Globally, we face various societal challenges and transition issues. For example, how do we create a healthier environment and build restoration of nature? How do we make healthcare more affordable and at the same time more humane? Change is needed to make our world more social and sustainable, and we must initiate that change ourselves. We do this by developing innovations and interventions that help us look, think and act differently, and that help shape our living world.

KEMs are design methods that contribute to solving societal challenges. These methods bring together knowledge about people and society with the opportunities created by technological developments.

PROGRAM KEY ENABLING METHODOLOGIES

The CLICKNL program KEMs is working to improve the utilization and applicability of KEMs in practice.

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The origin of KEMs lies in the (Mission-Driven) Innovation Policy. With this, the government wants to further develop the innovation power of the Netherlands to be able to tackle societal challenges jointly and thoroughly. The term KEMs stands for the groups of tools and methods that play a crucial role in this.

For this reason CLICKNL, in close cooperation with the creative industry and knowledge world, has drawn up the Agenda Key Enabling Methodologies. This 'research agenda' was created on the one hand to improve our knowledge about KEMs and to stimulate their development. On the other hand, the agenda aims to increase general understanding and awareness of KEMs.

KEM'S IN POLICY APPROACH

Policy is an important application domain for KEMs. It is therefore not surprising that even among policy makers and decision makers there is increasing attention to the potential and deployment of KEMs. In doing so, the KEM agenda offers a palette of very diverse methods that:

• Tracks the various facets that are important for effectively addressing those challenges;
• Shapes and directs the innovation and change process;
• Helps in the management of transitions, and in determining what expertise should be present in-house or flown in from elsewhere (and can therefore, for example, provide direction when forming PPP consortia around a particular transition or mission theme);
• In the context of subsidy schemes, calls and assignments (procurement) around transition and mission themes, provide support and direction in formulating conditions for the approach and methods proposed by applicants/contractors.

EXAMPLE PROJECTS