Socio-economic impact of RIs
Date: 19.06.2023–30.06.2023
Learning model: Lectures will be held online and will combine face-to face and hand-on sessions. During hands-on sessions, discussions will be structured in working groups. A final assessment of the knowledge acquired will be carried out at the end of the course.
This short course draws from recent advancements in socio-economic impact (SEI) assessments of RIs. The first part introduces different SEI assessment frameworks and the methodologies used to assess RIs and CFs costs and benefits. The second presents in-depth case studies, including full cost-benefit analyses and assessments of specific types of benefits.
Target Audience The target audience for this course is managers and operators of RIs, professionals from RIs, and funding and governmental agencies.
Learning Outcome
This short course will introduce the participants to a framework for assessing the socioeconomic impact of RIs, which is based on empirical methods, both quantitative and qualitative methods. The aim is also to help participants identify and assess the social costs and benefits associated with different typologies of RIs and CFs, and to critically assess existing studies.
After completing this short course, the participant will be able to
- Understand, design and implement a socioeconomic impact assessment study
- Report on the construction costs and the long-term operational costs of an RI/CF
- Empirically analyse the social benefits of an RI/CF using quantitative and qualitative methods
The Programme
| D1 – D2 | SEI: methodological considerations | |
June 19 9 – 10.30 | Lorenzo Zirulia (UMIL) Online lecture, interactive discussion, group work | Socio-economic impact: a general framework for RI/CF Introduction to socio-economic impact assessment framework(s) for RI/CF: a social cost-benefit perspective |
| June 19 10.45-13.15 | Lorenzo Zirulia (UMIL) Online lecture, interactive discussion, group work | Socio-economic impact: a general framework for RI/CF The cost side: costs and financial sustainability of RI/CF |
| June 21 9-12 | Lorenzo Zirulia (UMIL) Online lecture, interactive discussion, group work | Socio-economic impact: a general framework for RI/CF The benefit side: producing and using knowledge outputThe benefit side: the effects on human capitalThe benefit side: the direct effect on firms – knowledge spillovers and learning |
| June 21 13-16 | Lorenzo Zirulia (UMIL) Online lecture, interactive discussion, group work | Socio-economic impact: a general framework for RI/CF The benefit side: users of information technology in the big data eraThe benefit side: users of science-based innovationsThe benefit side: users of cultural goods and science as a global public good |
| D3-D5 | SEI assessment reports and Case studies | |
| June 26 14-14.45 | Evi-Carita Riikonen (ICOS ERIC) Online lecture | Socio-economic impact: case studies ERIC / RI landscape (Socio-economic impact – SEI – assessment reports, overview) |
| June 26 14.45-15.30 | Evi-Carita Riikonen (ICOS ERIC) Invited speaker: CS Martin | Socio-economic impact: case studies Demonstrating public value to funders and other stakeholders—the journey of ELIXIR, a virtual and distributed research infrastructure for life science data |
| June 26 15.45-16.30 | Evi-Carita Riikonen (ICOS ERIC) Invited speaker: F. Giffoni | Socio-economic impact: case studies The value of public procurement: evidence from physics and space research |
| June 26 16.30-17.30 | Evi-Carita Riikonen (ICOS ERIC) Invited speaker: C. Pancotti | Socio-economic impact: case studies The socio-economic impact of the National Hadrontherapy Centre for Cancer Treatment (CNAO): a full CBA of applied research infrastructure in health care |
| June 27 9-9.45 | Evi-Carita Riikonen (ICOS ERIC) Invited speaker: V. Morretta | Socio-economic impact: case studies The value of scientific knowledge: the case of Cosmo Skymed |
| June 27 10 – 11 | Evi-Carita Riikonen (ICOS ERIC) Invited speaker: M. Florio | Socio-economic impact: case studies Large Hadron Collider: a full CBA |
| June 27 11 -12 | Evi-Carita Riikonen (ICOS ERIC) Invited speaker: F. Giffoni | Socio-economic impact: case studies E-RIHS: a full CBA |
| June 27 12 -12,45 | Evi-Carita Riikonen (ICOS ERIC) Invited speaker: C. Pancotti | Socio-economic impact: case studiesT racking innovation pathways from publications to patents: the case of ALBA |
| June 27 12.45 -13.30 | Evi-Carita Riikonen (ICOS ERIC) Invited speaker: W. Kutch | Socio-economic impact: case studies Building up a socio-economic impact landscape: perspectives from environmental RI |
| June 30 9 – 12 | Lorenzo Zirulia (UMIL), Evi-Carita Riikonen (ICOS) | Students’ presentations |
The Faculty
| Name | Short Bio |
| Lorenzo Zirulia | Lorenzo Zirulia is Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Milan, and holds a Ph.D. and a Master in Economics from Bocconi University. Previously, he was Associate Professor of Economics and Assistant Professor of Applied Economics at the University of Bologna. His main research fields are Industrial Organization, Economics of Innovation, Economics of Science and Networks. He held visiting positions at Maastricht University and GREQAM, Marseille. He is affiliated with ICRIOS (Invernizzi Center for Research in Innovation, Organization and Strategy), Bocconi University. He is an applied economic theorist with a variety of interests, such as pricing, industrial dynamics, interfirm technological cooperation, behavioural industrial organisation and the functioning of the scientific community, and an expertise in the telecom and tourism industry. He has published in international journals such as Research Policy, Industrial and Corporate Change, Journal of Economic Behaviour and Organization, Journal of Law, Economics and Organization, Telecommunications Policy, Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Economics of Innovation and New Technology. |
| Evi-Carita Riikonen | Evi-Carita Riikonen is an operations officer at ICOS ERIC Head Office in Helsinki, Finland. She holds a PhD in Human Geography, an MSc in Geography and an eMBA in Research Infrastructure Management. Her scientific interests are linked to the human – place relationship, migration and identity. She has several years’ experience in Research Infrastructure management, and is involved in the operational management of ICOS RI. She specialises in community engagement, organisational identity, coordination of management- , performance- and evaluation processes, and socio-economic impact and its assessment. She has participated in several international projects where she has been working on SEI -related issues and has contributed to numerous workshops and events related to SEI of RIs. |
| Corinne Martin | Based in the coordinating secretariat of an intergovernmental research infrastructure for life science data, ELIXIR, Corinne leads on empowering Member countries in evaluating and communicating the public value of their bioinformatics resources and underlying research infrastructure, in support of long-term sustainability. She also leads on international relations for France, Australia and the USA, as well as contributing to the organisation’s positioning and visibility with funders, policy-makers and other stakeholders of research infrastructures (including the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures, the Global Science Forum of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the G7’s Group of Senior Officials on global Research Infrastructures). |
| Massimo Florio | Massimo Florio is Professor of Public Economics at the Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods at Università degli Studi di Milano. He is acknowledged at European level as top expert in the evaluation of EU policies, programmes and projects. He has been involved in several assignments for the European Commission (mainly DG Regional Policy), the European Parliament, the European Investment Bank, the OECD, the World Bank and other institutions (e.g. CERN, ASI, ESA, etc.). His main research interests are in applied welfare economics, cost-benefit analysis, industrial and regional policies, infrastructure and growth, privatization, public enterprise and socio-economic impact of research infrastructures. Since its first edition in 2011, he has been the Scientific Director of the Milan Summer School on cost-benefit analysis. His latest publication: “Investing in Science: Social Cost-Benefit Analysis of Research Infrastructures”, edited by MIT press (2019) and dealing with the use of cost-benefit analysis to evaluate the socioeconomic impact of public investment in large scientific projects). More details on Massimo’s expertise and publications are available at http://www.massimoflorio.com |
| Francesco Giffoni | Francesco Giffoni is partner and senior expert at CSIL. He is proficient in the principles and methods of CBA of urban development and regeneration and RDI projects. During different editions of the Milan CBA Summer School organised by CSIL, he lectured, guided and assisted with hands-on sessions in these fields. He is currently working on the H2020 project Future Circular Collider Innovation Study (FCCIS) to develop a model for the socioeconomic impact of the CERN Future Circular Collider. Before, he contributed to the DG REGIO Evaluation of investments in RTD infrastructures and activities supported by the ERDF in the period 2007-2013, to the H2020 project Charting Impact Pathways of Investment in Research Infrastructures, the Socio-economic impact and a cost-benefit analysis of the European Research Infrastructure for Heritage Science (on behalf of National Research Council of Italy), and the Evaluation of the impact of the Italian Space Agency Procurement Activity on Space Industry (on behalf of Italian Space Agency). Over the past ten years, Francesco has contributed to research and analytical studies on behalf of the European Commission, the European Investment Bank, CERN, other international bodies and research infrastructures. He has also been an Adjunct Professor of CBA at the University of Milan. Francesco has a PhD in Economics and MSc in Public Economics and Public Administration from La Sapienza University (Rome, Italy) and he is author of several publications in his fields of expertise. |
| Chiara Pancotti | Chiara Pancotti is a partner and senior expert at CSIL. From 2016 to 2020, she was also Adjunct Professor of Cost-Benefit Analysis at the University of Milan. She is specialised in financial, socio-economic and risk analyses of infrastructural projects, especially in the environmental, cultural and RDI fields, and policy interventions. In this context, she has gained experience providing technical assistance for the preparation of the cost-benefit analyses and application forms for request of co-financing with ERDF under the 2007-13 and 2014-20 Operational Programmes of various major projects, and as deputy project leader of two DG REGIO ex-post evaluations assessing the long-term contribution of major projects co-financed by the ERDF and Cohesion Fund during 2000-2006 and 2007-2013 programming periods in the field of transport and environment. She co-authored the last edition of the DG REGIO Guide. She contributed to drafting CBA methodological guidelines for the Government of Lithuania, the NICDP of Saudi Arabia, and the International Atomic Energy Agency. Also, she has delivered training in the field of Cost-Benefit analysis to EU officials and international and national audiences in various countries, including Malta, Lithuania, Slovenia and the Republic of North Macedonia. Since 2013 she is amongst the main lecturers of the Milan Summer School on Cost-Benefit Analysis, annually organised by CSIL. |
| Valentina Morretta | Valentina Morretta is Assistant Professor fellow at the University of Milan – Department of Economics, Management, and Quantitative Methods (DEMM). She has extensive experience in research and analysis in different socio-economic disciplines, including the evaluation of the socio-economic impact of research and innovation policies. She has participated in several international projects, including cost-benefit analysis of Large Hadron Collider at Cern and cost-benefit analysis of public policies in the space industry. She holds an MSc in Business Economics from the University of Palermo, a Master in International Cooperation and Development from the Institute of International Political Studies (ISPI) of Milan and a PhD in regional economics from the Centre for Economic and Enterprise Development Research of the Middlesex University (CEEDR). Before starting her career in academia, she gained work experience in the field of finance and local development in different countries, including Ireland, Italy, Kosovo and the UK. Her main research interests focus on the evaluation of innovation policies, cost-benefit analysis, local development and firm productivity |
| Werner Kutsch | Dr. Werner Kutsch is Director General of ICOS since March 2014. He is biologist, plant ecologist and ecosystem scientist by education and has worked on ecosystem carbon cycling for 25 years in Europe and Africa. The focus of his work has been for a long time in the comparison of ecosystems after land use change and integrating complex landscapes. He has worked at the Ecosystem Research Centre of University of Kiel, at CSIR in Pretoria, at the Max-Planck-Institute for Biogeochemistry in Jena and at Thünen, the Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries in Braunschweig. ICOS is an ESFRI Landmark Research Infrastructure and a legal entity (ERIC) since November 2015. As DG, he is the legal representative and overall coordinator of the Research Infrastructure and currently managing the final internal integration of ICOS. This work comprises internal organisation of the operations of the distributed observational networks and central facilities, on optimizing the internal data flow between the different observational programs of ICOS, on developing the data platform of ICOS (‘Carbon Portal’) which will also serve as an interface to COPERNICUS and GEOSS, and on deepening the cooperation with other RIs. Dr. Kutsch is experienced in data acquisition, post-processing, data analysis and modeling of ecosystem carbon budgets. Integrating ICOS-internal data streams and fostering usage of ICOS RI data for GHG modeling are some of his main goals for the next years. Furthermore, he is very interested in further developing data citation systems. He is responsible for the external representation of ICOS ERIC and currently leading its second five-year period. ICOS aims to be part of European and global integration initiatives that that support the usage of in-situ observations for improving the national inventories on greenhouse gases. |
How to apply
Application period starts 3 April 2023 and ends 5 May 2023. Selected participants are informed via email by 15 May 2023. If the participant wishes to cancel their participation, they are required to inform the organisers at least 2 weeks prior to the course.
Apply by filling in the form and upload your CV (max 3 pages)
Cost
The pilot short course is offered free-of-charge and requires the participant’s full commitment during lectures, group work and written assignments.
Info & Contact
To pass the course the participant must attend at least 80% of the lectures.
For any doubt or information, please see the FAQs below or send an email to ritrainplus[at]unimib.it
FAQs
Why should I take this programme?
The programme is aimed at managers, operators and other professionals at Research Infrastructures and Core Facilities.
Who is behind this programme?
The pilot programme is designed by academic and educational experts in the RItrainPlus project who have a long experience working or leading Research Infrastructures or other scientific institutions.
How is the programme organized?
The programme is divided into seven short courses, each containing sessions. The short courses take up 16–32 hours each, plus individual work.
How do I take part?
The participants can take up either the whole programme and progress from one short course to the next, or take an individual short course that best fits their needs. For those interested in taking up the whole programme, it should be noted that some activities will be overlapping. Participants are advised to check the course schedules for more information.
What’s expected of me?
The participant is expected to participate in at least 80% of the scheduled activities. The courses are assessed in various ways.
Do I have to take all the sessions in a short course? Can I just choose what I like?
The participant needs to participate in all the modules in the short course.
What does it cost?
The pilot courses are offered free of charge
How are the courses taught?
Most of the short courses are offered as online intensive courses that take up 2-6 consecutive days. The courses are taught by experienced academics at RItrainPlus partner universities and institutions with invited international experts.The courses will be delivered in the period June-September 2023.
How do I apply?
The application period is 03.04.2023 – 05.05.2023. Apply to the short course by submitting a short motivation letter and your CV. The chosen applicants will be informed via email by 15. 05. 2023.
When will I know if my application has been accepted?
Selected participants are informed by May 15th.
What if I realize that I cannot participate anymore after I’ve been admitted to participation?
If the participant wishes to cancel their participation, they are required to inform the organizers at least two weeks prior to the starting of the course