The Board Statement

The Board of Directors of Collegio Carlo Alberto, chaired by professor Sir David King at its October 26th meeting, unanimously decided on a set of long-term priorities, which will determine its structure and its activities.

The Collegio will work – together with researchers from the University of Turin and other institutions– to make progress on key global challenges for the 21st century. The approach will be interdisciplinary and open to different methodologies, both theoretical and empirical. The four challenges that have been identified are:

• Demography, Labor Issues and Social Policies;
• Sustainability and Development;
• European Governance and Public Policies;
• Industrial Organization and Innovation

The main function of the Collegio will be to provide resources that will enable the Turin research community to build upon its solid tradition in these areas.  This will be mainly achieved by creating new Chair positions, by constructing a research community that belongs to both the Collegio and the University of Torino, and by establishing a funding scheme which is open to such community.

In each case, resources will be allocated to projects according to an open, transparent, and meritocratic process.

The Chairs are designed to attract prominent and distinguished senior scholars to Turin. The chair holders will have the duty to maintain the link between the University and the Collegio and to foster an intellectual community around these key challenges. Beyond the Chairs in Sustainability already advertised in the fall 2009, in the near future the Collegio will advertise new chairs in Demography, Labor Issues and Social Policies; European Governance and Public Policies; and Industrial Organization and Innovation. As similar initiatives have been undertaken by leading European, and in particular Italian, research institutions, the Carlo Alberto Chairs will be an essential instrument to maintain the competitiveness of the Turin research community.

The link between the Collegio and the University is guaranteed by the presence of a number of senior scholars (Carlo Alberto Fellows) and junior scholars (Carlo Alberto Affiliates), chosen through an open selection process. Through the fellows and affiliates of the Collegio, the research areas and associated resources will be accessible to the faculty of the University of Torino and to other prominent scholars resident in the area. In addition, scholars living in Torino with expertise in the four areas identified, will have the opportunity to join the Collegio as research associates before becoming Affiliates or Fellows.

The Board of Directors and its Director thank their Founders, the Compagnia di San Paolo and the University of Torino, for making this exciting program possible.