AGENZIA REGIONALE PER LA PREVENZIONE, L'AMBIENTE E L'ENERGIA DELL'EMILIA-ROMAGNA

Their core work

ARPAE is the regional environmental protection and energy agency for Emilia-Romagna, Italy — one of Italy's most industrialized regions. They monitor air quality, water resources, and climate risks, translating environmental data into actionable services for local governments and citizens. In EU projects, they contribute operational expertise in environmental monitoring, Earth observation data integration, and nature-based solutions for managing climate-related hazards in urban and rural settings.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

ARPAE's early H2020 work (2015-2016) combined Earth observation infrastructure (ERA-PLANET, Copernicus/GEOSS) with urban air quality management (iSCAPE), reflecting a data-collection and monitoring orientation. By 2017-2018, the focus shifted decisively toward climate adaptation, nature-based solutions, and co-design approaches (OPERANDUM, CLARA), signalling a move from monitoring environmental problems to actively managing climate risks through green interventions. The thread connecting both phases is Copernicus data, which evolved from a standalone research topic into an integrated tool within applied climate resilience projects.

ARPAE is moving from environmental data collection toward applied climate resilience, making them a strong fit for future projects combining Earth observation with nature-based urban adaptation.

How they like to work

ARPAE consistently participates as a partner rather than leading consortia — zero coordinator roles across six projects. They operate in large, diverse consortia (144 unique partners across 27 countries), which is typical for a regional public agency contributing domain data, local testbed access, and regulatory expertise rather than driving research agendas. This makes them a reliable, low-friction partner who brings real-world operational context without competing for project leadership.

With 144 unique consortium partners spanning 27 countries, ARPAE has built a wide European network despite never coordinating a project. Their connections are broadly distributed rather than concentrated in a few countries, reflecting the pan-European scope of environmental and climate research.

What sets them apart

ARPAE brings something most research institutes cannot: operational responsibility for environmental monitoring across an entire Italian region. They don't just study air quality or flood risks — they run the monitoring networks, issue warnings, and advise local authorities daily. For consortium builders, this means access to real operational data, established sensor infrastructure, and a direct channel to regional policy implementation in one of Italy's most economically active areas.

Highlights from their portfolio

• OPERANDUM
  Largest single EC contribution (EUR 619,000) and their most recent project, combining nature-based solutions with Copernicus data fusion for hydro-meteorological risk — represents their current strategic direction.
• iSCAPE
  Uniquely combined technical air pollution measures with behavioural change and green infrastructure approaches in cities, showing ARPAE's capacity to bridge environmental science with urban planning.
• ERA-PLANET
  Pan-European Earth observation network project where ARPAE participated as a third party, connecting them to the GEOSS and Copernicus data ecosystem that underpins their later climate work.