Torino Social Impact

The Piedmont region is classified as a 'moderate innovator+' among European Union (EU) regions. Nevertheless, the region's performance has improved significantly in recent years and it is now in the top 20% of OECD regional economies. Following an intensive regional development study, the previous S3 strategy was revised and the new version takes a cross-sectoral approach with three transversal innovation components (CTI) representing the direction of innovation: Digital Transition, Green Transition and Socio-territorial Impact as well as Six Priority Innovation Systems. A particular feature is the embedded cluster model, which gives each cluster in the region a remit tailored to its strengths. As the region has long been based on traditional industry, with many small businesses, it has historically been prone to crises. Clusters such as Torino Social Impact are needed for the social economy, which has tended to be addressed at national and European level.

The Torino Social Impact Cluster is therefore the ideal vehicle to raise awareness of the issue, as it is an open platform with more than 260 actors and is anchored in many European projects. As the City of Turin is a partner and co-initiator of the cluster, Turin society benefits from the results achieved within the framework of the cluster. This case study of the Piedmont region and the Torino Social Impact cluster illustrates how the regional representation and the cluster organisation in Turin are strengthening the innovative capacity of the Piedmont region with different approaches.