In my role at DML I am part of the NetZeroCity Arc, supporting the EU's "100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030” Mission. My work involves supporting cities to develop Climate City Contracts that are centred around Just Transitions and systemic portfolios of coordinated actions across multiple domains (e.g. technology, governance, policy, finance innovation, social innovation).

In addition to the cities themselves we work closely with a consortium of 30+ partner organisations, including EIT-Climate KIC, DemSoc, Demos Helsinki, Viable Cities, Metabolic, and many more. NZC is funded by the European Commission.

For the Stiftung Mercator I conducted a research to understand the current landscape and future developments of digital civil society in Germany, particularly with regard to policy-making and advocacy work. Together with some of the most relevant Civil Society Organisations we explored past, present and future trajectories, challenges and strategic opportunities to co-shape an open, fair and diverse digital society in Germany and Europe. Topics covered include new reporting and funding models, emerging capabilities and skills as well as new organisational and collaborative structures.

The findings have been published in a 2024 report and can be accessed here.

The Institutional Framework for City-level Innovation Ecosystems Purpose-built for African Cities is an initiative by the Africa Center for Cities (ACC) aims to create innovation ecosystems in African cities that support sustainable, just, and carbon-neutral urban development. Collaborating with leaders from diverse sectors, it explores locally relevant solutions that integrate governance, material needs, and inclusive social narratives. I had the opportunity to contribute to opportunity mapping and research in Cape Town in 2023 and continue exploring these themes in my work.

protocol is a place to learn, reflect and rethink public innovation. A collection of deep dives into different topics of public design, systemic perspectives and digital transformation, protocol has issued a regular publication, an academic contribution to a collected volume, and a course, tailored for professionals and practitioners. Protocol is an independent project launched in March 2023 by Andreas Pawelke and me.

The Almaty Air Quality Portfolio, a UNDP and Dark Matter Labs initiative, addressed Almaty’s air pollution using systemic portfolios and distributed governance approaches. By merging data-driven analysis with community engagement, the project explored practical interventions, such as green zones, pollution monitoring, and community-driven air quality improvements. The project aimed for Almaty to shift from isolated projects to a cohesive, multi-level strategy, blending policy change, public engagement, and technology to create adaptable, long-term solutions for urban resilience and cleaner air. I contributed to the methodological development of novel portfolio approaches as well as training events and documentation.

The RISE Cities program was launched by the BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt and aims to advance responsible leadership in cities and global knowledge of resilient, intelligent, sustainable, and equitable (RISE) cities.

From 2022 - 2024, I shared insights on designing equitable public spaces, designed and hosted the masterclass on systems thinking for public innovation, and provided one-on-one coaching support for 40+ tandems of public servants and project leaders from 20+ cities throughout Europe.

GovTech Campus Deutschland is an innovation, development, and learning hub dedicated to advancing the modernisation of the state and democracy. It fosters collaboration among federal, state, and local governments, connecting them with leading figures in tech, civil society, the open-source community, and applied research.

I co-led a joint research initiative between the GovTech Campus and the World Economic Forum. This project aimed to explore ways to map and connect data points, narratives, and stakeholders through a collaborative platform for community and knowledge management. The insights from this research have been incorporated into the development of the joint community network of the Campus.

GovMind is a Berlin-based technology company that collects, analyses and interprets information on innovative solutions for the public sector. They flagship product MIRA is an online repository that aims to boost innovative procurement processes by simplifying market exploration and tendering processes.

As interim Product Manager and strategic advisor, I supported early market research, product validation, and contributed to strategic design and UX design efforts. Mira was acquired in 2024.

Berlin's smart city strategy outlines a vision for combining urban development with digitalisation to improve quality of life. Since 2020, as part of the federal Smart City Model Projects, Berlin develops and implements its strategy and eventually merged it with their digital strategy into Gemeinsam Digital Berlin.

I supported the team at CityLab Berlin in designing the communication strategy for the participation and development process of the strategic framework, with a particular focus on democratic inclusion, participation and activation of Berlin's diverse citizenry.

SOAM is a catalyst for collaboration, experimentation, and learning aimed at transformative change. Since 2021, it has connected diverse individuals, projects, and perspectives to challenge established paradigms and cultivate new possibilities. In 2023, I served as curator and mentor for SOAM’s Residency Program, which offers participants a focused environment to advance their projects and engage with peers across various disciplines and backgrounds. Image source: Stefan Müller-Naumann

As part of the CO:DINA research program on sustainable public services, funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment, my team at HCL conducted a study on "Principles and Guardrails for Future-Proof Universal Basic Services."(GER) This work integrates insights from futurology, public design, and sustainability research, structured into three main chapters.

Our study introduces key concepts of Universal Basic Services amidst global shifts—such as sovereignty, ecological responsibility, and data governance—then establishes six principles for sustainable public service delivery. Part of this project was the creation of a field book summarising our core findings, and incorporating insights from events like the 2022 World Urban Forum and Vienna’s University of Applied Arts summer school. The field book can be accessed here: https://whatgotushere.hybridcitylab.com/.

The New Hanse, initiated by Hamburg-based think tank The New Institute, investigated in collaboration with the Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg the relationship between urban digital infrastructures, access to and deployment of data for the public interest; with tangible data-driven pilot projects that addressed real world challenges for the city of Hamburg. The New Hanse aimed to showcase the potential of a citizen centred digital green city in a close collaboration between administration, science, industry and civil society.

We supported the team around Francesca Bria in the inaugurational phase through methodological design, strategic planning, and stakeholder management, focusing on identifying a core data challenge. We conducted expert and user interviews to explore mobility needs, regulatory frameworks, and transparent business models in close collaboration with an international team.
Outcomes and the final report are published at The New Hanse

The Prototype Fund is a funding programme of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), which is managed and evaluated by the Open Knowledge Foundation Germany. It provides financial and non-material support for Individuals and small (interdisciplinary) teams to test ideas and develop open source applications in the fields of civic tech, data literacy, IT security and software infrastructure.

From 2016-2022 I provided strategic advice and coaching on human-centred design, ux, agile project management and open source business modelling to teams and fellows of the program.

The UNLOCK Accelerator was set up by Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. to foster innovation in the realm of free knowledge. In a foresight study, we explored key challenges and strategic areas for future action, including better connectivity of knowledge networks, improving learning skills, and promoting fair knowledge production. Insights from our research informed the Accelerator’s strategic direction before it concluded after four rounds in 2023. This project was done on behalf of the Hybrid City Lab. I did a thorough write up on the methodology of this project over here.. Illustration by Kati Szilágyi for Wikimedia Deutschland e.V.

The Hybrid City Lab is a public research and strategy studio, and the urban and public design unit of Berlin-based strategy firm zero360. The HCL works with cities, companies, and civil society actors to create fair public futures for everyone. It offers strategic design work, public service design expertise, and research and analysis on emerging trends and patterns. We worked with partners such as Berlin's public mobility provider (BVG), to co-design their strategy on the future of Berlins mobility, with the GIZ's International Smart City Network on publishing a pathfinder for urban social innovation stories from around the world, and with the Country administration Oder-Spree on internal organisational transformation.

I was co-lead of the HCL and responsible for internal strategy, design, and project management work, as well as service delivery.

The Process Festival was an annual event dedicated to exploring creative technologies and innovation within society, art, and design. Founded in 2016, it brought together national and international creatives, entrepreneurs, and engaged citizens for workshops, exhibitions, and discussions on forward-thinking themes like "Human-Machine" interaction and new forms of innovation.

I co-founded the festival with the team at Florida Brand Design in Dortmund. More info can be found here.

ThingsCon is a global initiative dedicated to advancing fair, responsible, and human-centric technologies in IoT and beyond. It provides events, resources, and tools to support a diverse community of practitioners. Key initiatives include the Trustable Technology Mark, the RIoT Report on Responsible IoT, and advisory services to help organisations address issues of agency, fairness, and public good. ThingsCon hosts conferences in cities worldwide, including Berlin, Amsterdam, Nairobi, Shenzhen, Copenhagen, and Milan.

I co-founded ThingsCon e.V. in 2014 and served as Chair and executive member until 2024.

Knowable was a collaborative platform created for product designers and engineers to work together on hardware development—a “GitHub for the Real World.” Designed for both professional teams and advanced hobbyists, it combined project management, versioning, and documentation tools. This was complemented by Polymer, a social layer, making designers’ portfolios and past projects visible to foster collaboration.

As co-founder and CEO, I led the development of three products, grew a global network of makers and partners, and raised five funding rounds from European and US investors. In 2013, Knowable joined Seedcamp, Europe’s largest early-stage accelerator, and subsequently earned several industry awards.