The laboratory promotes theoretical and applied research activities, as well as consultancy and project-support services, addressing the multiple dimensions and forms of normativity. Its areas of interest include: (i) both public and institutional rules and private and contractual forms of norm-setting; (ii) both formal rules deliberately introduced by an authority and informal and emergent forms of regulation; (iii) both written rules and those designed into or embedded in traditional or technologically advanced artefacts (such as digital architectures, interfaces, and algorithmic systems); (iv) both more typically prescriptive rules and softer forms of regulation (for example, nudging practices).
The laboratory adopts an interdisciplinary and comparative approach, fostering dialogue between academic research, public institutions, businesses, professional communities, and civil society. Its activities include scientific research, the development of theoretical and methodological frameworks, analyses of regulatory and organisational impacts, advanced training, the organisation of seminars and workshops, as well as specialised consultancy.
Particular attention is devoted to the transformations of normativity within the contemporary digital ecosystem, with a focus on artificial intelligence systems, platforms, data governance, and emerging forms of socio-technical regulation.

Research topics

• Institutional capacity and institutional design
• Applied ethics (with particular reference to emerging technological and environmental challenges)
• Public regulation (with particular attention to the spatial dimension)
• Contractual regulation and private forms of norm-setting (e.g., in the case of intentional communities)
• Non-linguistic regulation (e.g., graphic rules and normative artefacts)
• Soft regulation (e.g., nudging and other behavioural instruments)
• Standardisation and certification in design processes
• Property rights and property regimes
• Formal and informal regulation
• Emerging technologies (including artificial intelligence) and law

Expertise

The laboratory develops advanced expertise and methodologies for normative and institutional analysis through the comparative study of different forms of normativity, the analysis of processes of rule-making, transformation, and implementation, the assessment of the normative and organisational impacts of regulatory and institutional arrangements, and the development of theoretical and methodological frameworks for the critical analysis of institutions, technologies, and socio-technical systems.

Research networks and collaborations

• AESOP thematic group "Ethics, Values and Planning":
• NormaCtivity: International Network on Human and Non-Human Normativity

Collaborators

Engjëll Rodiqi

(Last updated: August 25, 2026)