Title page

Contents

Acknowledgements 5

Acronyms and Abbreviations 7

Executive Summary 9

Rationale and Context 10

The current policy context regulating the interplay between universities and society in Italy 14

KEC and co-creation projects: the international perspective 16

Data originated from the ITA.CON Project 18

The way forward: three priority areas of action to enhance KEC in Italy 22

Action plan to enhance KEC in Italy 27

Roadmap 30

References 33

Notes 35

Annex A. The methodology of the ITA.CON project 35

Annex B. The KEC Survey and interview questions (in Italian) 38

Annex C. Agenda of ITA.CON Stakeholder Workshop (in Italian) 41

Annex D. The ITA.CON database 43

Figure 1. In 2023, Italy continues its performance as "moderate innovator" 11

Figure 2. Italy's productivity of labour has been stagnating, and currently stands below OECD and EU average 12

Figure 3. Regional differences in Italy in terms of innovation, compared to other European countries 13

Figure 4. Problems identified by universities and their partners, by three geographical areas 19

Figure 5. The types of partners with which universities co-conduct KEC activities 20

Figure 6. A representation of definitions used by universities in defining KEC 21

Figure 7. Roadmap 30

Boxes

Box 1. Collaboration initiatives for the green transition from 9 OECD countries and an international consortium 17

Box 2. Recommended Ministerial Regulatory Strategies for Streamlining university organisation to boost the efficiency and societal impact of Knowledge Exchange... 23

Box 3. Suggested Recommendations to Establish effective mechanisms to encourage collaboration between universities and other actors 25

Box 4. Increase the funding available for Knowledge Exchange and Collaboration (KEC) Activities 26