Focus group on socioeconomic development of the Langhe & Roero area

Context
Langhe Roero Leader is the most long-lived local action group (Italian “Gruppo di Azione Locale”, or simply GAL) in Italy. The GAL organized three focus groups in Alba (Piedmont, IT), inviting local stakeholders from the agri-food chain, the artisanship, the energy sources sector, the trade, the tourism and services sector. The objectives were to produce suggestions for concrete actions as a guide to investments in the essential socioeconomic development of the territory for the next ten years (2023-2033).

Process
Our role was presenting the meetings and designing, facilitating, and scribing the participatory planning activities. Each focus group focused on a different strategic area of the productive life of the Langhe and Roero territory: the agri-food chain, then biodiversity, circular economy and energy sources, and last but not least a deep dive into the tourism sector and its related services.

Solution
At the first place, participants received an overview of general culture and values (the “food for thought”) thanks to the presence of renowned speakers; the GAL then provided basic technical information on the types of investment available. Based on this content input, we designed and made available a series of collaborative and practical tools to help participants identify suggestions for concrete actions with the solid ambition of “making a difference in the long term”.