UNVEIL proposes a theoretically grounded, encompassing conceptualization of the vulnerability of territories.
In particular, it unpacks the concept of vulnerability in three dimensions:
the Enviromental, the Socio-Economic and the Political-institutional dimensions
and it advances an empirical measurement of these concepts.
What:
UNVEIL foregrounds Italian municipalities, which correspond to Eurostat’s classification of Local Administrative Units (LAU2). UNVEIL relates formally comparable territories, which nonetheless largely differ in several respects. Hence, despite the focus on a single country (Italy), the number of municipalities covered offer enough variation in terms of key dimensions -different levels of socio-economic development, inner (or peripherals) vs. central areas, rural vs. urban.
When:
Data are collected from 2010 onwards. This time-frame covers at least two Italian municipal elections and includes the 2010 European sovereign debt crisis, the 2015 migration crisis, and the 2020 COVID-19 outbreak, all of which have produced detrimental effects on municipalities.
How:
UNVEIL relies on a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, as well as comparative analysis, to develop theory and collect and analyze data on vulnerability.
Why:
UNVEIL develops “place-based knowledge” to make policymaking effective.
The UNVEIL research activities consist of three pillars to be developed in three Work Packages:
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The Theoretical Pillar aims at conducting a systematic interdisciplinary literature review on the concept and measurements of vulnerability.Such review will be complemented with political science’s literature on the efficiency and quality of local institutions and political élites, as well as on the professionalization and personalization of local political actors.
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The Empirical Pillar will measure the concept of vulnerability across territories. This will allow UNVEIL to evaluate the intensity of the Environmental, Socio-economic, and the newly introduced Political-Institutional vulnerabilities of each territory through the construction of a multidimensional index of vulnerability (ESPIV Index). Furthermore, hypotheses on the relationship between vulnerabilities and exogenous and endogenous events are tested. |
The Case-study Pillar provides qualitative case studies analysis, for a thorough investigation of the impact of policy actions on local units, according to their degree and types of vulnerability. UNVEIL implies an ongoing dialogue with local, regional, and higher-level stakeholders to advance proposals about the type of tailored interventions required to make policy-making effective.
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