FONDAZIONE GIANGIACOMO FELTRINELLI

Their core work

Fondazione Feltrinelli is a major Italian research foundation specializing in social sciences, political thought, and democratic governance. They study how European democracies respond to political and economic crises, how citizens participate in public decision-making, and how urban spaces can be designed to foster social inclusion and wellbeing. Their work bridges academic political science research with practical democratic innovation, contributing deep expertise on European integration, sovereignty debates, and citizen engagement to large international research consortia.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their early H2020 work (2018-2019) combined urban planning, public space design, and wellbeing research with themes of active citizenship and social economy — a grounded, place-based approach. By 2022, their focus shifted decisively toward macro-level European political questions: sovereignty, identity, electoral politics, and the quality of democratic deliberation. The thread connecting both periods is democratic innovation, which appears across early and recent projects, but the scale of inquiry expanded from neighborhoods to the EU itself.

Feltrinelli is moving toward large-scale research on democratic resilience and citizen engagement at the European level — a strong partner for future projects on democratic backsliding, participatory governance, or green transition legitimacy.

How they like to work

Feltrinelli operates exclusively as a consortium participant, never as coordinator, which suggests they contribute specialized social science and political research expertise to projects led by others. With 48 unique partners across 17 countries from just 3 projects, they work in large, diverse consortia — particularly evident in URBiNAT (urban innovation) and SOLID (ERC Synergy). They appear to be a trusted knowledge partner rather than a project management hub.

Despite only three projects, Feltrinelli has built a broad network of 48 partners across 17 countries, reflecting the large consortium sizes typical of their project types. Their network spans most of the EU, with no narrow geographic cluster.

What sets them apart

Feltrinelli is not a typical research center — it is one of Italy's most prestigious cultural foundations with deep roots in political and social thought, lending historical and intellectual weight to any consortium. Their ability to connect urban-scale social innovation with European-level political analysis is unusual; few organizations bridge neighborhood co-creation with EU sovereignty debates. For consortium builders, they bring credibility in social sciences, strong Italian institutional networks, and genuine expertise on how democratic processes work in practice.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SOLID
  An ERC Synergy Grant (EUR 2.16M to Feltrinelli alone) studying EU crisis politics — the largest and most prestigious funding instrument in their portfolio, signaling top-tier research recognition.
• URBiNAT
  A large Innovation Action on healthy urban corridors that unusually combines sustainable design, human rights, and business model innovation in social housing neighborhoods.
• PHOENIX
  Their most recent project, focused on citizen voices for a greener Europe — signals their pivot toward linking democratic participation with the green transition.