How are the FutuResilience labs contributing to turn co-creation processes into policy action?

When a flood hits, a virus spreads, or a new wave of massive migration arrives—who responds? More importantly: who’s ready and how to pave the pathway to increase preparedness? Ten experimental FutuResilience Labs across Europe have been working to answer these questions. As part of the project activities, the labs engaged in mutual learning workshops, hands-on conversations about what works, what doesn’t, and exchanging openly on lessons learnt. During the last activity held in March 2025, the Labs had a thrilling experience in sharing valuable, behind-the-scenes lessons on that it really takes to engage policymakers, influence decisions and navigate the long road between research results, stakeholders’ engagement for co-creation and finally, policy uptake. 

Strategies for policy engagement 

Policymaking is as much about relationships and timing as it is about evidence. Labs that engaged policymakers early, and kept them involved throughout, reported stronger buy-in—even when the policy recommendations themselves were still evolving. But this wasn’t always easy. Some labs faced low participation from overstretched policymakers, especially in sectors where staff are already working at full capacity. Others had to work around election cycles or bureaucratic turnover, finding themselves pitching policies to new actors just as relationships were beginning to form. Continuous calls, prior contacts, social media, and participatory workshops all played a role in maintaining these links. This persistence paid off. In several cases, labs are now embedded in local or regional initiatives, with policy proposals being taken forward via advisory councils, new roundtables, or integration into long-term strategic planning. Others are developing policy briefs tailored to specific domains, aimed at crossing ministerial or sectoral silos—a crucial move, especially where resilience touches multiple fields at once, like housing, health, or digital security. 

While labs used a wide range of foresight and co-design tools—from speculative narratives to budget simulation models —the real innovation was how these methods were adapted to policy engagement. Some labs developed visual tools to simulate local tax impacts, making abstract demographic challenges tangible for municipalities. Others used immersive scenario-building exercises or science-fiction narratives to help stakeholders move beyond status quo thinking. Importantly, the mutual learning revealed that these methods weren’t just useful for generating insights—they also helped create a shared language between citizens, experts, and policymakers, built around design, narrative, or data. 

Challenges for policy uptake 

Almost all labs encountered some version of the same dilemma: even when a solution is promising, it doesn’t guarantee it will be adopted. Reasons ranged from political misalignment to limited budgets, siloed governance structures, and even a lack of perceived urgency. In response, some labs shifted their focus—from pushing for immediate adoption to seeding long-term institutional change. In one case, this meant supporting the formation of a women or youth stakeholder roundtables to ensure future policy development with a more inclusive approach. In others, it meant building up new communities of practice, particularly in cross-border or crisis-prone regions, where coordination is at the core of crisis response. 

Learnings from the labs 

• Policy engagement is a process, not a presentation. Early and sustained involvement of policymakers builds trust—and increases the chance of uptake later. 
• One-size-fits-all doesn’t work. Labs had to tailor their approaches based on local governance structures, timing (e.g., elections), and cultural norms around participation. 
• The role of evidence. Even solid, evidence-based proposals require careful framing, political alignment, and often, intermediaries to translate insights into action. Furthermore, evidence from other sources than scientific research could be valuable for understanding societal challenges (e.g. citizen perceptions, etc.) 
• Scale up via institutions or ongoing practices. Labs that embedded their work into existing structures—like housing councils or city planning boards—saw greater momentum. 
• A collaborative approach for societal resilience. Whether through participatory design, collaborative scenario planning, or co-created recommendations, the labs demonstrated that durable policies come from shared ownership. 

Each lab is a living case study in how communities can prepare for, respond to, and recover from shocks. And by sharing what’s working—and just as importantly, what isn’t—they’re laying the groundwork for smarter, more adaptive, more human-centered policymaking across Europe. The Labs are helping shape new ways of making policy, ways that are more adaptive, participatory and context aware. Moreover, they are proving that policymakers can be more than reactive, with the right methods, each Lab is contributing to create a more proactive, inclusive and future-ready Europe.