MAKER

Their core work

MAKER is a Danish organization operating at the intersection of open source hardware, co-design, and circular economy practices. They bring maker-culture methodologies — prototyping, co-creation, and community-driven development — into EU research projects focused on sustainable construction and open source product development. Their practical contribution centers on facilitating collaborative design processes between companies, communities, and cities to produce tangible prototypes and open hardware solutions.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

MAKER's earliest H2020 involvement (2018, SISCODE) focused on co-design methods and prototyping as tools for shaping science and innovation policy — a more abstract, governance-oriented engagement. By 2019, their work shifted decisively toward applied domains: circular construction with urban mining and disassembly design (CIRCuIT), and open source hardware with company-community collaboration (OPEN_NEXT). The trajectory shows a clear move from process-oriented policy work toward hands-on, material-world applications of maker culture.

MAKER is moving from facilitation-heavy policy projects toward applied open source hardware and circular economy work, suggesting future interest in tangible, community-driven sustainability solutions.

How they like to work

MAKER operates exclusively as a participant, never as coordinator, suggesting they contribute specialized maker/co-creation expertise to larger consortia rather than leading project design. With 66 unique partners across 15 countries from just 3 projects, they work in large, diverse consortia — typical of Innovation Actions and ambitious Research & Innovation Actions. This makes them an accessible, low-friction partner who integrates well into big multi-country teams.

Despite only 3 projects, MAKER has built a wide network of 66 unique consortium partners across 15 countries, reflecting the large-scale consortia they join. Their reach is distinctly pan-European rather than concentrated in any single region.

What sets them apart

MAKER brings maker-space culture and open source hardware thinking into EU research — a niche that few organizations occupy at this scale. Their ability to bridge community-driven prototyping with formal EU project structures makes them valuable for projects that need real participatory engagement, not just token workshops. For consortium builders, they offer genuine grassroots co-creation capacity rooted in Copenhagen's active maker scene.

Highlights from their portfolio

• OPEN_NEXT
  Their largest project by funding (EUR 281,375), directly aligned with their core identity — bridging companies and maker communities for open source product development.
• CIRCuIT
  A major circular construction project in regenerative cities, showing MAKER's ability to apply co-creation methods to hard infrastructure and material reuse challenges.