E35 FONDAZIONE PER LA PROGETTAZIONE INTERNAZIONALE

Their core work

E35 is an Italian foundation based in Reggio Emilia specializing in international project design, participatory methodologies, and social innovation. Their work centers on bridging research and community practice — designing and facilitating processes that involve citizens, rural communities, and local institutions in co-creating solutions. In H2020, they contributed to Living Lab approaches for rural innovation (food and agriculture context) and to deliberative democracy processes in urban settings. Their core value is methodological: they know how to design participation, not just describe it.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Both projects fall within the 2018–2024 window and no keyword-level granularity is available, so the shift is inferred from project themes and sector tags. Their earlier engagement (LIVERUR, 2018–2021) was rooted in rural areas and the food and agriculture sector, applying participatory and Living Lab frameworks to community-level innovation outside cities. Their more recent involvement (EUARENAS, 2021–2024) moved into the urban and political sphere — deliberative democracy, civic participation, and governance innovation — tagged under Environment, suggesting an interest in how participatory mechanisms apply to environmental governance. The trajectory suggests a broadening of their participatory methodology toolkit from rural food systems toward urban civic and political contexts.

E35 appears to be evolving from a niche rural-innovation facilitator toward a broader participatory democracy and civic engagement specialist, making them a relevant partner for projects bridging community participation with governance and environmental policy.

How they like to work

E35 has never held a coordinator role in H2020 — they function exclusively as participant or third party, signaling a preference for contributing specialist capacity within larger consortia rather than leading them. Despite only two projects, they have engaged with 34 unique partners across 17 countries, indicating they consistently join large, geographically diverse RIA consortia. Their third-party role in EUARENAS suggests they sometimes enter projects in a supporting or expert-service capacity rather than as a fully integrated research partner.

E35 has built a surprisingly broad network for an organization with just two H2020 projects — 34 unique consortium partners across 17 countries, a footprint consistent with participation in large pan-European RIA projects. Their network spans both rural innovation and civic governance communities, giving them cross-thematic reach.

What sets them apart

E35 occupies an unusual position as an Italian NGO-type foundation that brings participatory process design expertise to EU research consortia — a role that is distinct from universities (which produce research) and consultancies (which deliver services). Their dual exposure to rural food systems and urban democratic innovation gives them a methodology-first profile that can transfer across sectors wherever citizen or community engagement is needed. For consortium builders, they fill the "community engagement and participatory methodology" slot that many technically-focused consortia need but struggle to find credibly.

Highlights from their portfolio

• LIVERUR
  Their only directly funded H2020 project (EUR 180,350), establishing their Living Lab credentials in rural and food system contexts — the clearest evidence of their applied participatory methodology work.
• EUARENAS
  Their participation as a third party in a project on deliberative democracy and political innovation in cities signals an expansion into civic governance, a growing funding priority in EU research agendas.