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TechSov4Futures

TechSov4Futures: Social Dialogue for Digital Sovereignty in the Workplace is a three-year European project that strengthens the capacity of employers' organisations and social partners to engage in meaningful social dialogue and contribute to shaping Europe's digital transition in line with democratic values, fundamental rights and strategic autonomy. 

Through applied research, peer learning and capacity-building activities, the project explores how digitalisation is transforming workplaces and the role of employers' organisations across Europe.

  • Project duration: 36 months
  • Project starting date: 1 May 2026
  • Project end date: 30 April 2029

    Project background, vision, strategic objectives and expected results

    Background

    Increasing dependence on non-European digital technologies—including artificial intelligence, cloud services and data infrastructures—raises important questions about Europe's resilience, competitiveness and strategic autonomy.

    SMEs increasingly face the dual challenge of adopting advanced digital technologies while complying with an evolving regulatory framework, including legislation on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and data governance

    Effective social dialogue plays a key role in supporting digital transformation by enabling employers' organisations and social partners to anticipate change, exchange knowledge and contribute to balanced policy development

    Strategic Social Dialogue: Social dialogue remains the primary tool to effectively manage technological transitions and new ways of working.

    Vision

    The project seeks to reinforce the role of social dialogue in supporting a sovereign, inclusive and resilient digital future for Europe by strengthening institutional capacity, promoting knowledge exchange and fostering evidence-based policy discussions.

    Strategic objectives

    Conducting comparative research through desk research, expert interviews and territorial assessments across Italy, Spain, Hungary and Albania.

    Developing practical learning resources and delivering interactive national workshops that strengthen employers' organisations' capacity to address digital transformation, digital sovereignty and emerging workplace challenges.

    Leverage capacity building to support structured peer learning, multilingual knowledge exchange and cross-border collaboration among employers' organisations, social partners, researchers and institutional stakeholders.

    Expected results

    • Comparative Research Report: A report analysing digital transformation, digital sovereignty and social dialogue across the participating countries, including territorial assessments and comparative findings.
    • Capacity-building Toolkit: A modular set of practical learning resources supporting employers' organisations and social partners in addressing digital transformation and emerging workplace challenges.
    • TechSov4Futures Community of Practice
      A multilingual online platform supporting knowledge exchange, peer learning and collaboration among employers' organisations and social partners.
    • Policy Briefs
      A series of thematic policy briefs translating project findings into practical recommendations for policymakers and stakeholders.

      I PARTNER


      Confimi Industria (Italy)

      Confimi Industria is the coordinator of the project. Confimi Industria is the Confederation of the Italian Manufacturing Industry and Private Companies, based in Rome. It is a national social partner in Italy, representing 45.000 companies (over 600.000 employees). Its purpose is to protect and represent the economic interests of its members nationally and towards UE institutions.

      Confimi Bergamo (Italy)

      For over 60 years, Confimi Industria Bergamo has served as the reference trade association for manufacturing and service SMEs across Bergamo and its province.
      Representation, protection, promotion, and development are the core pillars guiding our commitment to local businesses, as we respond to their evolving needs with speed and efficiency. Our mission is to enhance the competitiveness of local industry by delivering clear, direct, and accessible support and consultancy for all entrepreneurial challenges.

      European DIGITAL SME Alliance (Belgium)

      The European DIGITAL SME Alliance (DIGITAL SME) is the largest network of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the ICT sector in Europe, connecting more than 45,000 digital SMEs. The Alliance is the joint effort of 30 national and regional SME associations from EU member states and neighbouring countries to put digital SMEs at the centre of the EU agenda.



      Fondazione ADAPT (Italy)

      Fondazione ADAPT is a not-for-profit organisation, founded in 2013 by ADAPT – Association for International and Comparative Studies on Labour Law and Industrial Relations. As for its articles of association, the Foundation’s primary purpose is to support young people’s direct access to the labour market. This is done directly – e.g., through the establishment of an International School of Higher Education in Occupational Transitions, Labour and Industrial Relations – and indirectly, i.e. by working on research activities and projects



      Confederacion de Organizations Empresariales de Castilla y Leon (Spain)

      CEOE Castilla y León is a non-profit, intersectoral business confederation established to coordinate, represent, promote, and defend business interests across the Autonomous Community of Castilla y León.
      The Confederation's fundamental mission centers on fostering and defending private initiative and the market economy while promoting business unity and integration. It aims to drive regional economic development within Spain's broader economic framework as a cornerstone for achieving greater social fairness. Furthermore, CEOE Castilla y León is dedicated to representing, managing, and advocating for the shared interests of the business community before public administrations, autonomous bodies, and professional organisations.

      Budapest Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Hungary)

      Budapest Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) was founded in 1850 and it is the largest chamber of commerce in Hungary, gathering small and medium-size companies from the capital city. BCCI offers a wide array of services helping its stakeholders to better achieve their goals by taking advantage of cross border connections and collaborations enhanced by international projects.

      Consiglio Regionale della Puglia (Italy)

      The Regional Council of Apulia (Consiglio Regionale della Puglia) was established in June 1970, it currently consists of 51 members and holds office for a five-year term. The Regional Council of Puglia promotes active public engagement from local citizens and associations in the region, particularly on topics of cultural identity.




      Confimi Industria Digitale (Italy)

      Confimi Industria Digitale is the national association of Small and Medium Industry operating in the fields of Information Technology, Digital Communication, Telematics, and Digital Services, affiliated with Confimi Industria (Confederazione dell’Industria Manifatturiera Italiana e dell’Impresa Privata). It represents approximately 620 companies and 8,000 employees.

      Confartigianato Imprese Bergamo (Italy)

      Confartigianato Imprese Bergamo, founded in May 1945, is the primary trade association in the Province of Bergamo dedicated to the protection of craft enterprises. It is also broadly representative of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) fitting within the standard dimensional limits recognised by the European Union.
      Non-partisan and independent from any other economic or trade union body, Confartigianato Imprese Bergamo is a non-profit organisation. Its core purpose is to provide members, both individually and collectively, with comprehensive support across all aspects of their business activities. Through these services, the association defends legitimate individual, sectoral, and collective interests, while actively fostering the development, competitiveness, and progress of local entrepreneurial activities.



      Connect Europe (Belgium)

      Connect Europe is the voice of the leading providers of connectivity networks and services in Europe. Our members are at the forefront of innovation in the telecom and technology ecosystems, connecting over 270 million Europeans with cutting-edge mobile and fixed networks, such as fibre and 5G. They also deliver advanced services, ranging from first-class IT, AI and cybersecurity solutions, to entertainment and content. As the main investors in the industry, our members drive the digital transformation of the Continent , accounting for more than 70% of total telecom sector investment in Europe. Formerly known as ETNO, we stand for an improved policy and regulatory environment that enables citizens and businesses to benefit from digital connectivity and services.

      ADAPT (Italy)

      Associazione Per Gli Studi Internazionali E Comparati Sul Diritto Del Lavoro E Delle Relazioni Industriali

      ADAPT is a non-profit association, founded by Marco Biagi in 2000 to promote, from an international and comparative perspective, studies, and research in the field of industrial and labour relations. ADAPT aims to promote a new way of ‘doing university’, building stable relations and initiating exchanges between higher education institutions, its members, institutions, and companies.

      Chamber of Commerce and Industry Tirana (Albania)

      Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Tirana (CCIT) is a juridical independent non-profitable organization that exercises its functions pursuant to Law No. 9640. The Chamber represents the unified interests of the business community in the country and is recognised as the most influential organisation in Albania due to its large membership base.

      UNI Europa (Belgium)

      UNI Europa is the voice of 7 million service workers in 13 sectors that constitute the backbone of economic and social life across Europe. UNI Global Union builds union power to improve workers’ lives everywhere. As a global union federation with affiliates in 150 countries, we use our collective strength to expand collective bargaining, advance social and economic justice, hold corporations accountable and transform an unfair global economy.



      Confimi Industria Puglia (Italy)

      Confimi Puglia was born in 2015, with the aim of aggregating companies representing all the production sectors of its territory. The Association enhances the world and the real needs of the manufacturing sector, through policies that can really impact the development of businesses. Inside there are manufacturing companies, districts, consortia and business networks, whose primary objective is the valorisation, expansion, and export of the territorial economic fabric.





      Latest news

      TechSov4Futures: Digital Sovereignty for SMEs

      In Europe, SMEs make up the majority of the entrepreneurial fabric, but their organizations often remain outside the tables where the rules of the digital transition are written.

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