- Foresight
Its a wrap! After more than three years of research, experimentation and collaboration, we are proud to announce the publication of the Technical Proposal for an EU Harmonised Waste Sorting Labelling System.
- EU Policy Lab tags
- Design for policy
- Behavioural insights
As the EU moves forward on its pledge to put Intergenerational Fairness (IGF) at the heart of its policymaking, the visioning phase has become an inspiring journey, filled with creative aspiration, honest dialogue and the practical tools we’ll need to build a Europe where every generation thrives.
- EU Policy Lab tags
- Foresight
- Design for policy
- Behavioural insights
Why you should be thinking about using games in policymaking environments .
- EU Policy Lab tags
- Foresight
- Design for policy
What do ants and EU trainees have in common and what transforms a scattered multitude into a purposeful network?
- EU Policy Lab tags
- Foresight
- Design for policy
Looking back at one year since we launched the design for policy community.
- EU Policy Lab tags
- Design for policy
What if policymakers could step into each other’s shoes, experiment with real-world scenarios and test collaborative strategies before making decisions? Find out how a serious game can help!
- EU Policy Lab tags
- Design for policy
How do we better protect the natural world when biodiversity is under unprecedented threat? If we want to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, we need to address the behaviours that drive it and how we design policies. To do this, all actors in society are key.
- EU Policy Lab tags
- Behavioural insights
- Design for policy
- Foresight