DEDA NEXT SRL

Their core work

DEDA NEXT SRL is an Italian technology company focused on digital services for public administration and citizen-government interaction. They design and implement platforms that enable co-production of public services — models where citizens, public bodies, and private actors collaborate to deliver better outcomes together. Their work bridges smart city infrastructure with democratic participation tools, making government services more accessible and responsive through digital channels. In EU research contexts, they contribute applied industry expertise in deploying digital governance solutions at scale within the European digital single market.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

DEDA NEXT entered H2020 through smart city infrastructure work (STARDUST, 2017), where their role was in integrated urban digital models — a broad, technology-oriented framing with no specific governance or participation angle recorded. By 2021, their focus had shifted clearly toward the political and social dimensions of digital transformation: citizen co-production, participatory governance, and the digital single market as a policy framework. This trajectory suggests a deliberate move from city-level technology deployment toward the upstream question of how citizens and governments interact through digital systems.

DEDA NEXT is moving toward the intersection of civic technology and public sector reform — organizations seeking partners for digital democracy, open government, or participatory service design will find increasing alignment with their current direction.

How they like to work

DEDA NEXT has participated in both projects as a consortium member, never as coordinator — indicating they prefer or are positioned to contribute specific expertise within larger collaborative structures rather than drive project leadership. The combined network of 54 unique partners across 11 countries across only 2 projects points to participation in large, multi-actor consortia typical of EU IA and RIA projects. This suggests they are comfortable operating as one specialist node in a wide network rather than anchoring tight, repeated partnerships.

DEDA NEXT has built connections with 54 distinct partners across 11 countries through just two projects — an unusually broad network for an organization with limited H2020 history. Their collaboration footprint spans multiple European countries, consistent with their involvement in EU-wide digital governance and smart city initiatives.

What sets them apart

DEDA NEXT occupies a relatively rare position as a non-SME private company with direct applied experience in both smart city deployment and citizen-facing digital governance — most players in this space are either public authorities, research institutes, or small consultancies. Their commercial background means they can bridge the gap between EU research pilots and real-world product or service deployment. For consortium builders, they offer industry credibility and implementation know-how in a domain often dominated by academic or public sector partners.

Highlights from their portfolio

• INTERLINK
  DEDA NEXT's most substantive EU engagement — EUR 362,750 in funding — focused squarely on their core expertise in digital governance and citizen co-production within the EU digital single market.
• STARDUST
  A long-running (2017–2024) smart city integration project that established DEDA NEXT's European research presence and demonstrates sustained engagement with urban digital transformation over seven years.