Paco Design Collaborative
PACO Design Collaborative is an Italian non-profit network of design professionals applying Design Thinking, Service Design, and Participatory Design to social innovation, sustainability, education, and workplace well-being projects, serving enterprises, universities, foundations, and EU-funded research consortia.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersMilan, Italy
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Paco Design Collaborative does
PACO Design Collaborative is an international network of design-driven professionals founded in Milan in 2013 by Stefano Anfossi, alongside co-founders Silvia Remotti, Fabrizio Pierandrei, Valentina Vezzani, Adrian Larripa, and Francesco D'Onghia. The organization operates as an Italian non-profit (CF 97678730157) with a parallel commercial entity, PACOlab s.r.l.s. (VAT 09385480968), and maintains a core team of approximately 12 professionals while drawing on a broader international contributor base across Italy, Spain, Finland, France, the UK, Portugal, South Africa, and Namibia. Its functional focus is the application of Design Thinking, Service Design, and Participatory Design methodologies to social innovation, sustainability, education, and workplace well-being.
The portfolio of offerings is service- and research-oriented rather than software-based, and includes the Design for Change Toolbook for marginalized communities, the Social Economy Canvas commissioned by EU Policy Lab (DG JRC) and DG GROW, the Design Futures curriculum, free MOOCs on participatory design in arts and culture, and project-led initiatives such as AMASS, TURFU, PARTY, SEDUS Insights, and The Design School for Children (including the Junior Design Lab at ADI Design Museum). These are delivered through direct consulting engagements, EU-funded research consortia (Horizon 2020, Erasmus+), and educational partnerships with universities (Politecnico di Milano, Bristol, Navarra, Lapland, Leeds, Eindhoven) and foundations (Fondazione Cariplo, Fondazione Golinelli). Notable enterprise engagements include multi-year research with SEDUS Stoll AG on workplace well-being, co-creation workshops with ENI, Design Thinking programs with SIEMENS, and design collaboration on INGETEAM's RAPID ST400 ultra-fast EV charger.
PACO generates revenue primarily through EU research funding (Horizon 2020 and Erasmus+ programs), paid research partnerships and consulting services with companies and nonprofits, and project-based design thinking workshops. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is negotiated per engagement. The business model is hybrid, combining non-program-restricted revenue (enterprise consulting, foundation research commissions) with grant-restricted project work, and it is dependent on continued access to EU program cycles and on the academic and institutional networks that anchor its competitive positioning.
Paco Design Collaborative firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Paco Design Collaborative
- Legal name
- PACO Design Collaborative / PACOlab s.r.l.s.
- Website
- https://pacollaborative.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- PACO Design Collaborative is an Italian non-profit network of design professionals applying Design Thinking, Service Design, and Participatory Design to social innovation, sustainability, education, and workplace well-being projects, serving enterprises, universities, foundations, and EU-funded research consortia.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Paco Design Collaborative industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Strategic Design Services
- NAICS
- Other Specialized Design Services (54149), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Corporate Learning & Training Content Development (EDAGAKAC)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Building Information Modeling (BIM) & Digital Design Services (BPAHAKAK)
Keywords
Where Paco Design Collaborative is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Milan
- HQ country
- Italy
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Paco Design Collaborative business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Research Partnership Services: PACO provides research partnership services to universities and international organizations, conducting qualitative research, on-field prototyping, and bringing academic research outcomes into practical applications. This involves international programs and collaborative research projects.
- Consulting Services: Open innovation consulting and strategic design services for companies and organizations seeking to define paths toward new prosperity, identify opportunities, and engage communities. Includes workshops, training, and design thinking facilitation.
- EU Research Funding: PACO participates in European Union research and innovation programs including Horizon 2020 and Erasmus+, which provide funding for collaborative research projects addressing social challenges, youth empowerment, and sustainable development.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Paco Design Collaborative product offering
Product offeringCore offering
PACO Design Collaborative is an international network of design-driven professionals providing research, consulting, and participatory design services to universities, international organizations, companies, and nonprofits. They conduct qualitative research, on-field prototyping, open innovation consulting, and design thinking workshops focused on social innovation, sustainability, education, and community empowerment. Their work combines academic rigor with practical community impact through EU-funded research programs and direct client engagements.
Product overview
PACO Design Collaborative is an international network of design-driven professionals offering a portfolio of service offerings rather than a unified software product. Their core offerings include educational programs (The Design School for Children, Design Futures, SET Scuola e Territorio), participatory design toolkits (Design for Change Tool Book, MOOC), and social innovation projects (AMASS, TURFU, PARTY). They also provide research partnerships and consulting services for businesses (SEDUS Insights, Design Sessions for Companies) and organizations (Social Economy Canvas). These offerings are delivered as service engagements, workshops, and downloadable resources rather than software products.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- The Design School for Children: Container of initiatives for the development and dissemination of design culture and design methods in the education of children and young teenagers, offering design hackathons, workshops, and school programs.
- Junior Design Lab
- AMASS
- TURFU Project
- Design Futures
- PARTY Project
- SEDUS Insights
Products and services
- The Design School for Children A container of initiatives for the development and dissemination of design culture and design methods in education of children and young teenagers, offering design hackathons, workshops, and school programs.
- Design for Change Tool Book A guide for non-designers and professionals seeking methods and tools to work with marginalised communities, covering four main phases: awareness, identity, empowerment and understanding.
- Participatory Design MOOC A free online course unit on participatory design processes in arts and culture, part of the AMASS project MOOC offering 4 ECTS credits.
- AMASS (Acting on the Margins: Arts as Social Sculpture) An arts-based action research project using practical methods from service design to explore the role of arts in mitigating societal challenges, setting up 35 experiments in European peripheries.
- TURFU Project A European design project bringing together practitioners across France, Finland, and Italy to imagine desirable futures rooted in urban peripheries using speculative design methodologies.
- Design Futures A European project developing 21st-century skills through Design Thinking and Maker Education pedagogies for school teachers and students.
- SEDUS Insights Ongoing research collaboration with SEDUS Stoll AG examining changes in contemporary society, world of work, and workspace role, including quarterly Trend Monitor publications.
- PARTY Project (Participatory Development with the Youth) EU-funded project focusing on youth unemployment using participatory and explorative service design tools with San communities in Namibia and South Africa.
- Social Economy Canvas A visual sense-making framework inspired by design and complex-adaptive systems theory, providing policymakers with a bottom-up macro-assessment of social economy in Europe.
- Design Sessions for Companies Design Thinking and Service Design workshops for companies including sessions with ENI, SIEMENS, and other organizations to develop sustainable innovation and change management.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 30 Design School for Children initiatives completed since 2014
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Paco Design Collaborative
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Paco Design Collaborative technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Paco Design Collaborative partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
38 partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.
- University of LaplandcoreEU research partner in PARTY Project (Horizon 2020) and AMASS Project, focusing on participatory design with marginalized youth in Southern Africa and arts-based social innovation across Europe. PACO co-developed methodologies and toolkits through these collaborations.
- University of LeedscoreAcademic partner in PARTY Project working with San youth in vocational training and higher education in Windhoek, Namibia. Co-authored research papers on service design tools for youth empowerment.
- Cape Peninsula University of TechnologycoreSouth African university partner in PARTY Project addressing youth unemployment and marginalization through participatory service design in local communities.
- Namibian University of Science and TechnologycorePartner in PARTY Project working with San communities in Namibia, contributing to co-design workshops and local dialogue development.
- South African San InstitutecoreLocal community organization partner in PARTY Project, facilitating engagement with San communities and supporting youth empowerment initiatives.
- University of LaplandcoreCoordinator of AMASS (Acting on the Margins: Arts as Social Sculpture) Horizon 2020 project exploring role of arts in mitigating societal challenges across European underserved regions.
- University of LeedscoreAMASS project partner conducting arts-based action research and setting up experiments in European peripheral regions.
- Univerzita Karlova (Charles University)secondaryAMASS project partner from Czech Republic contributing multidisciplinary perspectives on arts and social innovation.
- Universita ta MaltasecondaryAMASS project partner contributing research on arts-based approaches to social challenges in Southern European contexts.
- Textilhögskolan Högskolan i BoråssecondarySwedish university partner in AMASS project focusing on textile and design perspectives for social innovation.
- Budapesti Corvinus Egyetem (Corvinus University of Budapest)secondaryHungarian university partner in AMASS project contributing to arts-based research on marginalization in Eastern Europe.
- Associacão de Professores de Expressão e Communicacão Visual (APECV)secondaryPortuguese association partner in AMASS focusing on arts education and visual communication in schools.
- La Banlieue du TURFUcoreFrench organization leading TURFU Project consortium - Erasmus+ funded initiative imagining desirable futures with youth from urban peripheries (banlieues) across France, Finland, and Italy.
- Makin'OvcoreFrench partner in TURFU Project contributing to futures literacy and speculative design workshops with youth in European peripheries.
- LUT UniversitycoreFinnish university partner in TURFU Project, contributing research and foresight expertise to youth empowerment and imagination-building methodologies.
- TU/E (Eindhoven University of Technology)coreLead coordinator of Design Futures Erasmus+ project developing Design Thinking and Maker Education curricula for European schools.
- Designathon WorkscoreDesign Futures project partner contributing expertise in design education and hackathon methodologies for school children.
- StimmulisecondaryDesign Futures project partner contributing to teacher training and curriculum dissemination across European schools.
- All GrowsecondaryDesign Futures project partner focusing on educational innovation and scaling of design thinking methodologies.
- Aristothelio CollegesecondaryGreek educational institution pilot partner for Design Futures curriculum implementation in schools.
- EU Policy Lab DG Joint Research CentrecoreEuropean Commission department that commissioned PACO to develop the Social Economy Canvas - a visual framework for macro-assessment of social economy in Europe.
- DG GROW (European Commission)coreEuropean Commission Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs that partnered with PACO for Social Economy Canvas development to support social economy policy.
- SEDUS Stoll AGcoreEuropean leader in office furniture and solutions, partnering with PACO for over 5 years on research into workplace well-being, future office solutions, and publishing Sedus Trend Monitor quarterly.
- bigD (bigD Design that Matters)coreSpanish design consultancy collaborating with PACO on Ingeteam EV Ultra Fast Charger development (RAPID ST400) - the most powerful EV charging system in Europe.
- ADI Design MuseumcorePartnership to establish Junior Design Lab (JLab) at ADI Design Museum, bringing design education to children and young teenagers.
- Fondazione GolinellicoreItalian foundation partnering on SET - Scuola e Territorio educational program supporting children in designing start-ups through Design Thinking methodology.
- Fablab BolognacoreFabrication laboratory partner for SET project, providing hands-on making facilities for student prototype development.
- Confindustria Emilia RomagnacoreRegional industrial association and project client for SET program, supporting innovation education for secondary school students in Bologna and Modena.
- University of Madeira - Art & Design DepartmentcoreAcademic partner in Atlantic Wonder summer school, hosting interdisciplinary design workshops on Madeira island focused on nature-inspired design methods.
- Marine Biology Station of FunchalcoreScientific partner in Atlantic Wonder providing marine biology expertise and field exploration guidance for island ecosystem research.
- Natural History Museum of FunchalcorePartner in Atlantic Wonder contributing natural history and biodiversity perspectives to design-led island exploration workshops.
- Future Food InstitutecoreProject client and partner for Diritti alla Terra food hackathon addressing land, food, and rights issues during Internazionale newspaper festival in Ferrara.
- Fondazione CariplocoreItalian banking foundation commissioning PACO for international strategic research on community foundations across Germany, UK, Canada, and USA.
- Cput (Cape Peninsula University of Technology)corePARTY Project partner in EU-funded research on participatory development with youth, contributing to Design for Change Toolbook creation.
- Nust (Namibian University of Science and Technology)corePARTY Project partner contributing Namibian context and youth engagement expertise to Design for Change Toolbook development.
- ULapland (University of Lapland)corePARTY Project coordinator contributing academic rigor and Service Design methodology to Design for Change Toolbook.
- SASI (South African San Institute)coreLocal partner facilitating community engagement with San communities for toolbook field testing and methodology development.
- University of LeedscorePARTY Project academic partner contributing research expertise on marginalized youth and service design implementation.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Paco Design Collaborative competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Method (EPAM): Global design and technology consultancy with strong service design capabilities; comparable offering to PACO but operating at enterprise scale across commercial rather than social-innovation focus.
- frog (Capgemini Engineering): Global design and engineering firm with established service design and social innovation practices, comparable in offering but operating at significantly larger scale than PACO.
Direct peers
- IDEO: Global design and innovation consultancy with deep social-innovation practice and human-centered design methodology, directly comparable to PACO's service design and participatory research offering.
- Design Council: UK-based organization promoting design for social and economic impact, including design education and systemic design — closely aligned with PACO's mission and tool-development approach.
- Livework Studio: Service design consultancy specializing in applying design to complex service systems and public-sector challenges, closely aligned with PACO's service design and EU-funded project model.
- Dark Matter Labs: Design and research practice focused on planetary and social challenges using systemic and participatory design methods, directly comparable to PACO's social-innovation and planet-centric work.
Emerging players
- Board of Innovation: Innovation consultancy applying design thinking and foresight to corporate and public-sector challenges, similar in methodology and consulting orientation to PACO.
- UNDP Accelerator Labs: UN initiative applying design, research, and experimentation to development challenges, comparable in mission and participatory research approach to PACO's EU-funded social-innovation work.
- Nesta: UK innovation foundation combining research, design, and social innovation programs; comparable in applying design methods to social and policy challenges, though with a much larger footprint.
Others
- Systemic Design Association: International research community advancing systemic and participatory design; comparable as a thought-leadership peer given PACO's engagement with similar academic and applied communities.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Paco Design Collaborative social profiles
Digital presencePaco Design Collaborative financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Paco Design Collaborative leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles13 records
Paco Design Collaborative funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Paco Design Collaborative M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Paco Design Collaborative
What does Paco Design Collaborative do?
PACO Design Collaborative is an international network of design-driven professionals providing research, consulting, and participatory design services to universities, international organizations, companies, and nonprofits. They conduct qualitative research, on-field prototyping, open innovation consulting, and design thinking workshops focused on social innovation, sustainability, education, and community empowerment. Their work combines academic rigor with practical community impact through EU-funded research programs and direct client engagements.
Is Paco Design Collaborative a public or private company?
Paco Design Collaborative is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Paco Design Collaborative founded?
Paco Design Collaborative was founded in 2013. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Paco Design Collaborative based?
Paco Design Collaborative is headquartered in Milan, Italy, in the Europe region.
How does Paco Design Collaborative make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Research Partnership Services are the primary driver. The others are consulting Services and EU Research Funding.
Who are Paco Design Collaborative's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Method (EPAM) and frog (Capgemini Engineering). Direct peers are IDEO, Design Council, Livework Studio and Dark Matter Labs. Emerging players are Board of Innovation, UNDP Accelerator Labs and Nesta. Systemic Design Association is listed as an others.
Does Paco Design Collaborative have an API?
No public API is recorded for Paco Design Collaborative.
What industry is Paco Design Collaborative in?
Paco Design Collaborative's product category is Strategic Design Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAGAKAC, Corporate Learning & Training Content Development, with a secondary code of BPAHAKAK, Building Information Modeling (BIM) & Digital Design Services. Its NAICS code is 54149 and its SIC code is 8742.