Collaboration for SDG best practice

Università IULM, through international collaboration and research, systematically reviews comparative approaches and develops international best practice on tackling the SDGs through its specialised research centres and research projects.

Research centres contributing to SDG best practices

Each centre contributes to a specific SDG domain, developing evidence-based frameworks and transferable models across disciplines and regions.

• SDG 3 – Health and Well-being: Brain & Behavior Lab applies neuroscientific and psychophysiological methods to evaluate emotional and cognitive responses in health communication campaigns, contributing to international standards in behavioural and public-health communication.
• SDG 4 – Quality Education: Centro Euresis develops inclusive pedagogical practices for students with specific learning disorders, producing replicable diagnostic and intervention protocols adopted by educational institutions across Italy.
• SDG 5 – Gender Equality: Digital Gender Hub promotes comparative research on gender representation in communication and leadership, generating best-practice frameworks for inclusive organisational cultures.
• SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth: CIMASC – Centre for Marketing, Analytics and Consumer Science and CERC – Centre for Employee Relations and Communication Studies develop models for sustainable consumer behaviour and labour relations, supporting responsible innovation and fair employment policies.
• SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure: CRISICO – Centre for Risk and Crisis Communication studies risk and resilience communication, creating protocols for institutions and businesses to manage complex global challenges.
• SDG 10 – Reduced Inequalities: Human Lab – Research Centre for the Communication of Humanities advances digital accessibility and inclusive communication tools, enhancing participation and cultural representation in the humanities.
• SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities: CRCS – Centre for Research on Culture and Science of Sustainability and the Center for Visual Studies develop frameworks for cultural sustainability and urban heritage valorisation, connecting visual culture, design, and community engagement.
• SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production: IULM Wine Institute produces comparative research on sustainable viticulture and communication of responsible consumption, establishing guidelines for ESG strategies in the food and wine sectors.
• SDG 13 – Climate Action: CIMASC and CRCS develop behavioural models for climate communication (such as the events at COP28 Dubai and EXPO Doha), providing measurable indicators for effective sustainability messaging.
• SDG 16 – Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions: Journalism in the Digital Age and the Osservatorio sulla Comunicazione Pubblica foster comparative studies on transparency, media ethics, and institutional trust, contributing to national guidelines for crisis and public communication.
• SDG 17 – Partnerships for the Goals: International Center for Research on Collaborative Translation (CeRC-T) and the Osservatorio Retail Brand Communication develop shared knowledge-transfer models between academia and industry, supporting international cooperation and innovation ecosystems.

Research projects generating comparative frameworks and best practices (2024)

• SDG 8 & 11 – Predisposizione questionari e analisi dei dati per la stima della domanda multimodale integrata AMT-Trenitalia: develops a transferable analytical model for evaluating integrated transport demand and equitable fare policies, supporting sustainable mobility planning.
• SDG 9 – AI MAGISTER – Polo di innovazione digitale: creates replicable frameworks for AI training, assessment, and ethical adoption for SMEs and municipalities, integrated into EU Digital Innovation Hub standards.
• SDG 10 – Misurare la deprivazione nelle regioni italiane e spagnole: comparative quantitative model using Eurostat data and PCA cluster analysis to measure socio-economic and digital deprivation, providing benchmarks for regional cohesion policies.
• SDG 11 – Linee guida per lo sviluppo turistico della destinazione Luino: formulates data-driven guidelines for regenerative tourism combining quantitative metrics (SGDMÓ, SWOT) and participatory governance, applicable to other EU localities.
• SDG 13 – Sounding Images – Screening Sounds (SISS): PNRR project (NextGenerationEU) that builds an interdisciplinary network (IULM, IED, Conservatori AFAM) to map Italy’s cultural and natural heritage via digital scanning—creating best practices for artistic and educational institutions.
• SDG 15 – Creatività urbana, eredità coloniale e politiche di patrimonializzazione in Africa Occidentale: establishes comparative ethnographic frameworks between Europe and West Africa (Cape Verde, Senegal), identifying transferable heritage and urban creativity models.
• SDG 16 – Dentro la permacrisis and GIG UP 2: comparative studies on crisis communication and digital labour that produce frameworks for ethical journalism and labour regulation in the platform economy.

Through its network of research centres and projects, Università IULM generates replicable comparative frameworks, cross-sectoral guidelines, and open-access datasets applicable across nations and industries.
These outputs foster transparency, inclusion, and innovation—core values of SDG 17—and demonstrate how IULM’s research actively shapes global best practices in education, communication, sustainability, and governance.