Enterprising Communities: New Strategies for Local Development and Community Empowerment

Launch of the new research project

Thanks to the support of partners such as Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo and Fondo Sviluppo Friuli Venezia Giulia, EURICSE has launched the new research project “Enterprising Communities: New Strategies for Local Development and Community Empowerment.”

By Enterprising Communities we refer to all those practices of social transformation that emerge from processes of self-organization by individuals or groups who come together to collectively experiment with innovative solutions for socio-economic development within their own territories.

Building on the results of the first research project launched in 2021 (described further below) and on the different types and governance models analyzed, the current objective is to understand how certain models, currently more widespread in urban contexts, can be replicated in non-urban areas and promote new opportunities for socio-economic development in those territories. This includes responding to the specific needs of local communities in terms of job creation, access to essential and general-interest services, and strengthening the social fabric of these communities.

The research therefore aims to analyze the motivations, processes, and legal forms underlying these Enterprising Communities, with particular attention to the ways in which young people are engaged and involved.

The four-year research project focuses on four main areas:

The management and use of common goods for the development of community spaces managed directly by the community itself;
Community shops in rural, mountainous, and island areas, as community hubs that help maintain access to basic goods and essential services for local residents;
The role and potential of Renewable (and Solidarity-based) Energy Communities, not only as tools for energy transition and environmental sustainability, but above all as opportunities to enhance local territories and generate relational and economic resources for the community;
Alternative Food Networks as new community-based models of food production and consumption.

The research project “Enterprising Communities: New Strategies for Local Development and Community Empowerment” examines bottom-up innovation experiences that, across different territories, are transforming services of general interest and strengthening social cohesion. Analyzing these practices means providing institutions and public decision-makers with data, tools, and interpretative frameworks useful for designing development policies that are more inclusive, effective, and rooted in local contexts.

To ensure full coverage of project costs, the contribution of institutions and organizations interested in exploring these Enterprising Community models, and in understanding their potential in relation to the needs of their respective territories, is essential, so as to foster their creation and support their growth paths.

Throughout the entire research process, supporting organizations may, if they wish, actively participate in working groups dedicated to sharing research strategies and interim findings, as well as identifying tools and resources useful for consolidating these new forms of community entrepreneurship and ensuring their long-term sustainability.

If your organization is interested in the project, please write to:

Jacopo Sforzi (jacopo.sforzi@euricse.eu)

Elisa Marchini (elisa.marchini@euricse.eu)

The First Research Project

With the research project “Enterprising Communities in Search of Social Transformation Practices,” launched in October 2020, Euricse began mapping a rapidly evolving phenomenon in Italy. The initiative, designed as a multi-year project, marked the starting point of a systematic effort to analyze these emerging experiences.

In the first research phase (2021–2025), supported by Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, Fondazione CRC, Fondazione con il Sud, FondoSviluppo FVG, and the Alleanza delle Cooperative Italiane, the project produced several outputs, all available for free download on the Euricse website.

A first national mapping of active Enterprising Community experiences in Italy analyzed elements of continuity and discontinuity in their generative processes, fields of activity, and governance models. The research mapped experiences such as community hubs, community enterprises, food co-ops, energy communities, fab labs, and collaboration pacts, examining their spread, origins, organizational models, and capacity to promote co-production, local economic impact, and socio-institutional change.
A series of in-depth studies (to date, published reports focus on Renewable Energy Communities, Community-Supported Agriculture initiatives, Community Enterprises, and Community Hubs) was developed in the form of individual research reports. These reports examined the governance models and mechanisms adopted by the different types of Enterprising Communities identified through the mapping; the methods and tools used to actively engage local populations and finance activities; and the contextual factors that supported their emergence and consolidation over time.

“Enterprising” Materials and Initiatives

To support the study, a dedicated Facebook page was created and managed, conceived as a showcase for collecting and accessing informational materials on Enterprising Communities and the various places and fields in which these entrepreneurial models develop.
EURICSE, in collaboration with the cooperative Mercurio, launched the communication initiative “Enterprising Podcast,” a collection of five stories of resilience in which the protagonists of civic activism experiences recount the origins and development of their Enterprising Communities.
The project’s results were presented at national scientific conferences (e.g., the 8th Conference of SISEC – the Italian Society of Economic Sociology) and international conferences (e.g., the 62nd ERSA Congress – European Regional Science Association; the 9th EMES Conference – the European research network on social enterprise), as well as at events aimed at a broader and more diverse audience (e.g., the 8th Biennale Democrazia). They were also shared during ad hoc meetings organized by second-level organizations, universities, and banking foundations.
With regard to the in-depth studies specifically dedicated to Community Enterprises and Community Hubs, two online presentations were organized (available as YouTube videos: Community Enterprises and Community Hubs), featuring practical experiences and experts in the field.
As part of the research carried out within the framework of the project described above, the manual “Food Co-ops: Operating Instructions” was also produced, drafted by EURICSE in collaboration with Stadera, a food co-op operating in the municipality of Ravenna.

On the 5th and the 6th of December 2024, Val di Fiemme (Trentino) hosted the 1st National Meeting of Enterprising Communities, an initiative organized by Fondazione Fiemme PER together with EURICSE and Fondazione Caritro, in collaboration with Iris Network. Around one hundred participants took part in two days of workshops, best practices, and networking activities aimed at showcasing and promoting the different forms of active citizenship and bottom-up entrepreneurship that have developed in recent years, while also providing Enterprising Communities with an opportunity for dialogue, exchange, and mutual learning.
On the 11th and 12th of December 2025, the 2nd National Meeting of Enterprising Communities took place once again in Val di Fiemme (Trentino). The event was promoted by Fondazione Fiemme PER and EURICSE, with the support of Fondazione Caritro. This edition was dedicated to the theme “Territorial Alliances for the Creation and Support of Enterprising Communities,” focusing on collaborative strategies among communities, public institutions, businesses, and philanthropic organizations to collectively address the socio-economic challenges facing local territories.