Italy

Osservatorio sui processi di governo e sul federalismo, founded in 2000, is an autonomous centre of research focused mainly on federalism, regionalism, process of decentralisation and local government. Osservatorio, currently an Association of Social promotion, has always supported the scientific journal Federalismi.it and it carries out inter and multidisciplinary research projects on complex fields which require knowledge from different disciplines, such as the territorial dimensions of subnational institutions of Italy, especially the governance of metropolitan and local areas. To this regard, Osservatorio monitors especially the evolution of the juridical setting of Rome and metropolitan cities. Moreover, Osservatorio cooperates with government Institutions and departments on Italian regionalism and provides expertise on issues such as the problem of differences between Northern and Southern Regions and the so called "regionalismo differenziato".

Cifrel was founded in 1988 by scholars belonging to several Italian universities to conduct applied researches on local and regional government. The centre produces both academic and policy oriented researches on key issues of public finance with a specific focus on multi-tiered level of government. The centre has an history of close collaboration with a variety of institutions, both private and public, and had produced several reports to inform and evaluate policymaking, specifically concerning regional and local public finance in Italy and in many other countries. Cifrel researchers are actively involved in the public debate on economic themes with their contribution disseminated through a variety of media (tv, newspapers, on-line).

The Institute for the Study of Regionalism and Self Government “Massimo Severo Giannini” (ISSiRFA) was founded in 1971, along with the establishment of the Italian ordinary regions. The Institute carries out multidisciplinary research activities in the fields of public law, political science, fiscal studies and economics. The main research topics are: regionalism, federalism and autonomies in current constitutional systems; the tools and characteristics of autonomy at the constitutional, legislative, and administrative level; the structural and functional intergovernmental relationships. The Institute owns a systematic collection of national legislation and manages a specialized library.

The Institute for Comparative Federalism of Eurac Research in Bolzano/Bozen, Italy, carries out comparative studies and applied research on federal, regional and local issues throughout Europe and on a global scale, from both legal and political science perspectives. More broadly, the Institute investigates governance of societal and territorial pluralism. It offers educational programmes and trainings and is active in consultancy, especially for international organizations. It is part of a wide academic network and welcomes guest researchers and delegations.