Innovating our defense with society

Safety is a responsibility of society as a whole. It is important that people feel the urgency and have a concrete way to contribute to peace and safety in society, because after all, it concerns our future together. If we wish to defend ourselves successfully and respond to increasing threats, we must look beyond the formal role of government alone.

How can citizens actively contribute to the safety of the Netherlands? Design studio Muzus will explore this question in Co/Lab: Innovating our defence with society, a collaboration between the Ministry of Defence and the Dutch Design Foundation.

The motivation is clear. If we want to defend ourselves successfully and respond to increasing threats, we must look further than the formal role of government alone. How can we create smart connections with the innovative power within our society? How can we innovate with society instead of for society? What new forms of collaboration and shared ownership will emerge then? Only by answering these questions together, we can  truly safeguard our safety, now and in the future.

In Co/Lab: Innovating our defence with society, the Ministry of Defence and design studio Muzus will explore ways to visualize and activate the hidden potential of collaboration with society. In this Co/Lab they investigate how people without a formal role or contract can nevertheless contribute to Defence issues. During Dutch Design Week 2025, Muzus will present, as part of the Designing Society exhibition, a series of experiments that open dialogue with the public in different ways about ownership, involvement, and perspectives for action.

The initiative for this Co/Lab comes from the Directorate of Knowledge and Innovation (DKI) of the Ministry of Defence. This directorate shapes the knowledge and innovation policy within the organisation. DKI functions as a strategic connector between Defence, knowledge institutions, social organisations, and innovative companies.