COMUNE DI PALERMO

Their core work

The Municipality of Palermo is a major Southern Italian city government that brings real-world urban governance experience to EU research projects. It serves as a living laboratory for testing policies around migration integration, urban mobility, citizen well-being, and public safety — areas where Palermo faces daily operational challenges as a Mediterranean port city with significant migrant populations. Their contribution is not academic research but practical implementation: deploying pilot programs, providing access to municipal services and citizen communities, and validating solutions in a complex urban environment.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early period (2015–2019), Palermo engaged in security-focused research (organised crime, radicalisation, counter-terrorism via PROTON) alongside energy roadmapping and urban mobility — reflecting traditional municipal concerns. From 2020 onward, the focus shifted decisively toward social inclusion, migration governance, and citizen well-being, with three concurrent projects (EASYRIGHTS, Global-ANSWER, EuPOLIS) all centered on making the city more livable and inclusive. This evolution mirrors Palermo's growing identity as a Mediterranean migration hub and its political commitment to immigrant integration.

Palermo is consolidating around social innovation for diverse urban populations — expect future work on digital public services, inclusive city planning, and Euro-Mediterranean cooperation.

How they like to work

Palermo participates exclusively as a partner, never as coordinator — consistent with its role as a public authority providing a real-world testbed rather than driving research agendas. With 93 unique partners across 26 countries from just 6 projects, they operate in large, diverse consortia (averaging ~16 partners per project). This makes them an accessible, experienced consortium member who knows how to work within complex multi-country partnerships without dominating them.

With 93 unique consortium partners spanning 26 countries, Palermo has built a remarkably wide European network for a municipality with only 6 projects. Their geographic reach reflects the broad, multinational consortia typical of Societal Challenge projects.

What sets them apart

Palermo is one of few major Southern European municipalities actively participating in EU research on migration, security, and urban inclusion — topics it deals with firsthand as a key Mediterranean arrival city. Unlike northern European city partners, Palermo brings the perspective of a frontline city managing migration flows, organised crime challenges, and rapid social change simultaneously. For any consortium needing a Southern Italian urban pilot site with political commitment to social innovation, Palermo is a proven and experienced choice.

Highlights from their portfolio

• EASYRIGHTS
  Largest single funding (EUR 180,000) and directly targets immigrant rights — a core competence of Palermo as a self-declared welcoming city.
• Global-ANSWER
  Long-running MSCA-RISE project (2020–2025) studying social work and migration across the Euro-Mediterranean region, connecting Palermo to a global research network.
• EuPOLIS
  Combines nature-based urban planning with advanced ICT tools (serious games, augmented reality), representing Palermo's move into tech-enabled citizen engagement.