OVERVIEW

CITILab addresses different dimensions of inequality related to job access and employment opportunities and quality, and analyses how these different dimensions intersect, cumulate, and overlap. By considering the additive nature of inequality, the project acknowledges that it is particularly severe and disadvantageous especially for certain groups. Among others, low skilled working mothers, people with disability and the long-term unemployed (cumulated with other characteristics, such as being over 50, low skilled, or with a migrant background) represent people who tend to be particularly vulnerable in the labour market.

The project advocates that in order to respond to these multiple and sometimes overlapping dimensions of disadvantage, it is necessary to develop a strategy based on integrated and complementary measures, a policy package through which it is possible to respond to compound inequalities.

This involves aligning support tools, such as training, family/care support, individual assistance, income support etc., which is one of the added values of the social investment policy paradigm.

Social investment is a key theoretical paradigm in the academic and political debates on welfare recalibration, new social risks and inequalities in post-industrial and knowledge-based societies. So far social investment research and policy debate have focused mainly on the national level, underestimating the importance of policies and services at the territorial level.

This project aims to address this gap by analysing social investment institutional and governance capacities of cities. We focus on and compare the cities of Milan and Amsterdam. More specifically, here we investigate the policies addressed to three target groups: the long-term unemployed, people with disabilities and low-skilled working women.

CITILab identifies and examines local social investment policies and highlights both innovative practices and local weaknesses. Collected information and insights from research will be shared and discussed with local stakeholders and civil society organisations dealing with labour market disadvantages and marginalization.

We are committed to raising the awareness of policy makers on the importance of complementary policy tools and interventions in areas such as adult learning and training for skill development, employment assistance, care and work-life balance. Furthermore, the project promotes an on-going dialogue between academic research and civil society to foster equal employment opportunities, a more accessible society, and an inclusive transition to an increasingly digitised economy.

 

The long-term unemployed

People with disability

Low skilled working mothers

OUR RESEARCH TEAMS

CITILab addresses the research scopes of (a) adopting a multi-disciplinary approach, (b) have gender balanced research teams, and (c) involve and train young researchers. The project combines the sociological, economic and political science perspectives, different skills and complementary research methods
Gemma Scalise

Gemma Scalise

Principal Investigator
Associate professor of Economic Sociology University of Milan-Bicocca
Alessandra Michelangeli

Alessandra Michelangeli

Senior project member
Associate professor of Economics University of Milan-Bicocca
Cristina Burini

Cristina Burini

Junior project member
Research Fellow of Sociology of Economic Processes and Labour University of Milan-Bicocca
Giulia Colombini

Giulia Colombini

Junior project member
Research Fellow of Sociology of Economic Processes and Labour University of Milan-Bicocca
Jurgena Myftiu

Jurgena Myftiu

Junior project member
Research Fellow of Sociology of Economic Processes and Labour University of Milan-Bicocca

Partner of the project: European University Institute – EUI

Anton Hemerijck

Anton Hemerijck

Full professor of Political Science and Sociology - European University Institute
David Jonas Bokhorst

David Jonas Bokhorst

Research fellow, European University Institute
Meike Bokhorst

Meike Bokhorst

Senior researcher Utrecht University
T.M. (Tijn) Croon

T.M. (Tijn) Croon

Researcher Technische Universiteit Delft
Mart van der Wal

Mart van der Wal

Junior researcher, European University Institute

Our Latest News

  • 1 May 2023: The research project CITILab has begun. 3 young researchers have been recruited for the Milan research team! They all started to work on the literature review and data collection
  • 15 June 2023: Meeting with Prof. David Benassi (University of Milan-Bicocca) to discuss exclusion, poverty and disability
  • 6 July 2023: Meeting with Matteo Schianchi, pedagogy researcher at University of Milan-Bicocca, and expert on disability
  • 11 July 2023: Meeting and discussion with Prof. Emanuele Polizzi (University of Milan-Bicocca) on social inclusion in Milan, local social policy and employment strategy and challeges in the city
  • 13 July 2023: The Milan research team meets the advisory board of the project to get insights and suggestions for the fieldwork
  • 17 July 2023: Update meeting between the Milan and Dutch research teams on research progress and preparation for the fieldwork in Amsterdam and Milan
  • August 2023: Starting fieldwork. Semi-structured interviews are now carried out in Amsterdam and Milan
  • 6-9 September 2023: Gemma Scalise and Anton Hemerijck chaired 3 sessions on Subnational Social Investment at the annual Espanet-Europe conference at the University of Warsaw
  • 13-15 Spetember 2023: CITILab research teams took part to the Espanet Italy conference at the University of Milano-Statale

  • 18 September 2023: Gemma Scalise presented the CITILab project at the “Work, participation and Income” Department of Amsterdam City
  • 25-29 September 2023: Two postdoc of the Milan team take part to the Summer School of the Italian Society of Economic Sociology (SISEC)
  • 20 October 2023: Gemma Scalise coordinates a roundtable on “gender inequality in the labour market” at the Jobless Society Forum at Fondazione Feltrinelli
  • 30 October 2023: Intermediate meeting between Amsterdam and Milan research teams at University of Milan-Bicocca on fieldwork research progress
  • 18-19 January 2024: CITILab takes part to the EuSocialCit conference in Amsterdam
  • 31 January – 3 February 2024: CITILab research teams presenting the first results of the project at the Annual Italian Society of Economic Sociology (SISEC)  Conference at the University of Cagliari, Department of Political and Social Sciences.
  • Wednesday 6 March 3-5 p.m. CITILab project discusses the preliminary results of the of Working women: what if they are also mothers and with low qualifications? target group at Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli
  • Wednesday 13 March 3-5 p.m. CITILab project discusses the preliminary results of the Disability and Work target group at Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli
  • Wednesday 20 March 3-5 p.m. CITILab project discusses the preliminary results of the Long-term unemployment target group at Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli
  • Monday 20 May – Dissemination of CITILab project with Anton Hemerijck (EUI) at Fondazione Feltrinelli, starting from the book “He is afraid of the welfare state now?” (OUP, 2024) we discussed about inequality and social investment – organized with SISEC
  •  Thursday 23 May – Jurgena Myftiu presents the results from WP2 (quantitative analysis and indicator development) at SIEDS conference in Milan (Società Italiana di Economia, Demografia e Statistica)
  • Monday 27 May – Dissemination of CITILab project! Gemma Scalise (Unimib) and David Bokhorst (EUI) present results from WP3 and comparative analysis of Social Investment in Milan and Amsterdam – at University of Milan-Bicocca

Project funded by

Factsheet

Programme: Inequalities Research 2022 - Fondazione Cariplo - Project ID: 2022-1301 Starting: May 2023 Ending: July 2024 Grant: 197.000€

Project status: in progress