New Country Report for Italy
The ERA-LEARN Country Report on Italy provides an in-depth analysis of Italy’s participation in European Research and Innovation (R&I) Partnerships, highlighting its strong engagement, strategic priorities, and implementation practices.
Italy is a very active Member State in both Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe partnerships, with participation in nearly all available initiatives and a notable increase in national financial commitments. The report identifies Italy’s strengths in scientific excellence, alignment of national priorities with EU missions, and strong institutional involvement, particularly from public research organisations and SMEs. A distinguishing feature is Italy’s active promotion of regional participation, making it one of the few countries to systematically involve regional authorities and align Smart Specialisation Strategies with partnership themes. Italy also demonstrates strategic leadership in initiatives with territorial relevance, such as PRIMA, reinforcing its role in addressing regional and cross-border challenges. However, the report also notes persistent weaknesses, including complex national administrative procedures, delays in funding disbursement, and rigid financial rules, which create barriers to efficient implementation. Despite these challenges, Italy’s proactive and inclusive approach to partnership participation positions the country as a key contributor to the European R&I landscape, with significant potential to shape future collaborative agendas both within the EU and in its wider neighbourhood.
Download the ERA-LEARN Country Report on Italy
ERA-LEARN has been producing country reports since 2019. The selection of the countries is based on a combination of variables: number of network participations, network coordination, national commitments to partnerships, etc., based on the data included in the ERA-LEARN database and their combination with relevant R&I indicators from EUROSTAT, OECD and the European Innovation Scoreboard.