Waag's Public Research

Waag pursues its mission to make technology and society more open, fair and inclusive through Public Research. This methodology is founded on the premise that the public interest should be at the heart of innovation, and therefore society is the optimal research community. Waag works with citizens to articulate shared matters of concern, creating interdisciplinary research groups based on five main research approaches (Smart Citizens, Critical Making, Commoning, Art ~ Science and Co-creation). Each generates context-specific knowledge and practices that strengthen citizen’s critical understanding of, and agency in our contemporary techno-societies.

If we want to develop and design for society, society needs to be included in that process. We need an approach that involves the largest number of perspectives in addressing the urgent challenges of our time. Complex challenges are defined by many interdependencies; highly varied (and sometimes ‘invisible’) stakeholders, a context which is subject to sudden changes, limited funding or a lot of different agendas. Instead of being limited by these factors, they can become assets once you include them in a co-creative process. 


Learn more about Waag’s Public Research agenda here