Games for social change
To foster social change, it is first necessary to imagine new solutions and understand their consequences within a social context. Traditional methods of generating social change often rely on poorly explained or superficial regulatory interventions, which can lead to resistance to novelty. On the other hand, behavioral research, seeks to trigger a change by enhancing [...]
Circular City- the boardgame, the first board game focusing on the circular economy
The circular economy comes into play: "Circular City - the board game" conceived and developed by the Municipality of Prato, the Municipality of Taichung (Taiwan), and ARCO's Circular Innovation & Sustainable Commodities is the first game in which participants aim to adopt circular economy practices at the local level. The idea for the game came [...]
The potential of emancipatory research in user-centered practice
Involving the community in participatory processes is a key component in promoting social innovation functional to the transformation of local welfare. The Inclusive Development Unit carried out an Emancipatory Research with users benefiting from the Inclusion Income (Reddito di Inclusione REI) provided by the social services of the Prato Area to evaluate the impact of [...]
What if I were mayor? Young people in the game to shape the local policies of the future
Sustainable development, gender equality, LGBTQIA+ rights, workers’ defence, all challenges at the centre of the role-playing game “What if I were Mayor?” created to bring young people closer to local political decision-making processes. The game was developed by the Local Development Unit in the context of the project ‘Local authorities and young people for the […]
CarINg, the wellbeing of care leavers in protection systems
CarINg - Empowering child care systems and supporting leaving care from within - is an action-research project whose protagonists are boys and girls living outside their family of origin. The project aims to support boys and girls leaving the care system - care leavers - in building a life project and gaining autonomy. The activities [...]
World’s 100 largest philanthropic foundations list
This list is the result of a research, carried out by ARCO's Social Economy Unit about the top 100 largest philanthropic foundations in the world by total assets; it is based on up to date financial data concerning the period 2016-2018. The sources mostly used, are the financial statements published by the foundations and the [...]
What is gender audit and why is it important?
A gender audit informs companies on how to reduce the gender gap. Gender auditing in generale promotes women’s participation in the labour market and opportunities for economic growth. Fostering gender audits help in strengthening women’s empowerment as a collective process, acting on the whole system of relations in which women are embedded: family, community, business, [...]
MERGE, a Horizon project to measure what matters
The overall objective of MERGE is to bring together researchers, policymakers, statistical authorities, and civil society actors to improve the usefulness and accessibility of policy frameworks and indicators on multidimensional well-being and strengthen the transition towards economic policies that support sustainable development. MERGE is about building a better economy for everyone. MERGE addresses the opportunities [...]