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Good practice Imported

Bologna for Talent — Italy's first regional talent attraction law (Emilia-Romagna L.R. 2/2023)

Italy · Bologna · See the Italy profile · See the Bologna profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 54% 67/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Italy's first regional talent law (L.R. 2/2023). €7.13M ESF+ programme in Emilia-Romagna: 10 territorial contact points, 60+ free English services, 100+ stakeholders, talents from 30+ nations. Quadruple-helix governance via 50-member permanent Regional Committee.

7.13 EUR M
Total programme budget (2023-2025)
10
Territorial contact points
30+
Nations represented among registered talents
50
Regional Committee members
Bologna for Talent — Italy's first regional talent attraction law (Emilia-Romagna L.R. 2/2023)

Details

Maturity
Pilot
Promoter
Regione Emilia-Romagna / Città Metropolitana di Bologna / ART-ER
Period
2023–present
Region (NUTS)
ITH5
Keywords
Talent attraction, higher education, regional development

Context

On 21 February 2023, the Emilia-Romagna Region enacted Regional Law no. 2/2023, Italy's first regional law specifically dedicated to attracting, retaining and valorising highly specialised talent. It established a permanent 50-member Regional Committee spanning local authorities, universities, arts and music institutes, vocational institutions and business organisations, together with an Observatory on Talents to monitor mobility patterns.

Objectives

The law aims to attract, retain and support highly specialised talent and their families in Emilia-Romagna through coordinated regional and municipal services covering housing, bureaucracy, language, career matching and business creation.

Activities

Implementation runs on two funded strands for 2023-2025: a EUR 1.87M municipal-services strand delivering 10 territorial contact points across nine provincial capitals with 60+ free English-language services, and a EUR 5.26M ESF+ university strand funding 11 interventions at regional universities and arts/music (AFAM) institutes. Bologna for Talent is the metropolitan node covering 55 municipalities in Bologna province, jointly run by the Metropolitan City and Municipality of Bologna, the University of Bologna and the Almae Matris Alumni Association, with EUR 176,000 in dedicated project funding.

Results

By the time of reporting, talents from more than 30 nations were registered in the network and 100+ stakeholders were engaged across the region, with the IT-ER (International Talents Emilia-Romagna) label managed by regional development agency ART-ER bringing the services together under one brand. No job-placement or retention outcome metrics have yet been published, as the funded strands run through 2025.

Conclusions

As the first Italian regional talent-attraction law, the programme has stood up governance and service infrastructure at scale within its first two years, but its actual effect on talent retention remains to be measured once the Observatory on Talents reports results beyond 2025.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k) — EUR 7.13M total across two strands for 2023-2025: EUR 1.87M for municipal services and EUR 5.26M ESF+ for the university strand; the Bologna metropolitan node carries EUR 176,000 in dedicated project funding.
Time to results
Medium (1–3 years) — Regional Law 2/2023 enacted February 2023; funded implementation strands run 2023-2025, with the Observatory on Talents intended to monitor beyond the funding window.
Staffing & skills
Regional Committee (50 members: local authorities, universities, AFAM institutes, business organisations), ART-ER regional development agency (IT-ER programme management), Metropolitan City and Municipality of Bologna, University of Bologna, Almae Matris Alumni Association staff for the Bologna node

Conditions for success

  • A dedicated regional legislative mandate rather than a time-limited project, to give the programme institutional permanence
  • Co-funding that combines municipal and ESF+ university strands so services and academic pathways reinforce each other
  • A cross-sector governance committee to coordinate delivery across 9+ provinces

Common failure modes

  • Post-2025 budget for the ESF+ and municipal strands is not yet secured, risking continuity beyond the current funding window
  • No outcome metrics (job placement, retention) published yet, so effectiveness cannot be independently assessed

Where it fits

Governance type
regional government + university partnership
Scale
regional (Emilia-Romagna, 55 Bologna-area municipalities)
Income level
high-income

Commonly funded by

ESF+ — European Social Fund Plus National / regional programmes

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Data sources

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