The first PNRR LAB event hosted live in SDA Bocconi School of Management

The PNRR is an extraordinary, in some ways unique, economic policy tool. As such it needs not only efficient execution, but also thorough and continuous analysis of its results. In this context, the PNRR Lab powered by SDA Bocconi, in partnership with the association M&M - Ideas for a Better Country, aims to develop 'evidence-based' evaluation models useful for the purpose, valid at different institutional levels. The starting point is a database of micro-founded indicators, which will make it possible to create specific focuses useful for reorienting the action of national and EU decision-makers. The PNRR Lab also aims to facilitate the participation of economic actors in the implementation of the PNRR by spreading a partnership culture between public authorities and the private sector.

To achieve these important goals, the PNRR Lab relies on discussions with companies that are involved in various ways in the plan, and that collaborate with the lab as Founding, Ordinary or Knowledge partners.

In this regard, the "PNRR LAB DAY" was held on July 4 at the new SDA Bocconi Campus, the first in a series of meetings aimed at presenting and discussing the Lab's results and coordinating the program of activities, in order to translate the plan's mapping of public investments and reforms into further actions that act as a driver for growth.

Opening the proceedings, Francesco Billari, Vice Rector at the Faculty of Bocconi University, brought his greetings and congratulated all partners actively participating in this important project. Advisory Board Chair Fabrizio Pagani and Steering Committee Chair Giovanni Valotti presented the Lab in all its components. While Carlo Altomonte, the Scientific Coordinator of the structure, presented the first results obtained and illustrated the future research direction of the analysis, also in terms of data comparison among the main European countries.

The work was attended, with a keynote speech on the geopolitical context and industrial policy, by Minister of Economic Development Giancarlo Giorgetti, whose presence gives an example of the fruitful collaboration between public institutions and the private sector that the Lab wants to initiate to boost the country's competitiveness.

"We expect some interesting and concrete insights for the grounding of the PNRR from the work of the SDA Bocconi Lab. We cannot afford to miss this great opportunity offered by the plan: unfortunately, the starting conditions have worsened due to the recent war events that have dramatized an already not simple economic situation squeezed between the lack of raw materials and the energy crisis. Among the various areas in which we are working on the revitalization of our industrial policy is also the so-called reshoring, through the creation of favorable conditions for the attraction of foreign capital in favor of our companies, including those that want to return to production in Italy. Precisely in this area, thanks to various synergies, the creation of a permanent office at MISE and the suggestions we are also expecting from the PNRR Lab at Bocconi, we expect positive and important results." Thus commented Minister Giorgetti during his speech.

Present at the day were representatives of all the companies involved in the Lab, organized into working tables. Each table focused on its area of expertise: Skills and Human Capital, Digitization, Public Administration Reform, Economic Impact of PNRR and Public Private Partnership, the latter in collaboration with InvestInIT Lab coordinated by Veronica Vecchi. Two new tables “Urban Renewal” and “Sustainability” will be added to these themes in the near future. 

The conference was closed by Mario Nava, Director-General at Structural Reform Support of the European Commission, emphasizing how the PNRR combines a series of innovative projects with a set of reforms aimed at modernizing the country to put it back on a path of structural growth. In this framework, the PNRR Lab Bocconi stands as an essential tool to assess the impact of the PNRR, understood as a set of reforms and supporting investments, on the country system.

Finally, the day ended with the presentation of the results of the working tables, and the discussion of upcoming events.

SDA Bocconi School of Management