diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 2a05b4f8..16311a2c 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -18,6 +18,12 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file, in reverse
     `Zend\Expressive\Template\Twig`.
   - `Zend\Expressive\Template\ZendViewRenderer`, replacing
     `Zend\Expressive\Template\ZendView`.
+- [#143](https://github.com/zendframework/zend-expressive/pull/143) adds
+  the method `addDefaultParam($templateName, $param, $value)` to
+  `TemplateRendererInterface`, allowing users to specify global and
+  template-specific default parameters to use when rendering. To implement the
+  feature, the patch also provides `Zend\Expressive\Template\DefaultParamsTrait`
+  to simplify incorporating the feature in implementations.
 
 ### Deprecated
 
diff --git a/composer.json b/composer.json
index 99db9d27..78379cc7 100644
--- a/composer.json
+++ b/composer.json
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
         "container-interop/container-interop": "^1.1",
         "psr/http-message": "^1.0",
         "zendframework/zend-diactoros": "^1.1",
+        "zendframework/zend-stdlib": "^2.7",
         "zendframework/zend-stratigility": "^1.1"
     },
     "require-dev": {
diff --git a/doc/book/template/interface.md b/doc/book/template/interface.md
index b452acb6..48c9b886 100644
--- a/doc/book/template/interface.md
+++ b/doc/book/template/interface.md
@@ -41,6 +41,27 @@ interface TemplateRendererInterface
      * @return TemplatePath[]
      */
     public function getPaths();
+
+    /**
+     * Add a default parameter to use with a template.
+     *
+     * Use this method to provide a default parameter to use when a template is
+     * rendered. The parameter may be overridden by providing it when calling
+     * `render()`, or by calling this method again with a null value.
+     *
+     * The parameter will be specific to the template name provided. To make
+     * the parameter available to any template, pass the TEMPLATE_ALL constant
+     * for the template name.
+     *
+     * If the default parameter existed previously, subsequent invocations with
+     * the same template name and parameter name will overwrite.
+     *
+     * @param string $templateName Name of template to which the param applies;
+     *     use TEMPLATE_ALL to apply to all templates.
+     * @param string $param Param name.
+     * @param mixed $value
+     */
+    public function addDefaultParam($templateName, $param, $value);
 }
 ```
 
@@ -119,3 +140,56 @@ $content = $renderer->render('message', [
 
 It is up to the underlying template engine to determine how to perform the
 injections.
+
+### Default params
+
+The `TemplateRendererInterface` defines the method `addDefaultParam()`. This
+method can be used to specify default parameters to use when rendering a
+template. The signature is:
+
+```php
+public function addDefaultParam($templateName, $param, $value)
+```
+
+If you want a parameter to be used for *every* template, you can specify the
+constant `TemplateRendererInterface::TEMPLATE_ALL` for the `$templateName`
+parameter.
+
+When rendering, parameters are considered in the following order, with later
+items having precedence over earlier ones:
+
+- Default parameters specified for all templates.
+- Default parameters specified for the template specified at rendering.
+- Parameters specified when rendering.
+
+As an example, if we did the following:
+
+```php
+$renderer->addDefaultParam($renderer::TEMPLATE_ALL, 'foo', 'bar');
+$renderer->addDefaultParam($renderer::TEMPLATE_ALL, 'bar', 'baz');
+$renderer->addDefaultParam($renderer::TEMPLATE_ALL, 'baz', 'bat');
+
+$renderer->addDefaultParam('example', 'foo', 'template default foo');
+$renderer->addDefaultParam('example', 'bar', 'template default bar');
+
+$content = $renderer->render('example', [
+    'foo' => 'override',
+]);
+```
+
+Then we can expect the following substitutions will occur when rendering:
+
+- References to the "foo" variable will contain "override".
+- References to the "bar" variable will contain "template default bar".
+- References to the "baz" variable will contain "bat".
+
+> #### Support for default params
+>
+> The support for default params will often be renderer-specific. The reason is
+> because the `render()` signature does not specify a type for `$params`, in
+> order to allow passing alternative arguments such as view models. In such
+> cases, the implementation will indicate its behavior when default parameters
+> are specified, but a given `$params` argument does not support it.
+>
+> At the time of writing, each of the Plates, Twig, and zend-view
+> implementations support the feature.
diff --git a/src/Template/DefaultParamsTrait.php b/src/Template/DefaultParamsTrait.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d0c08a0d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Template/DefaultParamsTrait.php
@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+<?php
+/**
+ * Zend Framework (http://framework.zend.com/)
+ *
+ * @see       https://github.com/zendframework/zend-expressive for the canonical source repository
+ * @copyright Copyright (c) 2015 Zend Technologies USA Inc. (http://www.zend.com)
+ * @license   https://github.com/zendframework/zend-expressive/blob/master/LICENSE.md New BSD License
+ */
+
+namespace Zend\Expressive\Template;
+
+use Traversable;
+use Zend\Expressive\Exception;
+use Zend\Stdlib\ArrayUtils;
+
+trait DefaultParamsTrait
+{
+    /**
+     * @var array
+     */
+    private $defaultParams = [];
+
+    /**
+     * Add a default parameter to use with a template.
+     *
+     * Use this method to provide a default parameter to use when a template is
+     * rendered. The parameter may be overridden by providing it when calling
+     * `render()`, or by calling this method again with a null value.
+     *
+     * The parameter will be specific to the template name provided. To make
+     * the parameter available to any template, pass the TEMPLATE_ALL constant
+     * for the template name.
+     *
+     * If the default parameter existed previously, subsequent invocations with
+     * the same template name and parameter name will overwrite.
+     *
+     * @param string $templateName Name of template to which the param applies;
+     *     use TEMPLATE_ALL to apply to all templates.
+     * @param string $param Param name.
+     * @param mixed $value
+     */
+    public function addDefaultParam($templateName, $param, $value)
+    {
+        if (! is_string($templateName) || empty($templateName)) {
+            throw new Exception\InvalidArgumentException(sprintf(
+                '$templateName must be a non-empty string; received %s',
+                (is_object($templateName) ? get_class($templateName) : gettype($templateName))
+            ));
+        }
+
+        if (! is_string($param) || empty($param)) {
+            throw new Exception\InvalidArgumentException(sprintf(
+                '$param must be a non-empty string; received %s',
+                (is_object($param) ? get_class($param) : gettype($param))
+            ));
+        }
+
+        if (! isset($this->defaultParams[$templateName])) {
+            $this->defaultParams[$templateName] = [];
+        }
+
+        $this->defaultParams[$templateName][$param] = $value;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Returns merged global, template-specific and given params
+     *
+     * @param string $template
+     * @param array $params
+     * @return array
+     */
+    private function mergeParams($template, array $params)
+    {
+        $globalDefaults = isset($this->defaultParams[TemplateRendererInterface::TEMPLATE_ALL])
+            ? $this->defaultParams[TemplateRendererInterface::TEMPLATE_ALL]
+            : [];
+
+        $templateDefaults = isset($this->defaultParams[$template])
+            ? $this->defaultParams[$template]
+            : [];
+
+        $defaults = ArrayUtils::merge($globalDefaults, $templateDefaults);
+
+        return ArrayUtils::merge($defaults, $params);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/Template/PlatesRenderer.php b/src/Template/PlatesRenderer.php
index 3f800cbe..b2e0b3b5 100644
--- a/src/Template/PlatesRenderer.php
+++ b/src/Template/PlatesRenderer.php
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
 
 use League\Plates\Engine;
 use ReflectionProperty;
+use Zend\Expressive\Exception;
 
 /**
  * Template implementation bridging league/plates
@@ -88,6 +89,39 @@ public function getPaths()
         return $paths;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * {@inheritDoc}
+     *
+     * Proxies to the Plate Engine's `addData()` method.
+     *
+     * {@inheritDoc}
+     */
+    public function addDefaultParam($templateName, $param, $value)
+    {
+        if (! is_string($templateName) || empty($templateName)) {
+            throw new Exception\InvalidArgumentException(sprintf(
+                '$templateName must be a non-empty string; received %s',
+                (is_object($templateName) ? get_class($templateName) : gettype($templateName))
+            ));
+        }
+
+        if (! is_string($param) || empty($param)) {
+            throw new Exception\InvalidArgumentException(sprintf(
+                '$param must be a non-empty string; received %s',
+                (is_object($param) ? get_class($param) : gettype($param))
+            ));
+        }
+
+        $params = [$param => $value];
+
+        if ($templateName === self::TEMPLATE_ALL) {
+            $templateName = null;
+        }
+
+        $this->template->addData($params, $templateName);
+    }
+
+
     /**
      * Create a default Plates engine
      *
diff --git a/src/Template/TemplateRendererInterface.php b/src/Template/TemplateRendererInterface.php
index a98752b5..68e536c3 100644
--- a/src/Template/TemplateRendererInterface.php
+++ b/src/Template/TemplateRendererInterface.php
@@ -14,6 +14,11 @@
  */
 interface TemplateRendererInterface
 {
+    /**
+     * @const string Value indicating all templates; used with `addDefaultParam()`.
+     */
+    const TEMPLATE_ALL = '*';
+
     /**
      * Render a template, optionally with parameters.
      *
@@ -43,4 +48,25 @@ public function addPath($path, $namespace = null);
      * @return TemplatePath[]
      */
     public function getPaths();
+
+    /**
+     * Add a default parameter to use with a template.
+     *
+     * Use this method to provide a default parameter to use when a template is
+     * rendered. The parameter may be overridden by providing it when calling
+     * `render()`, or by calling this method again with a null value.
+     *
+     * The parameter will be specific to the template name provided. To make
+     * the parameter available to any template, pass the TEMPLATE_ALL constant
+     * for the template name.
+     *
+     * If the default parameter existed previously, subsequent invocations with
+     * the same template name and parameter name will overwrite.
+     *
+     * @param string $templateName Name of template to which the param applies;
+     *     use TEMPLATE_ALL to apply to all templates.
+     * @param string $param Param name.
+     * @param mixed $value
+     */
+    public function addDefaultParam($templateName, $param, $value);
 }
diff --git a/src/Template/TwigRenderer.php b/src/Template/TwigRenderer.php
index 4e0350dc..0ff0e2e5 100644
--- a/src/Template/TwigRenderer.php
+++ b/src/Template/TwigRenderer.php
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 class TwigRenderer implements TemplateRendererInterface
 {
     use ArrayParametersTrait;
+    use DefaultParamsTrait;
 
     /**
      * @var string
@@ -89,8 +90,14 @@ private function getDefaultLoader()
      */
     public function render($name, $params = [])
     {
+        // Merge parameters based on requested template name
+        $params = $this->mergeParams($name, $this->normalizeParams($params));
+
         $name   = $this->normalizeTemplate($name);
-        $params = $this->normalizeParams($params);
+
+        // Merge parameters based on normalized template name
+        $params = $this->mergeParams($name, $params);
+
         return $this->template->render($name, $params);
     }
 
diff --git a/src/Template/ZendViewRenderer.php b/src/Template/ZendViewRenderer.php
index 6b030c4b..a02808f7 100644
--- a/src/Template/ZendViewRenderer.php
+++ b/src/Template/ZendViewRenderer.php
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@
 class ZendViewRenderer implements TemplateRendererInterface
 {
     use ArrayParametersTrait;
+    use DefaultParamsTrait;
 
     /**
      * @var ViewModel
@@ -118,8 +119,9 @@ public function __construct(RendererInterface $renderer = null, $layout = null)
      */
     public function render($name, $params = [])
     {
+        $params = $this->mergeParams($name, $this->normalizeParams($params));
         return $this->renderModel(
-            $this->createModel($name, $this->normalizeParams($params)),
+            $this->createModel($name, $params),
             $this->renderer
         );
     }
diff --git a/test/Template/PlatesRendererTest.php b/test/Template/PlatesRendererTest.php
index c36bcac7..dc5aab51 100644
--- a/test/Template/PlatesRendererTest.php
+++ b/test/Template/PlatesRendererTest.php
@@ -184,4 +184,74 @@ public function testProperlyResolvesNamespacedTemplate()
 
         $this->assertSame($expected, $test);
     }
+
+    public function testAddParameterToOneTemplate()
+    {
+        $renderer = new PlatesRenderer();
+        $renderer->addPath(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset');
+        $name = 'Plates';
+        $renderer->addDefaultParam('plates', 'name', $name);
+        $result = $renderer->render('plates');
+        $content = file_get_contents(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset/plates.php');
+        $content= str_replace('<?=$this->e($name)?>', $name, $content);
+        $this->assertEquals($content, $result);
+
+        // @fixme hack to work around https://github.com/thephpleague/plates/issues/60, remove if ever merged
+        set_error_handler(function ($error, $message) {
+            $this->assertContains('Undefined variable: name', $message);
+            return true;
+        }, E_NOTICE);
+        $renderer->render('plates-2');
+        restore_error_handler();
+
+        $content= str_replace('<?=$this->e($name)?>', '', $content);
+        $this->assertEquals($content, $result);
+    }
+
+    public function testAddSharedParameters()
+    {
+        $renderer = new PlatesRenderer();
+        $renderer->addPath(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset');
+        $name = 'Plates';
+        $renderer->addDefaultParam($renderer::TEMPLATE_ALL, 'name', $name);
+        $result = $renderer->render('plates');
+        $content = file_get_contents(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset/plates.php');
+        $content= str_replace('<?=$this->e($name)?>', $name, $content);
+        $this->assertEquals($content, $result);
+        $result = $renderer->render('plates-2');
+        $content = file_get_contents(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset/plates-2.php');
+        $content= str_replace('<?=$this->e($name)?>', $name, $content);
+        $this->assertEquals($content, $result);
+    }
+
+    public function testOverrideSharedParametersPerTemplate()
+    {
+        $renderer = new PlatesRenderer();
+        $renderer->addPath(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset');
+        $name = 'Plates';
+        $name2 = 'Saucers';
+        $renderer->addDefaultParam($renderer::TEMPLATE_ALL, 'name', $name);
+        $renderer->addDefaultParam('plates-2', 'name', $name2);
+        $result = $renderer->render('plates');
+        $content = file_get_contents(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset/plates.php');
+        $content= str_replace('<?=$this->e($name)?>', $name, $content);
+        $this->assertEquals($content, $result);
+        $result = $renderer->render('plates-2');
+        $content = file_get_contents(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset/plates-2.php');
+        $content= str_replace('<?=$this->e($name)?>', $name2, $content);
+        $this->assertEquals($content, $result);
+    }
+
+    public function testOverrideSharedParametersAtRender()
+    {
+        $renderer = new PlatesRenderer();
+        $renderer->addPath(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset');
+        $name = 'Plates';
+        $name2 = 'Saucers';
+        $renderer->addDefaultParam($renderer::TEMPLATE_ALL, 'name', $name);
+        $result = $renderer->render('plates', ['name' => $name2]);
+        $content = file_get_contents(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset/plates.php');
+        $content= str_replace('<?=$this->e($name)?>', $name2, $content);
+        $this->assertEquals($content, $result);
+    }
 }
diff --git a/test/Template/TestAsset/plates-2.php b/test/Template/TestAsset/plates-2.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..571e5569
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/Template/TestAsset/plates-2.php
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+<h1>This is a second template file for Plates</h1>
+
+<p>You are using <strong><?=$this->e($name)?></strong>!</p>
diff --git a/test/Template/TestAsset/twig-2.html b/test/Template/TestAsset/twig-2.html
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..68803930
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/Template/TestAsset/twig-2.html
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+<h1>This is a second template file for Twig</h1>
+
+<p>You are using <strong>{{ name }}</strong>!</p>
diff --git a/test/Template/TestAsset/zendview-2.phtml b/test/Template/TestAsset/zendview-2.phtml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..56d36182
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/Template/TestAsset/zendview-2.phtml
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+<h1>This is a second template file for ZendView</h1>
+
+<p>You are using <strong><?php echo $name ?></strong>!</p>
diff --git a/test/Template/TwigRendererTest.php b/test/Template/TwigRendererTest.php
index 0081c2dc..4ecd0361 100644
--- a/test/Template/TwigRendererTest.php
+++ b/test/Template/TwigRendererTest.php
@@ -175,4 +175,66 @@ public function testResolvesNamespacedTemplateWithSuffix()
 
         $this->assertSame($expected, $test);
     }
+
+    public function testAddParameterToOneTemplate()
+    {
+        $renderer = new TwigRenderer();
+        $renderer->addPath(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset');
+        $name = 'Twig';
+        $renderer->addDefaultParam('twig', 'name', $name);
+        $result = $renderer->render('twig');
+
+        $content = file_get_contents(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset/twig.html');
+        $content = str_replace('{{ name }}', $name, $content);
+        $this->assertEquals($content, $result);
+    }
+
+    public function testAddSharedParameters()
+    {
+        $renderer = new TwigRenderer();
+        $renderer->addPath(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset');
+        $name = 'Twig';
+        $renderer->addDefaultParam($renderer::TEMPLATE_ALL, 'name', $name);
+        $result = $renderer->render('twig');
+        $content = file_get_contents(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset/twig.html');
+        $content = str_replace('{{ name }}', $name, $content);
+        $this->assertEquals($content, $result);
+
+        $result = $renderer->render('twig-2');
+        $content = file_get_contents(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset/twig-2.html');
+        $content = str_replace('{{ name }}', $name, $content);
+        $this->assertEquals($content, $result);
+    }
+
+    public function testOverrideSharedParametersPerTemplate()
+    {
+        $renderer = new TwigRenderer();
+        $renderer->addPath(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset');
+        $name = 'Twig';
+        $name2 = 'Template';
+        $renderer->addDefaultParam($renderer::TEMPLATE_ALL, 'name', $name);
+        $renderer->addDefaultParam('twig-2', 'name', $name2);
+        $result = $renderer->render('twig');
+        $content = file_get_contents(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset/twig.html');
+        $content = str_replace('{{ name }}', $name, $content);
+        $this->assertEquals($content, $result);
+
+        $result = $renderer->render('twig-2');
+        $content = file_get_contents(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset/twig-2.html');
+        $content = str_replace('{{ name }}', $name2, $content);
+        $this->assertEquals($content, $result);
+    }
+
+    public function testOverrideSharedParametersAtRender()
+    {
+        $renderer = new TwigRenderer();
+        $renderer->addPath(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset');
+        $name = 'Twig';
+        $name2 = 'Template';
+        $renderer->addDefaultParam($renderer::TEMPLATE_ALL, 'name', $name);
+        $result = $renderer->render('twig', ['name' => $name2]);
+        $content = file_get_contents(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset/twig.html');
+        $content = str_replace('{{ name }}', $name2, $content);
+        $this->assertEquals($content, $result);
+    }
 }
diff --git a/test/Template/ZendViewRendererTest.php b/test/Template/ZendViewRendererTest.php
index 01b6eb32..18c5bf3b 100644
--- a/test/Template/ZendViewRendererTest.php
+++ b/test/Template/ZendViewRendererTest.php
@@ -250,4 +250,66 @@ public function testProperlyResolvesNamespacedTemplate()
 
         $this->assertSame($expected, $test);
     }
+
+    public function testAddParameterToOneTemplate()
+    {
+        $renderer = new ZendViewRenderer();
+        $renderer->addPath(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset');
+        $name = 'ZendView';
+        $renderer->addDefaultParam('zendview', 'name', $name);
+        $result = $renderer->render('zendview');
+
+        $content = file_get_contents(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset/zendview.phtml');
+        $content = str_replace('<?php echo $name ?>', $name, $content);
+        $this->assertEquals($content, $result);
+    }
+
+    public function testAddSharedParameters()
+    {
+        $renderer = new ZendViewRenderer();
+        $renderer->addPath(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset');
+        $name = 'ZendView';
+        $renderer->addDefaultParam($renderer::TEMPLATE_ALL, 'name', $name);
+        $result = $renderer->render('zendview');
+        $content = file_get_contents(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset/zendview.phtml');
+        $content = str_replace('<?php echo $name ?>', $name, $content);
+        $this->assertEquals($content, $result);
+
+        $result = $renderer->render('zendview-2');
+        $content = file_get_contents(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset/zendview-2.phtml');
+        $content = str_replace('<?php echo $name ?>', $name, $content);
+        $this->assertEquals($content, $result);
+    }
+
+    public function testOverrideSharedParametersPerTemplate()
+    {
+        $renderer = new ZendViewRenderer();
+        $renderer->addPath(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset');
+        $name = 'Zend';
+        $name2 = 'View';
+        $renderer->addDefaultParam($renderer::TEMPLATE_ALL, 'name', $name);
+        $renderer->addDefaultParam('zendview-2', 'name', $name2);
+        $result = $renderer->render('zendview');
+        $content = file_get_contents(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset/zendview.phtml');
+        $content = str_replace('<?php echo $name ?>', $name, $content);
+        $this->assertEquals($content, $result);
+
+        $result = $renderer->render('zendview-2');
+        $content = file_get_contents(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset/zendview-2.phtml');
+        $content = str_replace('<?php echo $name ?>', $name2, $content);
+        $this->assertEquals($content, $result);
+    }
+
+    public function testOverrideSharedParametersAtRender()
+    {
+        $renderer = new ZendViewRenderer();
+        $renderer->addPath(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset');
+        $name = 'Zend';
+        $name2 = 'View';
+        $renderer->addDefaultParam($renderer::TEMPLATE_ALL, 'name', $name);
+        $result = $renderer->render('zendview', ['name' => $name2]);
+        $content = file_get_contents(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset/zendview.phtml');
+        $content = str_replace('<?php echo $name ?>', $name2, $content);
+        $this->assertEquals($content, $result);
+    }
 }