Titolo programma / Ente finanziatore: PRIN 2022 -PNRR
Titolo del progetto: Freedom of Information, Democracy and the Environment: an empirical study on the Italian case (FIDE-I)
Coordinatore di unità Lorenzo Cicatiello
Settori ERC coinvolti:
1. SH - Social Sciences and Humanities
2. SH2_1 Political systems, governanc
3. SH1_15 Public economics; political economics; law and economics
Data inizio progetto: 30/11/2023
Data fine progetto: 30/11/2025
Codice progetto: P2022JLX7S
CUP: C53D23009920001
Acronimo: FIDE-I
Website:
Abstract: The proposal brings together two teams in a multidisciplinary study of the implementation of transparency, freedom of information and civic access to administrative documents in Italy.
The study will analyze transparency and freedom of information in the field of environmental policy, where emerging conflicts pose new challenges to established rules of access to information that date back to the late 1990’s.
A theoretical framework is developed based on the existing literature and previous research by the members of the two teams, to define the relevance and nature of transparency in democratic regimes, the determinants of performance in transparency policy implementation, the role of civic action groups in mediating the flow of open government information, and the emerging role of transparency in environmental policy and environmental action.
Quantitative research is conducted on a sample of public bodies of different administrative levels (municipalities, regions and agencies) to analyze to what extent they inform the public on access rights and procedures, and a field experiment is conducted to test their responsiveness to access requests. Correlation with contextual and organizational variable will help explain the determinants of good practice.
Qualitative research is used to interpret the quantitative data, and to understand to what extent current transparency regulations and practices fulfill demand of civic society organizations which are called on by democratic theory to act as intermediators of information and advocacy.
The project will contribute to scientific knowledge in the fields of democratic theory, administrative studies and public economics. It will greatly contribute to the strengthening of the research communities in the two hosting institutions, where interdisciplinary collaboration will lead to new pathways for research. Finally, it will produce guidelines and non-technical materials that will be shared, disseminated and discussed with stakeholders to contribute to better planning of transparency policy and environmental action.
Titolo programma / Ente finanziatore: PRIN 2022 -PNRR
Titolo del progetto: A development model for Circular Economy between Industrial Parks and surrounding areas
Coordinatore di unità Roberta Arbolino
Settori ERC coinvolti: SH7_5, SH7_6, SH7_8
Data inizio progetto: 30/11/2023
Data fine progetto: 28/02/2026
Codice progetto: P2022JLX7S
CUP: C53D23008770001
Acronimo: CE_ IPsa
Website:
Abstract: The project aims at defining a modelling framework for promoting the interconnection between industrial parks (IP) and the surrounding context, based on the principles of industrial symbiosis and circular economy. More in detail, it will identify the synergies potentially existing between firms operating in an industrial park and the surrounding area, in terms of potential matching points between the production inputs required by the former, on the one side, and by-products/waste produced outside the park, on the other.
The main goal is to validate a circular development model constructed on the basis of territorial productive specialization, in terms of existing economic activities and local productive culture. This model will be able to identify new opportunities, in terms of production input acquisition (i.e., secondary raw materials) and supply chain rearrangements, thus favouring the creation of new local/short supply chains, new entrepreneurial approaches embracing the principles of circular economy and new forms of employment.
The proposed research will define drivers able to enhance the implementation of IS/CE principles in local production. These drivers will provide the basis for the construction of development trajectories, in which waste and by-products are combined to become resources of different production chains, allowing firms to benefit from the exchange of materials. To achieve this goal, the most efficient combinations of resource to be shared between the industrial park and the surrounding context need to be identified, based on the experience reported by national and international best practices. The final output of the study will involve guidelines for a circular industrial policy, based on intervention and incentives for those industrial sectors willing to cooperate.
For achieving this goal, the project will involve five main steps:
1. Theoretical overview of the literature on planning, monitoring and evaluation methodologies of IS/CE.
2. Analysis and mapping of the production fabric of a selected industrial park and the surrounding area.
3. Definition of the Development model, through the (i) analysis of national and international best practices and the (ii) assessment of the existence of potential synergies among firms operating in the areas studied in step two, in terms of by-products and resources to be shared.
4. Definition of the Development Plan, involving (i) the identification of proper impact measures; (ii) the evaluation of the feasibility of the interventions included in the development model, through its application; (iii) the identification of the set of interventions required in the selected area and iv) the definition of the set of public incentives necessary for implementing the model.
5. Construction of a Decision Support System, defined as a set of guidelines for supporting policymakers and entrepreneurs to pursue an integrated planning of IS/CE interventions.
Titolo programma / Ente finanziatore: PRIN 2022 -PNRR
Titolo del progetto: Digital market and consumer protection
Coordinatore di unità Roberta Montinaro
Settori ERC coinvolti: SH2_4, SH1_3
Data inizio progetto: 30/11/2023
Data fine progetto: 28/02/2026
Codice progetto: P2022YLAF5
CUP: C53D23009990001
Acronimo: CE_ IPsa
Website:
Abstract: Building on the state of the art and recent European regulatory interventions in the digital marketplace and consumer protection, the
research team, composed by scholars with heterogeneous and complementary skills, aims to achieve the following objectives through an interdisciplinary, international, and case-study analysis:
1. Reduce regulatory uncertainty about the obligations and responsibilities of digital service intermediaries in order to contribute to a
secure and reliable digital marketplace that concretely protects consumer rights without hindering innovation, competitiveness, and economic development;
2.Examine the legal and economic profiles of the use of recommender systems in online interactions between professionals and consumers in order to identify consumer protections and remedies;
3. Collect, process and analyze data on the presence valence of illegal activities, risks and harms to which consumers are exposed online. This activity is prodromal to the production of scientific papers and books aimed at empowering users of digital services, making them aware of their rights and of the decisive role their market choices can play in protecting them;
4. Overcome the lack of coordination between the Proposal for a regulation of the european parliament and of the council laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence and amending certain union legislative acts, known as the Artificial intelligence Act (com(2021) 206) final and the Digital services act, by analyzing the advantages and limitations, legal and economic of the risk-based approach that is the one chosen at the European level both in the regulation of the digital services market and in the regulation of artificial intelligence systems.
The outcomes of the project could have an important impact on both the scientific community and businesses and consumers by
contributing to the establishment of a safe and reliable online marketplace that respects the goals proclaimed by the European
Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles for the Digital Decade, (Com (2022) 28 final, January 26, 2022).
From the Academic point of view, the project allows to catch up with the international debate on digital market regulation.
From the practitioners' point of view, the project can bring numerous benefits because they often have difficulties in adapting to the
obligations imposed by the numerous and not always easily harmonized EU regulations From the point of view of consumers, the project could ensure significant results in terms of 'consumer education, reduction of
asymmetries and risks, particularly evident in the digital sphere.
Titolo programma / Ente finanziatore: PRIN 2022 -PNRR
Titolo del progetto: Next cities for whom? Imaginaries, resources and inequalities in urban fragments (NEXT-CITIES)
Coordinatore di unità Fabio Amato
Settori ERC coinvolti: SH7_7, SH7_1
Data inizio progetto: 30/11/2023
Data fine progetto: 28/02/2026
Codice progetto: P2022WMKRP
CUP: C53D23008860001
Acronimo: NEXT-CITIES
Website:
Abstract: This research aims at exploring Urban Fragments (UF) in five Italian cities - Bologna, Cagliari, Milano, Napoli, Palermo. Starting from the PNRR framework - where Italian urban issues are mainly considered in terms of urban renewal following a mainstream approach based on some keywords (such as smartness, resilience, sustainability, and creativity), our purpose is to define a scattered understanding of those cities, overcoming the idea (and the desire) of the urban as an "integral whole". Today urban issues, as climate change and socio-economic inequalities, ask for a methodological innovation as well a new stance in order to shed light upon the fragmented and conflictual nature of the urban realm, reinforcing "the idea of the urban world as incomplete, multiple, and always in the process" (McFarlane, 2022, p. XIX).
To approach the UF beyond a any technocentric perspective, and to examine their affective, emotional, sensorial, more-than-human dimensions (Lorimer, 2010), the project adopt qualitative, multi-scalar and multi-layered research methodologies. In particular, the project will set and tune with direct observation, interviews, focus-groups, creative and audio-visual methods, auto-ethnography. immersive bodily approaches. By using partecipative and creative methodologies, the research proposal aims to share the PNRR principles of social empowerment and moving beyond the purely academic research to reach wider social need.
The results we expect to achieve are the following. First, to build a critical analysis of policies and practices of urban renewal, urban regeneration and recovery of the 5 Italian cities, focusing on multispecies ecosystem processes; second, to define a multi-actor methodological path building an alternative reading of spatial fragility, which defines/redefines the liminal spaces of contact and exchange (of lives, actors, economies, etc.); third, to enter into the folds of the PNRR and understand the relationships between the dominant narratives it produces and the counter-narratives coming from UFs.
In line with the third strategic axis of the PNRR, i.e. social inclusion, and with the plan's mission linked to the green revolution and ecological transition, the project also aims to highlight territorial gaps and inequalities accentuated by the pandemic, helping to identify new ways of bridging them through action-research practices.
The final outputs (an online platform to spread knowledge outside the academy, a book, scientific papers) will gather the variety of approaches and the diversity of the UFs, as they will emerge from the work of each RU and from RUs' joint discussions.
Titolo programma / Ente finanziatore: PNRR, SPOKE 5, TS1 – RETURN
Titolo del progetto: CITIES – CLIMATE INITIATIVE FOR TRANSFORMING AND IMPROVING ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
Coordinatore di unità Marzia Mauriello
Data inizio progetto: 01/01/2025
Data fine progetto: 28/02/2026
Codice progetto: PE00000005_2
CUP: E63C22002000002
Acronimo: CITIES
Website: https://www.progetto-cities.it/progetto-cities/
Abstract: Climate Initiative for Transforming and Improving Environmental Sustainability si inserisce nel quadro delle iniziative volte a rafforzare la sostenibilità ambientale e la gestione dei rischi socio-ambientali nei contesti urbani, caratterizzati da equilibri complessi e da una crescente esposizione a rischi naturali e antropici aggravati dai cambiamenti climatici. Il progetto è finanziato nell’ambito del Bando a Cascata – Spoke 5, TS1 “Urban and Metropolitan Settlements” dell’Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, all’interno del progetto PNRR M4 C2 I.1.3 – Next GenerationEU, PE 00000005_2 “RETURN – Multi-Risk SciEnce for resilienT commUnities undeR a changiNg”, per un importo complessivo pari a 299.799 euro. L’obiettivo principale di CITIES è sviluppare un quadro metodologico integrato per l’analisi e la gestione dei rischi ambientali, del degrado degli ecosistemi e degli impatti del cambiamento climatico nelle aree urbane, ponendo particolare attenzione alla percezione del rischio da parte di cittadini e istituzioni. Il progetto promuove un dialogo strutturato e multilivello tra popolazione, attori istituzionali e mondo della ricerca, riconoscendo il ruolo centrale delle dimensioni cognitive, sociali e culturali nella costruzione della consapevolezza del rischio e nella capacità di adattamento delle comunità. L’approccio adottato è multidisciplinare e basato su metodi qualitativi e quantitativi integrati. Il progetto si articola in cinque task principali. Nella fase iniziale vengono svolte attività di desk analysis e ricognizione territoriale finalizzate alla ricostruzione del “riskscape” dei contesti pilota e all’individuazione degli stakeholder rilevanti. La fase successiva riguarda la progettazione, la somministrazione e l’analisi di questionari rivolti alla popolazione, finalizzati a rilevare percezioni, livelli di consapevolezza e valutazioni sulla governance locale. Parallelamente, vengono realizzate ricerche sul campo con interviste a cittadini e cittadine, istituzioni ed esperte/i, utili a individuare criticità nei sistemi di governance del rischio. I risultati ottenuti vengono discussi all’interno di focus group che coinvolgono cittadini/e, ricercatori e ricercatrici e rappresentanti istituzionali, con l’obiettivo di elaborare strategie condivise di gestione e prevenzione del rischio. Output centrale del progetto è la realizzazione di una piattaforma web open access, multilingue e user-friendly, ispirata al modello degli Urban Living Labs. La piattaforma consente la mappatura delle percezioni di rischio, l’individuazione delle aree più esposte e dei gruppi vulnerabili, la diffusione di materiali informativi ed educativi e il rafforzamento della comunicazione tra ricerca, istituzioni e cittadini. Lo strumento è concepito non solo per i tre casi pilota – Bacoli, Enna e Macerata – selezionati per caratteristiche urbane e livelli di rischio differenti, ma anche come metodologia trasferibile ad altri contesti urbani, contribuendo al miglioramento della governance del rischio e all’ottimizzazione delle competenze amministrative. Nel complesso, il progetto CITIES contribuisce agli obiettivi del progetto RETURN rafforzando la comprensione pubblica dei rischi, migliorando le strategie di prevenzione, adattamento e mitigazione e promuovendo sistemi dinamici di monitoraggio del rischio urbano.