The world is changing rapidly and getting more interconnected, largely driven by far-reaching globalisation and new technologies. The complexity of our society is urgently felt in the realm of policymaking. Challenges like climate change, pandemics, or inequality are just some examples that clearly show that all our systems (economic, social, environmental) are closely intertwined through many interacting processes. Because of that, policy interventions can have all kinds of unexpected and also undesirable side effects. The outcome of seemingly small interventions on the system as a whole is extremely hard to predict.

POLDER is a research collaborative that helps policymakers to unravel complex challenges, create actionable insights, and explore new avenues of intervention. We develop and apply novel decision-support methods, using theories and tools from complexity science, system dynamics and network science. POLDER works together with researchers from all academic fields, and in co-creation with the direct stakeholders, to support responsible and effective decision-making.