ISINNOVA

What ISINNOVA does

ISINNOVA is an independent cooperative research institute founded in 1971 and headquartered in Rome, Italy, with approximately 16 team members organized across research, project management, communications, and finance functions. The firm delivers strategic research-based consulting to public institutions, research bodies, industry, and cities across Europe, organized around five research areas: Transport and Mobility, Smart Sustainable Cities, Energy and Environment, Health, and Responsible Research and Innovation. Its primary service lines are Advisory, Communications, Foresight, and Project Management, with a cumulative track record of more than 130 completed international projects and over 100 EU-funded research and innovation projects.

The firm's core technical asset is INSPIRE™ (INnovation System for Planning and Implementing REplication), a registered, proprietary decision-support tool that quantifies the replicability of solutions across technological, institutional, socio-cultural, environmental, and economic dimensions, producing 0–100% scores aggregated into overall rankings. INSPIRE™ has been deployed across 12 countries in EU projects including RUGGEDISED, REGATRACE, and BIOMETHAVERSE. Supporting products include the SINFONICA Knowledge Map Explorer (an intelligent navigation system for Cooperative, Connected and Automated Mobility) and the AI4SoilHealth app, an AI-powered tool for soil health prediction and farmer recommendations deployed across 100 planned living labs and lighthouses. The MICATool extends the firm's analytical reach into cross-sectoral climate neutrality policy assessment.

ISINNOVA's business model is professional services revenue earned primarily through participation in EU-funded research and innovation programs, with Horizon Europe as the central funding stream. The firm acts as both coordinator and partner in competitive consortium proposals, generating revenue through project delivery, research services, and consortium leadership. Distribution is direct, relationship-driven, and built on European research networks including UERA (joined February 2025), APRE's 'Towards FP10' expert group (chaired by Senior Partner Andrea Ricci), and Ecosistema Futuro (founding member, 2025). Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is negotiated per project based on scope and duration. The client base is concentrated in the European public sector and supranational institutions, with the European Commission as the dominant underlying funding source.

Name

ISINNOVA

Legal name

ISINNOVA

Website

https://isinnova.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1971

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ISINNOVA is a Rome-based cooperative research institute founded in 1971 that delivers foresight, advisory, communications, and project management services to European public institutions, research bodies, cities, and industry, leveraging its proprietary INSPIRE™ replicability tool and a track record of 130+ completed international projects.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Research & Innovation Consulting Services

NAICS

Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416), Environmental Consulting Services (541620), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

ESG, Sustainability & Impact Research (BPAHALAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

EIA/ESIA Documentation & Technical Studies (Air/Water/Noise/Traffic) (EUAHAAAC), Stakeholder Engagement, Indigenous/Tribal Consultation & Social Impact (SIA) (EUAHAAAH), Economic Research, Statistics & Policy Advisory (BPADAMAJ), ESG Governance, Sustainability Reporting & Assurance Advisory (BPAHAFAJ)

Keywords

• Research consulting services
• Strategic foresight services
• Innovation policy advisory
• Sustainability research consulting
• EU research project management

Headquarters

HQ city

Roma

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. EU Research Project Funding: ISINNOVA generates revenue primarily through participation as coordinator and partner in EU-funded research and innovation programs, particularly Horizon Europe. The organization receives funding for project delivery, research services, and consortium leadership. As a research institute, project funding constitutes the main revenue stream.
2. Strategic Advisory Services: ISINNOVA provides advisory services to public bodies, institutions, and stakeholders for creating pathways to sustainable growth and innovation. Services include strategic planning, foresight, and consensus building for medium- and long-term strategies.
3. Communication and Dissemination Services: ISINNOVA provides tailored strategic communication services including branding, digital presence management, and multimedia content creation to engage stakeholders effectively for both public and private sector entities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ISINNOVA is a cooperative research institute that delivers advisory, communications, foresight, and project management services to public bodies, institutions, and industry stakeholders working on complex sustainability, mobility, energy, and innovation challenges. It pairs these professional services with a proprietary decision-support methodology—INSPIRE™—that quantifies the replicability of solutions across technological, institutional, socio-cultural, environmental, and economic dimensions.

Product overview

ISINNOVA is an independent cooperative research institute offering strategic research-based solutions to complex societal challenges. The organization operates a platform-plus-services model, combining its core INSPIRE™ tool (a quantitative decision-support system for evaluating solution replicability with 0-100% scoring across multiple dimensions) with specialized services including Advisory, Communications, Foresight, and Project Management. Supporting products include the Knowledge Map Explorer (interactive navigation system for CCAM knowledge) and AI-powered tools like the AI4SoilHealth app for soil monitoring. Services are delivered across five research areas: Transport and Mobility, Smart Sustainable Cities, Energy and Environment, Health, and Responsible Research and Innovation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• INSPIRE™: A decision-support tool that helps teams evaluate how replicable a solution is, where, and why. It quantifies replication potential across dimensions including technological, institutional, socio-cultural, environmental, and economic factors.

Products and services

• INSPIRE™ A proprietary decision-support tool that helps teams evaluate how replicable a solution is across different contexts, assigning a 0–100% replicability score aggregated across technological, institutional, socio-cultural, environmental, economic, and case-specific dimensions.
• Advisory Services Strategic, research-based consulting services supporting communities, policy makers, and industry in developing solutions to complex societal challenges such as sustainability transitions, clean energy, and responsible innovation.
• Communications Services Tailored strategic communication services including branding, digital presence management, and multimedia content creation (videos, animations, infographics) to engage stakeholders effectively for both public and private sector clients.
• Foresight Services Strategic foresight services using horizon scanning and consensus building to craft medium- and long-term strategies for organizations across various governance levels.
• Project Management Services EU research project management services including assistance in securing funding, internationalization, and network expansion support, delivered primarily through participation in EU-funded research consortia.

Quantifiable outcome

• INSPIRE™ tested across 12 countries in multiple EU projects (RUGGEDISED, REGATRACE, BIOMETHAVERSE)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Ecosistema FuturocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2025Ecosistema Futuro is a landmark initiative promoted by the Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development (ASviS) to place long-term thinking at the heart of Italy's cultural, political, economic, and social debate. ISINNOVA is a founding member and Andrea Ricci serves on the steering committee and co-leads the Research task force. The initiative connects entities working on futures across natural sciences, technology, economics, and design.
• Urban Europe Research Alliance (UERA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2025UERA is a flagship initiative of JPI Urban Europe created to strengthen partnerships between research institutions and advance urban sustainability. ISINNOVA officially joined UERA in March 2025, gaining opportunity to collaborate with top-tier urban research institutions across Europe. UERA unites approximately 60 research organizations from 20 European countries.
• European CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Primary funding source and partner through Horizon Europe and other EU research programs. ISINNOVA participates as coordinator and partner in numerous EU-funded projects addressing sustainable development, mobility, energy, health, and environmental challenges.
• APRE (Agency for the Promotion of European Research)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024APRE is Italy's agency for the promotion of European research. ISINNOVA's Senior Partner Andrea Ricci coordinates and chairs the APRE 'Towards FP10' expert group, contributing to European dialogue on FP10 research framework (2028-2034). The group produces recommendations for Italy's positioning in European research policy.
• European Environment Agency (EEA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEU agency providing environmental knowledge. Listed as collaboration partner on ISINNOVA's global network page for potential research collaboration in environmental and sustainability initiatives.
• World Health Organization (WHO)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUN agency for international public health. Listed as collaboration partner on ISINNOVA's global network page, potentially for health-related research projects including FRESHER health foresight initiative.
• Imperial College LondonminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrestigious UK university and research institution. Listed as collaboration partner on ISINNOVA's global network page for potential research collaboration in sustainability and innovation areas.
• Fraunhofer InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading German research organization. Listed as collaboration partner on ISINNOVA's global network page for potential technology and innovation research collaboration.
• Sapienza University of RomeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor Italian university. Listed as collaboration partner on ISINNOVA's global network page for potential academic research collaboration.
• PwC ItalyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional services firm. Listed as collaboration partner on ISINNOVA's global network page for potential advisory and consulting collaboration.
• JPI Urban EuropecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint Programming Initiative for coordinating European urban research. Parent organization of UERA. Through UERA membership, ISINNOVA participates in defining European urban research priorities through Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda contributions.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Fraunhofer Institute: Germany's largest applied research organisation, collaborating with ISINNOVA on joint projects. Comparable in EU research consortium participation and sustainability/innovation portfolio, though significantly larger and broader in scope.
• RISE Research Institutes of Sweden: Swedish state research institute participating in EU projects across sustainability, mobility, and responsible innovation. Comparable as an applied-research peer competing for EU project leadership and providing policy advisory.
• TNO (Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research): Dutch applied research organisation active in EU research consortia on sustainability, mobility, energy and health. Comparable as an applied-research peer competing for Horizon Europe project leadership, with similar foresight and policy advisory capabilities.
• Tecnalia Research & Innovation: Spain's largest applied research centre, participating in EU Horizon projects across sustainability, mobility, and digital. Comparable to ISINNOVA as an EU research-performing organisation, but with significantly larger headcount and broader industrial footprint.
• VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland: Finland's applied research institute with strong EU funding participation across sustainability, mobility and responsible innovation. Comparable to ISINNOVA in its Horizon Europe consortium participation and foresight services for public institutions.

Direct peers

• VITO: Belgian Flemish Institute for Technological Research, focused on sustainability, climate, energy, and environmental research with strong EU project participation. Closely comparable to ISINNOVA on environmental research, foresight, and consortium-based delivery to public-sector clients.
• ICLEI Europe: European secretariat of ICLEI working with cities on sustainable urban development, mobility, and climate neutrality. Comparable to ISINNOVA in EU-funded urban sustainability and replication projects (e.g., Handshake cycling replication) targeting municipalities.
• IIASA (International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis): Austria-based international research institute applying systems analysis to sustainability, energy, and policy challenges. Comparable in quantitative foresight and systems-thinking approach, including projects like MICATool on climate-neutrality policy assessment.
• EIT Climate-KIC: EU-backed climate innovation community coordinating systemic innovation, foresight and replication across European regions. Comparable to ISINNOVA in deep EU institutional linkage and in supporting replication of sustainability solutions across cities.
• Wuppertal Institute: German research institute focused on sustainability transitions, climate policy and resource strategies, active in EU-funded foresight and transition research. Comparable in advisory/foresight work for public institutions and in methodological orientation.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ISINNOVA
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCoz1X9qkD6j2V5ZLxvFQ62Q/videos
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/isinnova---institute-of-studies-for-the-integration-of-systems

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ISINNOVA