Who we are

ISSAN is a members-based research and training institute that was set up in 1994 by the University of Trento. The Institute currently has just over fifty members. Its membership is composed of consortia, foundations, social cooperatives and associations, branch-level organisations, commercial companies, universities and public administrations.
The institute carries out multidisciplinary theoretical and applied research, provides training, disseminates acquired knowledge through the promotion of seminars and conferences, drafts working papers and is also involved in publishing.
Over the years, ISSAN has become a reference point for researchers and practitioners in the sector and it is currently the lead Italian research centre for the EMES and Iris networks of research centres and scholars on social entrepreneurship.

At an internal level, ISSAN has a coordinator and three staff members who are each responsible for an area of activity:
Coordinator: Carlo Borzaga
Member of staff responsible for training: Paolo Fontana
Members of staff responsible for research: Marina Demozzi
Member of staff responsible for publishing, social enterprises and administration: Monica Loss

An activity report is produced every year. .