Palazzo Guerrieri Urban Innovation Lab

By project LOTTI

Published on 27 November 2024

Italy

Puglia

About this good practice

The project focuses on the redevelopment of a municipal space as a hub of social innovation to promote youth entrepreneurship in the city of Brindisi. The Municipality of Brindisi has redeveloped the space 'Palazzo Guerrieri', which was in a state of decay and abandonment. The property was entrusted to TQC SRL (leader of a group of organizations) for the management of the spaces, offering coworking and incubation services through a public tender. In addition to the physical hub, the Municipality has built a team of human resources dedicated to the selection, support, and backing of local development paths and projects with entrepreneurial vocation consistent with the territory's calling to diversify Brindisi's economic and social base. The Municipality of Brindisi has introduced a series of measures (Laboratorio di Innovazione Urbana(Urban Innovation Lab) Riusa Brindisi,(Recycling Brindisi) Parchi Bene Comune (Park_Common Good) to promote and support ideas and projects to make Brindisi a more vibrant and welcoming city.
Main Stakeholders: Municipality of Brindisi, Associations and Territorial Organizations, Citizens of Brindisi and Brindisi Province.
Goals Achieved:
1) Palazzo Guerrieri is now an active hub providing coworking and incubation services and hosting companies and startups.
2) Brindisi was selected by ANCI as one of the two cities in Puglia for the number of youth-oriented startups (along with Bari).

Resources needed

The Municipality of Brindisi covers part of the utility costs of the building while the partner TQC ensures the management of the building with its own staff and offers public utility services (free coworking area and support for business creation).

Evidence of success

Palazzo Guerrieri is used permanently by 10 co-workers
Palazzo Guerrieri team supported projects developmentwith the City of Brindisi and upgrading of the multifunctional space available to startups, companies, and freelancers
Further:
- 60+ events organized in three years
- 120+ third-party events hosted
- 3000+ participants
- 9+ startups supported and hosted in the hub's spaces.
- 10+ Teams supported through incubation paths
- 2 people (hired by TQC) dedicated to the management of the Hub

Potential for learning or transfer

Palazzo Guerrieri is the result of a successful public-private collaboration and represents a model of territorial development in the context of industrial transition. The sinergy among the city of Brindisi and private organizations enabled the transformation of an abandoned space into a dynamic hub for innovation and entrepreneurship.
The key success factors:
- clear and shared common goal: to revitalize the local economy by encouraging new economic activities and supporting startups.
- hybrid team composed of representatives of the public administration and experts from the private sector that has guaranteed effective management, fostering continuous dialogue and strategic adaptation to emerging challenges.
The outcome of this project allowed the revival of a disused area and the promotion of a diversified and resilient economy, promoting the entrepreneurial culture, especially among young people, and contributing to the sustainable growth of the territory.