About us

CHANGENCY is a creative agency for societal change. We offer access to a unique network of socially engaged designers and artists, and actively seek partnerships with front runners in the public and private sectors. Collaborating with clients and stakeholders, we explore unexpected angles and unconventional solutions for pressing social and ecological challenges.

Our mission is to embed design into policy and governance, and boost the imagination in everyone involved in change processes.

The future
is in a hurry

It’s too late for pessimism. To keep the planet habitable, we must radically change our way of  life. What we eat, what we wear, how we build and furnish our homes, how we move from A to B. In short: how we produce and consume. This requires courage and imagination. 

Courage to take bold measures to protect all life on earth, imagination to envision a better future. What do we really need? What can we say goodbye to? And what do we need to redesign completely?

Changency believes artists and designers are crucial in this transformation. They dare to challenge the status quo, come up with new ideas, and can make a more sustainable future imaginable and tangible.

Read our whole story


Organisation

Changency does not strive for profit or growth but for societal value. That’s why we are a foundation and operate as a network. This means the agency consists of a small core team and has a broad network of creative thinkers and doers. From researchers and project leaders to artists and designers in various disciplines: visual artists, writers, film and theater makers, product designers, architects, and others. Depending on the challenge, we assemble teams that best fit the project.

Core team

Dagan Cohen

Founder/ Creative director

Laura Losse

Operations manager

Jan Willem van den Ban

Designer/ Creative omnivore

Clair Williams

Designer/ Art director

Adam Murphy

Designer/ Facilitator

Foundation Board

Mieke Gerritzen

Designer (chair)

Ivar van der Zwan

Architect (secretary)

Sandra van Beers

Culture professional (treasurer)

Principles

Committed to the public good

Economic transformation

We don’t believe that the current economic story of limitless growth, consumption, and profit maximization has a happy ending. In our work, we draw inspiration from alternative economic models such as Doughnut Economics, which sets clear social and ecological boundaries to balance the well-being of people and the planet.

Courageous partners

Change is never easy. There is no seamless transition from the old to the new. This requires courage and agility. Courage to accelerate and make bold choices. Agility to deal with uncertainty, resistance and absorb setbacks. Without its courageous partners, Changency cannot carry out its work.

Room for experimentation

Exploring new perspectives and solutions for societal challenges demands space for  experimentation, reflection and play. For Changency these elements are not luxuries or nice-to-haves , but are an integral part of our approach. We believe that critical research, prototyping, playing, and testing are essential for innovation.

Value of creativity

Changency’s mission is to elevate the importance of art and design in addressing societal challenges. We envision a shift away from desks drawers filled with expensive, unread advisory reports towards collectively designed visions of the future and solutions that inspire.