ISINNOVA is one of the founding partners of Ecosistema Futuro, a partnership promoting long-term thinking to shape Italy’s tomorrow. Andrea Ricci, a member of the steering committee, co-leads the Research task force.
Launched at the start of summer 2025, Ecosistema Futuro is a landmark initiative promoted by the Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development (ASviS). Its mission is to place the future —or rather, multiple futures—and long-term thinking at the heart of Italy’s cultural, political, economic, and social debate. ISINNOVA is proud to be among the promoters of this innovative partnership, which brings together research centres, media, businesses, and civil society to build a shared vision of potential desirable futures for our country.
Rethinking the present to build the future
Until now, the future has often been imagined as a distant horizon, a realm of imagination and speculation, where major changes were discussed in abstract terms, without considering possible influences on the formulation of policies and strategic decisions. But the future is already here, and it is time to redesign the present to make tomorrow worthy of our aspirations.
It is no coincidence that Ecosistema Futuro was born at a time of major challenges and transformations—climatic, economic, technological, and social. Inspired by Article 9 of the Italian Constitution, recently updated to include the protection of the interests of future generations, and by the 2024 United Nations Pact for the Future, Ecosistema Futuro aims to promote long-term visions and programs, stimulate active citizen participation, and engage younger generations in guiding public and private choices that look beyond the immediate horizon.
The Ecosistema Futuro network connects a wide range of entities in Italy working on the future, from natural and human sciences to technology and innovation, from economics and design to communication and anticipatory governance, including cultural institutions such as museums. Its activities focus on four main areas: dissemination, education and culture, research, and participation.
Andrea Ricci’s role and ISINNOVA’s contribution
Andrea Ricci, Senior Partner and Lead Researcher at ISINNOVA, plays a key role in this initiative as a member of the Ecosistema Futuro steering committee and co-leader of the Research task force alongside Carlo Carraro. With extensive experience in foresight and sustainable development, Ricci leads research and scientific coordination activities aimed at identifying scenarios and strategies for co-creating a more sustainable, resilient, and inclusive future. His involvement reflects ISINNOVA’s long-standing commitment to analysing Italy’s medium and long-term challenges and opportunities with the methodological l rigor and multidisciplinary perspectives that have always defined our work.
“Discussions about the future are not mere parlor talks; they are the key tool to understanding the long-term consequences of today’s decisions and choosing the most promising path forward.” – Andrea Ricci.
Guided by the conviction that imagining possible futures today is the first step towards building them, Ecosistema Futuro fosters broad and cross-cutting dialogue, engaging youth, institutions, businesses, and researchers to transform awareness of our world’s complexity into shared, concrete actions. In this vision, the future becomes a common good to be built together, overcoming narrow perspectives and focusing on sustainable development, innovation, and intergenerational justice.
