INDIRE ISTITUTO NAZIONALE DI DOCUMENTAZIONE PER L'INNOVAZIONE E LA RICERCA EDUCATIVA

Their core work

INDIRE is Italy's national public research institute dedicated to educational innovation — it studies, documents, and promotes new teaching and learning practices across Italian schools and the broader European education system. In H2020, their work has concentrated on two practical challenges: improving school quality through structured mentoring programs for educators, and designing inclusive learning strategies for children from migrant and culturally diverse backgrounds. They contribute pedagogical expertise, research methodology, and national-scale dissemination capacity to international consortia. For any project needing a credible educational research institution with direct ties to Italy's school system, INDIRE provides both scientific grounding and policy-adjacent reach.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

INDIRE's two H2020 projects run almost concurrently (2020 and 2021 starts), so there is no long arc to trace, but a clear thematic shift is visible between them. The first project (MenSI) focuses inward on school-system mechanics — mentoring, peer learning, and pedagogical ICT use to improve teaching quality within existing institutions. The second (KIDS4ALLL) pivots outward to the learner, foregrounding migrant children, cultural diversity, and whole-child development alongside digital skills. The trajectory suggests INDIRE is broadening its remit from school-system improvement toward social inclusion and equity in education.

INDIRE appears to be moving toward projects where educational innovation intersects with social policy — making them a relevant partner for future calls on integration, digital equity, or lifelong learning for vulnerable populations.

How they like to work

INDIRE has only ever appeared as a consortium partner in H2020, never as coordinator — consistent with their role as a specialized public research body that contributes expertise rather than project management. With 21 unique partners across just 2 projects, they operate in larger, multi-country consortia (roughly 10+ partners per project), which is typical for the CSA and IA funding schemes they work under. This tells potential partners they are accustomed to complex, multi-stakeholder environments and can navigate them without needing to lead.

INDIRE has built a consortium network of 21 unique partners across 15 countries from just two projects — an unusually broad geographic spread that reflects the pan-European composition typical of education-focused Horizon projects. Their network spans both EU member states and associated countries, with no apparent geographic concentration beyond their Italian home base.

What sets them apart

INDIRE holds a rare position as a national-level public institute with a statutory mandate to study and promote educational innovation across Italy's entire school system — giving it both research credibility and a direct channel to policymakers and school networks that university departments or NGOs typically lack. Their dual focus on technology-enhanced learning and socially inclusive education makes them one of the few institutions that can credibly bridge edtech innovation and equity policy in the same project. For consortium builders, they bring Italian school-system access, national dissemination infrastructure, and a recognized public-sector brand that strengthens calls targeting societal challenges.

Highlights from their portfolio

• KIDS4ALLL
  The highest-funded of INDIRE's two H2020 projects (EUR 186,396), it tackles the intersection of digital skills, migrant inclusion, and whole-child development — a combination that positions INDIRE at the crossroads of edtech and social policy.
• MenSI
  Focused on mentoring as a lever for whole-school improvement, this project demonstrates INDIRE's capacity to work on systemic educational change rather than individual classroom interventions.