CSIL SCRL

Their core work

CSIL SCRL is a Milan-based applied economics and evaluation research cooperative specializing in the socio-economic assessment of research infrastructures. Their core work involves developing and applying methodologies that measure how investments in large-scale scientific facilities translate into economic, innovation, and societal returns. They have contributed both to methodology-building projects — designing frameworks for how impact should be measured — and to real-world applications, including the socio-economic case for the Future Circular Collider, CERN's proposed next-generation particle accelerator. In practice, they serve as expert analysts bridging the gap between science policy and measurable economic evidence.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

CSIL's H2020 trajectory is short but directionally clear: they entered with a pilot-phase methodology project (RI Impact Pathways, 2018–2020) focused on building the tools and frameworks for assessing research infrastructure impacts — pilot study design, online assessment, impact pathway mapping. They then moved directly to applying that expertise at the largest possible scale: the Future Circular Collider Innovation Study (2020–2024), a CERN-led global initiative where their role was almost certainly socio-economic modelling and impact justification. The shift from methodology-building to flagship application in particle physics suggests growing credibility and the ability to operate in high-visibility, technically complex consortia.

CSIL appears to be positioning itself as a go-to evaluator for major international research infrastructure investments, moving from methodology design toward direct application in flagship science policy contexts — a trajectory that favors future collaborations around large-scale facility justification, EU mission alignment, and innovation impact modelling.

How they like to work

CSIL operates exclusively as a consortium participant — they have never coordinated an H2020 project — which reflects their role as a specialist analytical contributor rather than a project driver. With 23 unique partners across 13 countries in just two projects, they clearly work within large, international consortia where their evaluation expertise complements scientific and technical partners. This suggests they are reliable, focused contributors who bring a specific analytical capability rather than broad project management experience.

Despite only two projects, CSIL has built a notably broad network: 23 unique partners spanning 13 countries, which reflects the international nature of research infrastructure consortia (particularly FCCIS, a CERN-anchored global initiative). Their geographic reach extends well beyond Italy and Europe into the international big-science community.

What sets them apart

CSIL occupies a rare niche: applied economists who specialize in the socio-economic justification and impact assessment of large-scale scientific infrastructure, a domain where most economists lack the technical literacy to engage and most physicists lack the policy and economics framing to communicate value to funders. Their participation in FCCIS — one of the most ambitious and high-profile physics infrastructure studies in Europe — gives them credibility that few Italian SMEs of their size can claim. For consortia building proposals around research infrastructure, missions, or smart specialisation, they bring both the methodology and the track record.

Highlights from their portfolio

• FCCIS
  Participation in CERN's Future Circular Collider Innovation Study — one of the largest and most internationally visible research infrastructure proposals in Europe — places CSIL in elite company and signals high credibility in big-science socio-economic assessment.
• RI Impact Pathways
  This was a foundational methodology project for measuring research infrastructure impacts EU-wide, meaning CSIL helped shape the evaluation frameworks that other projects — including FCCIS — would later apply.