“Innovation is like a truffle”. This is one of the many insights that I have been chewing on since I returned from Philea’s Research Forum conference in Milan, hosted by Fondazione Cariplo. Truffles are known to be notoriously difficult to grow, and a lot of patience is needed as there are no guarantees of success. Truffles’ growth cannot be planned. Their growth can only be encouraged by creating the right conditions, and the right ecosystem.  So, …

The recent Philea Research Forum took place on the 7th and 8th of March in the incomparable setting of the CARIPLO Factory in Milan. The Forum was an exceptional opportunity to meet again with some of the most important philanthropic foundations from all over Europe. The theme of the Forum focussed on how foundations can contribute to shaping future innovation ecosystems.   We had the opportunity to participate in a round table (Foundations as hubs of …

Giovanni Azzone cuts a sharp figure. The spectacled and suited president of the Cariplo Foundation, one of Italy’s biggest foundations, is softly spoken – but has big ambitions. With an endowment of 9 million euros, Cariplo is plugging the gap between public and private at a critical time in Italy. Or, in his words, the foundation is ‘a gateway between the private world, public administration, and the third sector’, bringing ‘local and global level decision …

Italian philanthropic tradition stretches back to ancient Rome. Modern Italian philanthropy, however, recently flourished in the 1990s when savings bank foundations emerged. Today they collectively hold half of all Italian philanthropic assets, or 21 per cent of the European total.   However, Italian philanthropy has remained somewhat of an enigma from an outside perspective.  In the heart of Milan, the Cariplo Foundation (Fondazione Caripolo) – an organisation that emerged from the savings banks dotted across …