CONFINDUSTRIA LOMBARDIA

Their core work

Confindustria Lombardia is the regional branch of Italy's largest employers' federation, representing manufacturing and industrial companies in the Lombardy region. In H2020, they focused almost exclusively on delivering Key Account Management (KAM) and innovation coaching services to help SMEs access EU funding instruments like the SME Instrument and Fast Track to Innovation. They also contributed to high-level manufacturing policy through the World Manufacturing Forum, connecting regional industry perspectives to European industrial strategy discussions.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their early H2020 work (2015-2017) centered tightly on SME coaching, KAM services, and technology transfer — a classic innovation intermediary role helping companies navigate EU funding. From 2017 onward, they broadened into manufacturing policy (World Manufacturing Forum) and expanded the scope of their SME support to include newer funding instruments like FET-Open and Fast Track to Innovation. The shift suggests a move from pure SME hand-holding toward a more strategic role connecting regional industry to European manufacturing and sustainability agendas.

Moving from operational SME coaching toward strategic manufacturing policy engagement, with growing interest in sustainability and Industry 4.0 themes.

How they like to work

Always a participant, never a coordinator — consistent with their role as a regional industry association contributing sectoral knowledge rather than leading research. With only 13 unique partners across a single country, they operate in small, regionally focused consortia. Their repeated participation in the same project series (KAMINLER, four iterations) suggests they are a reliable, long-term partner rather than a one-off contributor.

A compact network of 13 partners concentrated in a single country, reflecting their regional mandate. Their repeat engagement through KAMINLER suggests stable relationships with a core group of innovation support organizations in northern Italy.

What sets them apart

As the Lombardy branch of Italy's main employers' federation, they offer direct access to the largest and most industrialized regional economy in Italy. For consortium builders, their value lies not in research capacity but in their ability to mobilize and engage hundreds of SMEs for piloting, validation, or dissemination activities. They bring the demand side — real companies with real problems — which is exactly what many research projects lack.

Highlights from their portfolio

• KAMINLER
  Ran across four consecutive H2020 editions (2015-2021), demonstrating sustained EU commitment to SME innovation support in Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna.
• WMF2018
  Organized the World Manufacturing Forum 2018, a high-profile policy event connecting Industry 4.0, sustainability, and European manufacturing competitiveness.