FONDAZIONE ICONS

Their core work

Fondazione ICONS is an Italian foundation based in Lodi that provides communication, dissemination, citizen engagement, and social innovation services across EU research projects. Their participation in 24 highly diverse H2020 projects — spanning batteries, immunology, smart cities, cultural tourism, and agri-food — indicates they are not a domain-specific technical lab but a cross-cutting service provider specializing in bridging research with society. They help consortia with outreach strategies, public awareness campaigns, and socio-economic impact assessment, as evidenced by their explicit role in FETFX (FET communication and outreach) and their recurring presence in large-scale demonstration and innovation actions.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In 2017-2019, ICONS focused heavily on smart city demonstrations and urban transformation — projects like MAtchUP, STARDUST, and URBAN GreenUP centered on nature-based solutions, energy efficiency monitoring, and citizen engagement in city-scale pilots. From 2020 onward, their portfolio diversified significantly into positive energy districts, battery technology (ASTRABAT), health diagnostics (CORONADX), immunology research (ULISES), and circular economy solutions. This broadening suggests ICONS increasingly positioned itself as a versatile dissemination and social innovation partner that any consortium can plug in, regardless of technical domain.

ICONS is moving toward ever-broader cross-domain engagement, making them a flexible communication and citizen engagement partner for any technically-focused consortium needing societal impact work.

How they like to work

ICONS operates exclusively as a participant — never coordinating — across consistently large consortia (448 unique partners across 24 projects). Their network breadth across 38 countries and extreme topic diversity indicates they are a service-oriented partner that consortia bring in for specific non-technical work packages (communication, dissemination, socio-economic assessment) rather than a domain leader shaping project direction. Working with ICONS means gaining a reliable, experienced dissemination partner with deep knowledge of EU project communication requirements.

With 448 unique consortium partners across 38 countries, ICONS has one of the broadest collaboration networks for an organization of its type — touching nearly every EU member state plus associated countries. Their geographic reach is pan-European with no visible concentration beyond Italy.

What sets them apart

What sets ICONS apart is their unusual versatility: a single foundation that credibly participates in projects ranging from solid-state batteries to immunology to cultural tourism. This only makes sense if their core offering — communication, dissemination, and societal engagement — is domain-agnostic and consistently valued by technical consortia. For consortium builders, ICONS solves the common problem of finding a partner experienced in EU dissemination obligations who can also handle citizen engagement and socio-economic impact work across any technical field.

Highlights from their portfolio

• MAtchUP
  Largest single EC contribution (EUR 856,500) — a flagship smart city lighthouse project with high public visibility and extensive upscaling ambitions.
• POCITYF
  Long-running project (2019-2026) on positive energy city transformation that uniquely combines energy transition with cultural heritage preservation.
• FETFX
  Most revealing of ICONS' true role — a project explicitly dedicated to communication and outreach for Future and Emerging Technologies research.