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Futures Research Hub

This note is about setting up a research unit.

Cf.

  • innovation labs
  • open creative labs
  • living labs

Success Factors

  • Clear vision and strategic goals: labs thrive when aligned with institutional priorities.
  • Collaborative culture: encourage openness, psychological safety, and co-creation.
  • Interdisciplinary teams: diversity of expertise accelerates innovation.
  • Infrastructure and resources: adequate facilities, digital tools, and funding.
  • Leadership and governance: strong, adaptive leadership with transparent decision-making.
  • Continuous learning: embrace organisational learning and feedback loops.
  • External engagement: partnerships with industry, academia, and communities.

Setup Template

Objectives

  • Scope of research: what specific aspects of design futures will the hub address (for example, technology, sustainability, social impact, more-than-human design)?
  • Vision and mission: what is the long-term ambition? How does it align with broader institutional or societal goals?
  • Target outcomes: what tangible results are expected (for example, publications, prototypes, policy recommendations)?

Principles

  • Core values: what ethical, methodological, or philosophical principles will guide the hub’s work, including more-than-human ethics and stewardship?
  • Inclusivity and diversity: how will the hub ensure diverse perspectives and equitable participation?
  • Interdisciplinarity: how will the hub foster collaboration across disciplines?

Value Proposition and Competitive Edge

  • Unique selling points: what differentiates this hub from existing research centres?
  • Innovation strategy: how will the hub stay ahead in emerging areas of design futures?
  • Partnerships: what strategic alliances (industry, academia, government) will strengthen the hub’s position?

Membership and Governance

  • Membership criteria: who can join and what are the expectations for members?
  • Governance structure: how will decisions be made? What committees or leadership roles are needed?
  • Accountability: how will transparency and responsibility be maintained?

Clients, Stakeholders, and Audiences

  • Client, stakeholder, and audience segments: who are the priority groups (for example, public sector, industry, non-government organisations, communities, students) and what needs will the hub address?
  • Engagement and communication strategy: how will the hub reach, recruit, and collaborate with these groups (for example, advisory boards, co-design workshops, newsletters, public forums)?
  • Value proposition and mutual commitments: what tailored benefits will each segment receive (for example, foresight insights, tools, training, prototypes) and what contributions, data, or stewardship responsibilities are expected in return?

Project Programme

  • Co-design the annual program with participants and partners through scoping workshops, surveys, and advisory sprints; publish a transparent project backlog and selection rubric.
  • Provide project templates and seed kits: standard brief, methods stack, timeline options, role definitions, ethics, data, and intellectual property checklists, budget sheets, and reporting templates; include sprint, pilot, and longitudinal variants.
  • Operate an intake-to-impact pipeline and cadence: rolling calls, quarterly selection boards, stage gates (discovery, definition, prototyping, validation, deployment), mentor matching, monthly clinics, demo days, portfolio balancing, and archiving of learnings.

Activities and Methods

  • Research activities: what types of projects, workshops, seminars, or labs will be run?
  • Methodological frameworks: what research methods and tools will be prioritised (for example, multispecies ethnography, ecological sensing, speculative prototyping)?
  • Community engagement: how will the hub interact with external stakeholders?

Assessment Criteria

  • Success metrics: how will the hub measure progress and impact?
  • Evaluation processes: what mechanisms will be used for regular review and improvement?
  • Reporting: how will findings and achievements be communicated?

Outcomes

  • Deliverables: what outputs are expected (for example, reports, exhibitions, policy briefs)?
  • Impact pathways: how will the hub’s work influence practice, policy, or education?
  • Knowledge transfer: how will insights be shared with the wider community?

Establishment Proposal

  • Resource requirements: what funding, facilities, and staffing are needed?
  • Timeline: what are the key milestones for set-up and launch?
  • Risk management: what are the potential challenges and how will they be addressed?

Impact

  • Definition of impact: what does impact mean for the hub (for example, practice, policy, education, environment)?
  • Impact areas: where will the hub seek to make a difference (for example, communities, industry, government, academia)?
  • Pathways to impact: how will research translate into change (for example, pilots, prototypes, tools, policy briefs, curricula)?

Resourcing

  • Funding model: what reliable, multi-year sources will support the hub, and how will funds be allocated and tracked?
  • Staffing and roles: what core roles are needed now and over time, and what hiring and development plan will ensure diversity and capability?
  • Space and infrastructure: what spaces, tools, and digital systems are required for research, teaching, and prototyping?

Examples and Precedents

European Network of Living Labs - ENoLL

The More-Than-Human Life (MOTH)

OECD Strategic Foresight

Nature Futures Framework

References

How to collaborate more effectively: 5 tips for researchers

Strategic research planning

Bradke, Frank, Aidan Maartens, and Sarah A. Teichmann. “Key Attributes of Successful Research Institutes.” PLOS Biology 21, no. 9 (2023): e3002267. https://doi.org/10/gss85s.

Brown, Sherry-Ann, Rodney Sparapani, Kristen Osinski, Jun Zhang, Jeffrey Blessing, Feixiong Cheng, Abdulaziz Hamid, et al. “Team Principles for Successful Interdisciplinary Research Teams.” American Heart Journal Plus: Cardiology Research and Practice 32 (2023): 100306. https://doi.org/10/g98nhn.

Edmondson, Amy C. The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth. Hoboken: Wiley, 2019.

Fair, Jeanne M. Scientific Collaboration: Strategies for Successful Research Teams. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2023.

Goldstein, Bob, and Prachee Avasthi. “A Guide to Setting up and Managing a Lab at a Research-Intensive Institution.” BMC Proceedings 15, no. S2 (2021): 8. https://doi.org/10/gtvkjp.

Hall, Kara L., Amanda L. Vogel, and Robert T. Croyle, eds. Strategies for Team Science Success: Handbook of Evidence-Based Principles for Cross-Disciplinary Science and Practical Lessons Learned from Health Researchers. Cham: Springer, 2019.

Hilton, Margaret L., Nancy J. Cooke, and National Research Council (U.S.), eds. Enhancing the Effectiveness of Team Science. Washington: The National Academies Press, 2015.

Schiuma, Giovanni, and Francesco Santarsiero. “Innovation Labs as Organisational Catalysts for Innovation Capacity Development: A Systematic Literature Review.” Technovation 123 (2023): 102690. https://doi.org/10/gsh38c.

Zipfel, Nina, Bedra Horreh, Carel T. J. Hulshof, Angela G. E. M. de Boer, and Sylvia J. van der Burg-Vermeulen. “The Relationship between the Living Lab Approach and Successful Implementation of Healthcare Innovations: An Integrative Review.” BMJ Open 12 (2022). https://doi.org/10/g98nds.