THE HUB SICILIA SOCIETA COOPERATIVA

Their core work

The Hub Sicilia is a social cooperative based in Siracusa, Sicily, working at the intersection of social enterprise development and science-society education. Their H2020 track record shows two distinct but related contributions: supporting the mobility and cross-border development of social enterprises in Europe, and engaging ordinary citizens — particularly through schools — with open science and STEAM education. As a civil society actor, they serve as a practical link between research consortia and local communities, translating scientific programs into accessible educational experiences. Their cooperative structure suggests on-the-ground delivery of workshops, community programs, and informal learning initiatives rather than laboratory or technical research.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their first project (2016-2018), The Hub Sicilia worked within the social economy space, supporting cross-border mobility and development of social enterprises through an MSCA-RISE exchange programme — a researcher and practitioner mobility format. By 2019 their focus had rotated toward the science-education interface: OSHub placed them squarely in the open schooling movement, using citizen science and STEAM methods to bring scientific culture into schools and communities. The shift is from social enterprise as subject matter to science education as subject matter, but the underlying thread — civil society engagement with formal knowledge systems — remains consistent.

They are moving deeper into the science-society interface, particularly formal and informal science education, which aligns with growing EU demand for responsible research and innovation (RRI) and citizen science components in Horizon projects.

How they like to work

The Hub Sicilia has never led an H2020 project — both participations are as consortium partner. Despite this, they have accumulated 36 unique partners across 23 countries from just two projects, which points to involvement in large, internationally distributed consortia rather than small bilateral arrangements. This pattern is consistent with MSCA-RISE and CSA formats, where civil society actors are recruited to provide community access and local dissemination rather than technical leadership.

With 36 distinct consortium partners across 23 countries from only two projects, The Hub Sicilia punches well above its size in terms of network breadth. The reach is pan-European and likely extends to associated countries typical of MSCA programmes.

What sets them apart

The Hub Sicilia occupies a rare position as a Southern Italian civil society cooperative with direct EU project experience in both social enterprise development and open schooling — two areas that are increasingly required as non-technical partners in Horizon consortia. Their Sicilian base gives consortium builders a credible civil society anchor in a Mediterranean region that is underrepresented in European research networks. For projects needing genuine community reach and informal education delivery rather than token dissemination, they offer a practitioner profile that universities and research institutes cannot replicate.

Highlights from their portfolio

• OSHub
  Their largest and most recent project, OSHub is a pan-European open schooling network — a growing priority area in Horizon Europe — giving The Hub Sicilia direct experience in citizen science and STEAM community programming.
• FAB-MOVE
  An MSCA-RISE project on social enterprise mobility, demonstrating that the organisation was trusted early in the programme to operate within a prestigious researcher-exchange scheme alongside academic and enterprise partners.