CSIL and the University of Milan are organising a side event at the International Conference on Research Infrastructures (ICRI 2026), taking place on 4 December 2026, to examine how research infrastructures with different scientific missions generate socio-economic benefits and how these impacts can be assessed.
Research infrastructures represent some of the largest and most long-term public investments in science. While scientific excellence remains their primary mission, growing fiscal constraints and international competition are increasing the need to demonstrate their wider contribution to society and the economy.
As research and innovation become increasingly central to global competitiveness, the EU, the United States, China, Japan and other major economies are investing in large-scale scientific facilities to strengthen technological capabilities and economic leadership. Understanding the socio-economic returns of these investments is therefore an important consideration for research policy and public funding decisions.
Socio-economic impact assessment provides methods to examine these wider effects, including technological spillovers, industrial procurement, human capital development, contributions to public policy and cultural value. However, assessment approaches and evidence remain fragmented across scientific domains.
On 4 December 2026, from 9:30 to 11:00, CSIL and the University of Milan will organise the side event Different Missions, Shared Impact Pathways? Evidence of Socio-Economic Impact Assessment across Research Infrastructures, as part of ICRI 2026.
The session will bring together representatives of four research infrastructures and organisations operating across different scientific fields:
The discussion will be chaired by Massimo Florio (University of Milan and CSIL).
Drawing on practical experience, speakers will examine whether infrastructures with different scientific missions, governance arrangements and operating models generate socio-economic impacts through common pathways.
Particular attention will be given to methodological challenges, including the attribution of impacts, the construction of counterfactual scenarios, radical uncertainty and the opportunities and limitations of monetary valuation.
The event aims to identify common principles and transferable methodological lessons for assessing the socio-economic impacts of research infrastructures across scientific domains.
The discussion will contribute to a broader understanding of good practice in impact assessment, with implications for research infrastructure managers, funding organisations and policymakers, including those involved in the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI), Horizon Europe and the development of the next EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (FP10).
Date: 4 December 2026
Time: 9:30–11:00 (90 minutes)
Venue: ICRI 2026, Meeting Room #1
Organisers: CSIL and the University of Milan
Chair: Massimo Florio (University of Milan and CSIL)
Participation is limited to 35 attendees.
To register, please contact Jessica Catalano (CSIL) at catalano@csilmilano.com.
Further information about the conference is available on the ICRI 2026 official website.