Every step of the way: our inspiring journey towards a sustainable future continues…

1971

When it all started

The Istituto di Studi per l’Informatica e i Sistemi, better known as ISIS, is founded in Rome by a group of researchers.
Our bold ambition is to find and build solutions that can improve quality of life for everyone.
We are an independent research institute, and our small team has a clear vision: facilitating dialogue between disciplines and perspectives as a distinctive part of our process.
Our research and policy analyses are backed by data-driven methods and tools.

1980s

Supporting public administrations

In the 1980s, we become a regular provider of expertise to different governmental and public institutions in Italy, including the Ministry of the Interior, Cassa per il Mezzogiorno, ENEA, CNR, and SOGEI.
Our work focuses primarily on statistical analyses and quantitative methods. We also develop customised statistical software applications, a novel feat in the 1980s!
A flagship project with the Italian Ministry of the Interior leads to the development of a grant allocation system for local authorities in Italy that is later officially incorporated into the Italian finance system.

Early 1990s

Onto the international scene

With our sights firmly set on a better future for the planet, we take our first step onto the international scene in the 1990s. Steered by our new President and Vice President, Carlo Sessa and Andrea Ricci, we start working with FAO, the World Bank, and the European Community.
Under the European Community’s Fourth Framework Programme, we work on sustainability projects studying the environmental impacts and externalities of transport systems, which leads us to identify methodologies and indicators that can be used to evaluate the costs of alternative transport modes for urban journeys.

Late 1990's

A future of systems thinking

Research and consulting in these areas of urban sustainability is relatively untrodden ground, and we see the potential to contribute to great change.
We realise that our systems and quantitative methods are ideal for these types of complex international projects.
To better emphasise our trademark character of multidisciplinary systems thinking, we change our full name to the Institute of Studies for the Integration of Systems.

2000s

Collaborations in research and innovation

We work on more and more international projects throughout the 2000s, particularly in research and innovation.
We have high-profile projects and tenders for European institutions, including the European Parliament, and several European Commission Directorates General and Agencies, especially in the fields of energy, transport, and urban mobility.
International organisations include WHO, JRC, and the EEA.

2010s

Building a network

By 2010, we are working in partnership with a vast network of major civic, governmental, academic, and industrial partners.
Collaboratively, we research, develop, and implement innovative solutions in sustainable urban mobility, international transport, energy efficiency, public engagement in policy making, and more.
Our systems thinking philosophy is now less centred on purely quantitative methods and includes progressively qualitative research. Participatory foresight, community engagement, and multistakeholder governance are increasingly integrated into our approach.

2014

New name, new soul

After more than four decades of association with the cherished name ISIS, we become ISINNOVA in 2014.
The new name renews our emphasis on innovation, which enthused us in the 1970s and continues to drive our work today.
We are a small but recognised force, with more than 130 research and innovation projects behind us.
We remain a firmly independent research institute.

2021

Celebrating 50 years

Led by Mario Gualdi and Silvia Gaggi as our President and Vice President, we celebrate our 50th anniversary in 2021.
The challenges have changed since 1971, but our determination remains the same. To develop innovative ideas; catalyse collaborative coalitions of governments, academia, industries, and civil society; and build with them projects that can contribute to more sustainable socio-economic and ecological development.
As we look to the future, we are always ready to learn – both from successes and failures, and by constantly reviewing and tweaking the intertwined pillars of our institute, which to this day remain engagement, cooperation, transdisciplinarity, a long-term view, and systems thinking.