BRIDGEGAP is a multidisciplinary research project reuniting former members of the ANTICORRP consortium (Transparency International, ERCAS/SAR, CSD, University of PISA, University of Perugia) who have continued to invest in the development of data commons allowing corruption understanding and monitoring on the basis of objective data (e.g. Integrity Watch, Index for Public Integrity, T-Index, Russian Economic Footprint), with new academic partners who published novel methods to measure money-laundering (Utrecht University) anthropologists and criminologists who pioneered corruption studies in liberal democracies (IFFS), and new IT groups like the Ukrainian organisation YouControl, the first to interconnect data to enable searches of the assets of sanctioned individuals through its algorithm Follow the Money. BRIDGEGAP fills the knowledge gaps regarding both the extent to and the mechanisms by which corruption infiltrates open societies even across borders and it produces measurements of corruption across countries and time by its innovative models, as well as social network maps. It also assesses and offers solutions to the digital transparency gaps, ranging from the tools of transparency, the use and abuse of technology in corruption and anticorruption to the state of it. Finally, it assesses public accountability and anticorruption regulation across EUMS and candidate states to identify regulatory and impact gaps, thus addressing the academia–policy gap in corruption studies. The research will result in academic publications as well as in interactive analytical and research commons like comparative law repositories EU Compass, European Transparency Index, Follow the Money search engines across newly interconnected databases. All its pooled data will be displayed transparently on the website as a Data Hub and will offer end users the same investigation and analytical tools as the project researchers, inviting crowd-sourcing and offering online tutorials.

Working populations in European Member States are ageing. In short, if most people continue to retire at around 60 years of age, the European labour force will shrink by around three million per year over the period 2020 to 2035 as reported by EU-OSHA. There is a need for a new and more comprehensive policy design to counter the shortage of workers in the future. Moreover in European production systems there is a growing demand of applications with arm-based robots, exoskeletons, smart and intelligent working tools, immersive virtual reality technology. All these last generation technologies if well applied have a big potential to preserve the productivity, quality and safety of the aging workforce by better powering their great level experience and extraordinary skills. The main objective of the MAIA Academy is to create a unique research and innovation staff exchange network focused on the ageing problem in manufacturing. MAIA project will provide a multidisciplinary approach to achieve objectives as: - The study of the aging workforce needs and requirements in European production and assembly systems; - The development of new design methodology to create assembly and production workspaces elderly-oriented by preserving productivity, quality and safety; - The development of new analytical models to support assembly and production line design elderly-oriented and validate them with world-wide case studies. - Design and test of new ergonomics devices in order to support aging workers during tasks, by helping them in reducing muscular fatigue and risk of muscle skeletal disorders - Design and test of new immersive and virtual reality instruments in order to guide elder workers and support them in the production process. MAIA will bring together 7 European partners and 6 Third country partners to create a new generation of knowledge towards the creation of age-friendly paradigms, models and methods for manufacturing systems.

The main objective of this proposal is to provide new mathematical models and optimization approaches for design of spatio-temporal networks in stochastic and dynamic environment . Optimization approaches and mathematical modelling will concern strategic, tactical and operational levels. More specifically, such combinatorial NP-hard problems as Facility Location and Vehicle Routing problems will be considered jointly through optimizing the following decisions: (1) optimum number of facilities, (2) optimal facility location, (3) optimal relocation of facilities according to dynamic evolving parameters, (4) allocation of clusters to each facility, over the time period where the information about spatio-temporal parameters is incomplete or inexact, (5) various formulations of routing problems among the facilities of the network will be considered under different optimality criteria.

The OSMosis project aims to set up a research observatory on the form of “Société à Mission” (SàM), a recent innovation in French law which aims to provide a responsible governance framework for corporations. The introduction of social and environmental objectives in companies’ bylaws is an innovation adopted in several countries (United States, Italy) but scant research has examined its concrete effects on the functioning of the enterprises, instead focusing on conceptual models describing its foreseeable effects and risks. The scientific hypothesis of the project is that the transformations of companies brought about by this legal form may be unexpected, from the level of governance to that of the activity, and difficult to observe with the classic descriptors of governance and management. The challenge of the project is therefore to develop tools and methods for monitoring these concrete effects and the effectiveness of the law over a long period, taking into account its novel properties. To do this, the project relies on a partnership between the Communauté des Entreprises à Mission (CEM), the consulting firm Gouvernance Responsable, and teams of researchers with varied expertise covering the different aspects of this evaluation: link with strategy and the credibility of the statute in the face of "mission-washing", functioning of governance bodies, transformations in shareholding and consequences on work and social dialogue. The partnership with the CEM will enable the capitalisation of quantitative and qualitative data on SàMs thanks to the creation of an ad hoc IT tool and the collection of new data created by the legal form: reports of the mission committees, opinions of the independent third-party bodies, etc. These data will be complemented by several series of case studies (interview panels and longitudinal cases, but also participation of researchers in mission committees) as well as a quantitative study aiming at comparing SàMs with similar companies that have not adopted a mission or raison d'être. These studies are divided into three categories: the characterisation of shareholders of SàM, or shareholders “with a mission”, which prefigures the advent of a renewed socially responsible investment; the functioning of the evaluation and its impact on the strategic dimensions of the company (notably social and environmental initiatives, innovation projects, and business models of the main business lines); the effects on the quality of work, in particular in the face of the crises described in the literature (contradictory objectives, loss of meaning), and on emerging management modes. At the scientific level, the project aims to contribute with empirically grounded results to the economic, managerial and legal debate on the frameworks fostering responsible corporate activity, in the areas of responsible governance, finance and leadership, where questions are particularly acute today. The project foresees several conference and journal papers, but also the organisation of an ad hoc seminar to discuss the results obtained with the academic community. At the socio-economic level, the project responds to a very strong expectation, both from the public authorities, who wish to evaluate the effects of the PACTE law, limit deviations in its use and encourage the accountability of companies, and from entrepreneurs themselves, who long for good practices and better knowledge of the concrete effects of the statute, as well as from civil society, which is somewhat suspicious of its effectiveness, as shown by the recent national debate on the Danone case. The project includes several actions to disseminate the outcomes (publication of barometers for the general public), as well as training, and experimentation with interested actors.

<< Objectives >>To address the needs of society and business for a new type of graduates with a responsible global mind, this project aims to innovate higher business curricula, reaching all students, and support their development as young professionals with a global mind, who are able to take responsible business decisions that are based on societal and ecological grounds. The integration of internationalisation, ERS and social entrepreneurship forms the defining lens for this innovation.<< Implementation >>The project will co-create future oriented graduate profile in collaboration with local students and businesses. These will be implemented in the curriculum by an innovative pedagogy, aimed at transforming mind-sets and illustrated by practical examples. Lecturers are trained to embed the innovative approach in their curriculum, and then will train other lecturers. They will engage in a community of practice across the involved institutions and beyond, extending the project’s evidenced approach.<< Results >>The project envisages a landmark innovative approach to the integration of internationalisation, ERS and social entrepreneurship as the defining lens for business curricula. The strength of the consortium and all its associated partners, local and global, will ensure the quality and the applicability of the results, also for other HE areas, levels of education or sectors. By sharing and reaching out to a wide range of diverse stakeholders, an inclusive community of practice will be created.