Martin Pizzoni studies how innovation can change lives in poor areas.

This contradicts the equation "innovation equals rich regions of the world." Bottom-up pressure and the collaborative networks that can be created are crucial.

di |
Screenshot 2026 07 20 at 15.51.46

One common misconception is that innovation can only grow and develop in wealthy areas of the world (think Silicon Valley in the United States), where there are the financial resources to invest in projects, universities to incentivize them, and an environmental context that facilitates them in many ways. Yet Martin Pizzoni, 33, a PhD student in Management at the Venice School of Management at Ca' Foscari University of Venice, in collaboration with the Skema Business School in Nice, has focused his research on demonstrating that innovation doesn't necessarily have to originate in the richest and most technologically advanced places, but can also emerge in poor and marginalized contexts, and in this case, radically changes their destiny.

What drives innovation in the poorest areas comes from below: local initiatives, associations, businesses (including social ones), and cooperatives that manage to create environments of widespread creativity.

Among the territories studied by Martin Pizzoni, there are: 

  • the internal areas of the Italian Apennines, where small municipalities have experimented with social innovations to combat depopulation and loss of services;
  • rural areas of Sardinia, where local communities have developed initiatives related to sustainable tourism, local production and new economic models;
  • peripheral territories of Veneto and the Dolomites, also studied by projects linked to Ca' Foscari to understand how to attract young people, innovative companies and new services in inland areas. 

The key to making innovation a driver of growth and widespread development, even in marginal areas, is not importing technology or capital from abroad. The key is different: creating the conditions for a region to transform its problems into opportunities for innovation . Research on innovation in rural and peripheral areas shows that these places are not necessarily lacking in innovative capacity; they often innovate differently than large cities.

The most important factors appear to be:

  1. Starting from the real needs of the territoryIn marginalized areas, innovation often arises from a concrete need: lack of services, isolation, economic hardship, depopulation. The problem becomes the starting point for creating a solution. For example, a community can invent new models of assistance, agriculture, tourism, or digital services because it must respond to a daily challenge. 
  2. Leveraging local knowledgeA poor area isn't necessarily a place without resources. It may possess environmental knowledge, production traditions, artisanal skills, or forms of social collaboration that don't exist elsewhere. Innovation arises when these resources are reinterpreted in new ways. 
  3. Network, don't work in isolationA small community can hardly innovate alone. Connections between residents, businesses, universities, public institutions, associations, and investors are essential. Research on peripheral areas often highlights the crucial role of cooperation and public-private partnerships. 
  4. Having people capable of acting as "bridges"Many success stories hinge on individuals or groups who connect the local area to the outside world: young entrepreneurs, local administrators, researchers, and associations. These figures bring new ideas without erasing the local identity.
  5. Changing the definition of innovationIn marginalized areas, innovation isn't always a patent or a new, advanced technology. It can be a new way to organize a cooperative, revitalize a village, create jobs for young people, or maintain an essential service. The OECD (the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) emphasizes that rural innovation often does not coincide with urban innovation based only on research and patents, but includes adaptive and community-based solutions.

Image source: Municipality of Vallo di Nera/Facebook

The project is a candidate for the 2026 Non Sprecare Award, in the Schools and Universities section. To submit your projects, follow the instructions here.

Read also:

Want to see a selection of our news?

Don't Waste