What you can expect from us in 2026?

In 2026, the Knowledge Centre Data & Society will focus on AI literacy and maturity, digital sovereignty and digital regulation, while keeping a close eye on the technological future. In this article, we take a quick look at the topics we’ll be concentrating on this year.

At the Knowledge Centre Data & Society, we always prefer to look ahead rather than back. That’s why we didn’t send out a report on what we did in 2025, but are happy to give you an idea of what we have in store for 2026.

Our goal remains to help every organisation that wants to work with AI and data-driven applications to do so responsibly. This means working within the legal framework and being mindful of the social and human impact. Not just because there’s a legal requirement or ethical obligation, but also because it leads to more successful innovation.

A preview of what’s to come:

At the end of 2025, we published a number of guides, tools and reports on AI literacy, and we will continue to explore this theme in greater depth this year. We’ll be publishing a scale that allows you to measure the AI literacy of employees, but we’re also planning several opportunities to learn about and share ideas on this topic. More on this soon.
The AI literacy of employees is often only a small part of the AI maturity of the entire organisation. What does AI maturity mean exactly, and how can you measure and monitor it? This is a question we’ll be exploring in more detail.
Geopolitical developments have put digital sovereignty high on the agenda. But what does this mean for your organisation and how should you respond to it? Expect a vision paper and practical guidelines on this topic.
In general, we want to be able to respond more quickly to new developments and questions raised by AI and data. That’s why we’re looking ahead even more consciously. Outcomes here will include two foresight reports that clearly identify new technological developments and explain their potential impact in various scenarios.
The ever-evolving regulations and associated policies require close monitoring and pioneering work: because between the law and the effective implementation of the rules, there are many questions and steps that need to be thought through. Once again we’ll be carrying out a policy prototyping exercise in which upcoming regulations will be ‘tested’ in advance, with recommendations for effective implementation.

For all these topics, we’ll be focusing on clear vision statements, concise information sheets, practical tools, insightful reports, informative info sessions, educational exchanges and applied training courses.

In 2026, we want the Knowledge Centre Data & Society to offer more support to everyone involved in innovation with AI and data. We also want to provide practical help to every innovator in responsibly integrating AI and data-driven applications into our world. So if you see any gaps in the work we’re doing or the areas we’re focusing on, just let us know. We love hearing from you!