Foundation for Urban Innovation

Fondazione per l’Innovazione Urbana (FIU) or Foundation for Urban Innovation is a a private law not-for-profit entity founded by the Municipality of Bologna and the University of Bologna. FIU works as an “open and widespread lab” holding a systematic users' co-creation approach to transform the city into a more livable and resilient organism.

In order to involve citizens and gather data to improve the quality of the policy-cycle, FIU implements different activities (territorial front-offices, workshops, focus groups, interviews, meetings) and participatory tools such as community mapping, web-based engagement, Open Space Technology, and public assemblies. Moreover, FIU engages the Administration in the implementation of shared decisions and the innovation of administrative practices and tools, in order to better respond the territorial needs. In this frame, citizens are not only passive actors to inform, but change promoters, being able to study, propose, test and apply new answers to the challenges of the cities.

Role of the institution within ENLIGHTENme

FIU collaborates, together with Municipality of Bologna, in the activities foreseen by the Urban Lighting Lab and in the co-design of innovative outdoor and indoor lighting solutions process, the qualitative assessment of the perceived effects of the lighting innovations on quality of life and mental health (work package 2). FIU participates in the ENLIGHTENme project by providing its competences in citizens engagement and participatory processes.