Founded in 1994, WAAG operates at the intersection of science, technology and the arts. Our work focuses on emergent technologies as instruments of social change, and is guided by the values of fairness, openness and inclusivity. WAAG’s dedicated team of sixty thinkers and makers empowers people to become active citizens through technology.
WAAG uses the method of Public Research. Public Research is experimental, interdisciplinary research. Artists, creatives and end-users have a central position and a large influence on the final result: Users-as-Designers. The classic approach of science and the standard model of research and development is enhanced by this method that cross-links arts, culture and science. Public Research creates applications suited to the needs and possibilities of users and is related to participatory design, rapid prototyping, practice-based research and tinkering.
With its long time, international experience in community building and managing innovative projects WAAG has developed several ground-breaking prototypes, applications in (inter)national projects and programs. Labs, challenges and academies are a few of the successful strategies that we use to engage a wide range of stakeholders with technology that can benefit societal issues, like healthy aging, digital heritage, educational reform, open design, development of internet technologies and even genomics.
The CODE department of WAAG focuses on open policy design. How do open innovation and data driven technologies influence the way citizens, governments, knowledge institutes and businesses relate. We build platforms, visualize data, host workshops and organize policy labs to see how topics like citizen science, privacy, coding morality, digital identity, and e-democracy can empower citizens.