Innovating our defense with society

Security is a responsibility shared by society as a whole. To respond to increasing threats, the Ministry of Defence therefore wants to innovate not only within its own organisation, but also to draw on knowledge, experience and creativity from society. The Directorate of Knowledge & Innovation is exploring how citizens, civil society organisations, knowledge institutions and businesses can contribute to security challenges and new forms of collaboration.

How can citizens actively contribute to the safety of the Netherlands? The research focuses on people who do not have a formal role or contract with the Ministry of Defence, but who can still contribute to security challenges through their knowledge, experience and ideas. Central to the research is what people need in order to contribute and how the Ministry of Defence can create space for new forms of collaboration and shared ownership.

The Ministry of Defence and Dutch Design Foundation selected design studio Muzus. Muzus uses a design-led approach to work on societal transitions and social challenges, incorporating people’s needs and experiences into the design process.

Operatie Innovatie
Muzus developed Operatie Innovatie to explore how the Ministry of Defence can make use of knowledge, experience and creativity from society in innovation. The first step was to investigate what citizens need in order to contribute ideas to challenges within the Ministry of Defence. Conversations showed that many people are willing to contribute to the safety of the Netherlands.

During Dutch Design Week, this was explored further through an experiment in which visitors were invited to contribute ideas to a current challenge within the Ministry of Defence. This explored how citizens can be involved in innovation and security challenges in an accessible way.

Operatie Innovatie showed that there is a great deal of knowledge, creativity and willingness outside the Ministry of Defence to contribute to security challenges. At the same time, it became clear that this involvement only becomes meaningful when people have a concrete way to contribute and when the Ministry of Defence creates space for different forms of collaboration. For the Ministry of Defence, this meant that innovation does not have to take place only within the organisation, but can also be developed together with society.