Research with purpose.
Action with impact.
Outcomes that matter. 

Outputs

Our contributions to a systems update

We advance the discourse on Public Interest Technology by introducing innovative impulses and developing new perspectives that we embed directly into societal structures. By raising awareness of opportunities and risks, imparting essential knowledge, and providing targeted support to all stakeholders, we ensure that this guiding “code” continues to drive societal agendas and decision-making processes.

Research Journal

The importance of now!

Note 5: When working with foresight, one of the key things we have to do is to not forget that foresight has to start somewhere. The roots of the future are found in the now.

30. Jul 2026
Report

From Technical Implementation to Measurable Impact: Evaluating Smart City Projects with a Focus on Impact

The Urban Digitainability Lab at the TUM Think Tank has published a new research report on how German municipalities can systematically measure the impacts of digital and sustainability-oriented urban development projects.

24. Jul 2026
Policy Brief

Practitioner’s Guide on Designation of Core Platform Services

Insights from the EU DMA for AfCFTA and COMESA Competition Regimes

20. Jul 2026
Publication

Governing Virtual Wonderland

Power, Rules, and Rebellion in the Metaverse

15. Jul 2026
Research Journal

Oracles

Note 4: The history of foresight provides us with interesting insights into the mechanisms and dynamics that we can use to understand our relationship to the future today, and it also gives us useful hints on how we can design new foresight methods.

23. Jun 2026
Publication

The Use of Virtual Reality Technologies in (Engineering) Education

How can Virtual Reality (VR) be used as a transformative tool in (engineering) education?

11. Jun 2026
Research Journal

The future of a decision

Note 3: When working with foresight projects it quickly becomes apparent that what we focus on matters. Just focusing on the future in general is sometimes exciting, because it allows us to explore the broad spectrum of possibilities that tomorrow brings - but it also means that we sacrifice specific insights for broad brush perspectives.

26. May 2026
Publication

Co-Creation for Sustainable Urban Innovation

A Practical Guide for Collaborative Partnerships Between Cities and Civil Society

19. May 2026
Research Journal

Invariances and trends

Note 2: A lot of foresight is about forecasting trends, and with trends we mean change.  In all of our engagement with the future we most often begin asking “what is changing?”. The reason for this is straightforward: we want to prepare for that change, and try to understand how it will affect us, our organization and our future overall.

08. May 2026
Report

A humanitarian AI lighthouse: building the infrastructure for responsible AI adoption

The latest report from the Civic Machines Lab examines what it will take for the humanitarian sector to move beyond scattered AI experimentation and build the collective systems needed for responsible AI adoption at scale.

05. May 2026
Policy Brief

How Bavaria Can Build a Climate-Positive Building Materials Industry and Take the Lead in Peatland Innovation

Action Areas for Promoting the Use of Biomass from Peatlands for Materials in Bavaria’s Construction Sector

24. Apr 2026
Research Journal

Anticipation and prediction

Note 1: This is the first note in a new series of research journal notes. This journal will be focusing on foresight and futures studies, and specifically on how we can update our methods and tools using different cognitive technologies.

23. Apr 2026