Creating FUTUre societal RESILIENCE through innovative, science-based co-creation labs

Project Information

FUTURESILIENCE

Grant agreement ID: 101094455

DOI

10.3030/101094455

Project closed

EC signature date 13 December 2022

Start date 1 January 2023

End date 31 December 2025

Funded under

• Reforming and enhancing the European R&I System

Total cost

€ 2 889 406,25

EU contribution

€ 2 889 406,25

Coordinated by

EUROPEAN FUTURE INNOVATION SYSTEM CENTRE
Belgium

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - FUTURESILIENCE (Creating FUTUre societal RESILIENCE through innovative, science-based co-creation labs)

Reporting period: 2024-01-01 to 2025-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Multiple, overlapping and interconnected crises have become increasingly frequent over the last two decades. This has raised interest in resilience, testing the capacities of different stakeholders to cope, adapt and build back better. Research and Innovation (R&I) can play a key role by providing a basis for a more flexible and responsive capacity of stakeholders in crisis periods, informing policy development and decision-making, and thus, strengthening resilience and preparedness for future events.
The FUTURESILIENCE project aimed to strengthen the economic and social resilience of Europe and thereby its ability to quickly respond to future crises. In particular, the project:
- Mapped existing policy relevant European R&I findings with high potential to inform policy making for economic and social resilience, and to help address societal challenges at local level. The findings included research results from European funded research and good practices at national, regional and local level as well as policy recommendations by international organisations;
- Defined a set of methodologies for testing how far the identified R&I findings can inform policies addressing national, regional and local needs. Testing methodologies will comprise multi-stakeholder approaches from participatory foresight, and in particular, the scenario methodology, as well as simulation, agent-based modelling and design thinking/co-creation;
- Implemented the testing methodologies through ten multi-stakeholder experiments (“FUTURESILIENCE labs”). The labs worked on diverse societal challenges that may be impacted by different crises. Facilitated by consortium partners, the labs discussed and co-createdsolutions aiming to build societal resilience.
- Developed a Knowledge Base of successfully tested research findings with the highest capacity to inform policy and a Toolbox of methods for testing policy relevant research findings. The project produced a Policy Roadmap serving as basis to develop new science based, socially inclusive and gender responsive policy initiatives and solutions.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The FUTURESILIENCE project implemented a comprehensive programme of research, experimentation and policy support to strengthen Europe’s resilience to future crises. Activities were designed to translate research and innovation (R&I) results into actionable policies across governance levels and societal sectors.
Core activities included:
1. Mapping and Knowledge Base: The project mapped R&I results relevant to societal and economic resilience, focusing on policy relevance, transferability and implementation potential. Outputs were consolidated into a structured Knowledge Base providing over 650 policy actions for resilience strategies.
2. FUTURESILIENCE Labs: Ten labs were implemented—three by consortium partners and seven via an open call ensuring thematic, sectoral and geographic diversity. Labs applied participatory foresight and co-creation to explore future crisis scenarios and design adaptive policy responses. Activities included stakeholder engagement, horizon scanning, scenario development, stress-testing and co-design workshops across challenges like climate adaptation, migration, public health, labor market, cyber resilience, housing, mobility and energy.
3. Toolbox for Policy Testing: Guidelines were produced to structure pilot implementation, offering operational guidance on co-creation, stakeholder facilitation, ethics and monitoring. The Toolbox for Policy Testing provided a framework from problem framing to testing and refinement, helping users identify vulnerabilities, model scenarios, assess cross-sector impacts and stress-test governance responses.
4. Simulation Lab validation: A simulation exercise at Sweden’s Risk and Crisis Research Centre tested multi-hazard scenarios requiring coordinated policy responses under time pressure, offering insights into institutional coordination, governance interoperability, decision-making and operational readiness.
5. Policy Roadmap: Project results were synthesised into a Policy Roadmap guiding R&I uptake into policymaking and enhancing coordination between scientific communities and public authorities for medium- to long-term resilience planning.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The FUTURESILIENCE project has progressed beyond the state of the art by operationalising and testing new approaches linking research and innovation (R&I), policymaking and society in the field of preparedness and societal resilience. While previous initiatives generated substantial knowledge, FUTURESILIENCE advanced the field by embedding this knowledge within participatory policy design and structuring concrete pathways for knowledge valorisation and uptake.
A central innovation is the systematic use of co-creation not only for stakeholder consultation but for policy prototyping. Through FUTURESILIENCE Labs, citizens, civil society organisations, researchers and policymakers collaborated in structured foresight and experimentation environments. This approach positioned societal actors as co-designers of resilience strategies rather than passive recipients of policy. The labs enabled deliberation on crisis scenarios, identification of community vulnerabilities and joint development of policy responses. The project strengthened alignment between R&I outputs and societal needs by integrating multi-stakeholder perspectives, including citizen knowledge, and thus reinforcing trust in scientific evidence and public decision-making, particularly in crisis contexts.
A key contribution lies in knowledge valorisation for policy uptake. The project examined how scientific and non-scientific evidence could be transformed into societal and economic value, shifting from knowledge transfer toward knowledge co-production and applied policy innovation. In this frame, the Policy Roadmap presents archetypes for knowledge valorisation and outlines governance pathways, policy priorities and institutional mechanisms to embed resilience knowledge within policymaking systems.

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