Collaborating to build a safer, more empowering online world for everyone.
Vision
Life today is digital. But far too often the tools and platforms we use create risks and cause harms for many of us. A better digital future is possible when there is constructive collaboration between the people shaping our technology landscape and those using it.
Mission
We create space for policymakers, tech companies and researchers to learn directly from those affected by technology. Together, we create solutions that limit the worst of humanity and encourage the best online.
How the Tech Lab works
1. Evidence
We generate evidence to inform our work, including diverse perspectives from across sectors and geographies so that the solutions we develop respond to the needs of all internet users.
2. Solutions
We use a human-centered approach and design thinking to develop and rapidly prototype solutions to tech challenges, making sure we have the right mix of expertise and experience at the table. The solutions we develop are effective, practical and built upon sound evidence.
3. Actions
Together with our partners, we work to make sure the companies and governments that take part in the Lab follow up with action. And we get these solutions into the hands of others with the power to act. All our materials and processes are openly available for anyone to use, adapt and adopt.
Who we are
The Tech Policy Design Lab was created by the Web Foundation to help shape a safe and empowering web for everyone, as envisioned in the Contract for the Web.
Who we work with
We believe meaningful change happens when a diversity of perspectives, sectors and industries work together. And our outputs — whether product prototypes or policy frameworks — have a higher chance of success when stakeholders are involved in their creation. We work primarily with:
Companies
Primarily tech firms. But because almost all companies now intersect with technology, there is a place for a range of industries to work with the Lab.
Governments
Especially policymakers focused on digital issues who share our human-rights oriented goals of technology.
Civil Society
Including fellow NGOs, activists, researchers and frontline practitioners.
Individuals
Those who are affected by the issues we are tackling.
Our values
We are human
Everything we do is to make the internet a better place for people. That’s why a human-centered approach and design thinking is at the heart of our work. We recognise people have wildly different experiences online and we make sure that the voices too often left out of debates and decision-making are listened to and shape technology that works better for everyone.
We are open
Good technology policy isn’t built in silos. To solve the biggest tech challenges of our time, we need to harness the collective expertise of people with a range of skill sets and from a diversity of backgrounds, including from government, the private sector, and those using technology. We have a bias towards inclusion and we share our processes, deliberations and outputs openly — and we encourage feedback to help make us better.
We are solutions-focused
The problems we take on are difficult — that’s the point. But they’re not impossible. We believe that the right mix of people with the space to experiment and innovate can deliver concrete, practical solutions to the most thorny tech challenges. We help governments and tech platforms find solutions that can improve online life for billions of people. That’s the scale of our ambition.