The number 3 is a truly interesting character. It stands there, slightly curved, as if smiling, and indeed it seems to know something the other numbers haven’t yet figured out. Perhaps because it’s the first number that creates a “group”: 1 is alone, 2 is a pair, but with 3… a party can begin! It’s as if it knows that two isn’t enough – a third is needed to make things more interesting. And in fact… in stories, 3 always comes back: three trials to overcome, three wishes to make, three brothers, the third of whom is obviously the cleverest.
Without invoking the Trinity, in everyday life the number 3 enjoys appearing in many ways: inseparable word clusters like “bread, butter, jam” or “ready, steady, go!”; or three-letter acronyms known and shared worldwide, like “WWW” or “SOS”. These are triads that work perfectly, and removing any one element would irreparably upset their balance.
This “ode to the number 3” is the metaphor through which Studio Shift wants to tell the story of its role as “third element” in the processes and projects it accompanied throughout 2025.
In continuity with previous years, over the course of 2025, Studio Shift – together with its stakeholders – persevered across numerous projects in its openness and commitment to generating positive impact for people and the environment.
The value of multiplicity
In 2025, Studio Shift brought its value to bear in support of organisations and projects:
High-impact projects: a significant portion of the work focused on strengthening organisations and communities through co-design processes, social innovation and organisational transformation. Studio Shift supported social enterprises, public bodies and Third Sector organisations in developing more collaborative and resilient models, capable of responding to contemporary complexity. Experiences such as those carried out with Ambito di Merate, Il Pugno Aperto Cooperativa Sociale and Bloom Mezzago placed intergenerational dialogue and the valorisation of distributed competencies at the centre, as levers for innovation. Our European projects offered us “abundant experiences” of networking and learning in international contexts.
Human Capital growth: particularly significant was the commitment to new generations, supported in transforming emerging ideas and needs into concrete proposals. Youth-focused programmes – including Grow NEB and initiatives promoted by Regione Lombardia – which saw us in the role of “mentors”, supporting new generations of designers and activists in turning intuitions into concrete proposals for their territories. At the same time, work with organisations and communities reinforced more collaborative, inclusive models capable of facing contemporary complexity.
Inclusion and social sustainability: among the most relevant projects, the Reti Blu programme developed with ITACA Cooperativa Sociale – dedicated to the integration of spaces and services through inclusive signage – was selected for the ADI Design Index and is now shortlisted for the prestigious Compasso d’Oro award, confirming the value of approaches that combine research, inclusion and social impact.Environmental sustainability: aware that the ecological transition is not only a technological or regulatory challenge, but above all a cultural and organisational one, we maintained a firm commitment in this direction. Across the various contexts in which we operate – social enterprises, Third Sector organisations, public administrations and local communities – we continue to promote design approaches capable of integrating innovation, environmental responsibility and social impact. These included: a contribution to the Fest-Val project in Gibellina, a collaboration with Oikos Italia on training programmes dedicated to developing design-thinking skills to address contemporary environmental challenges; and the conclusion of the Alpha SKills project which, with its school guidance tool FutureMe – Green Edition, was recognised among Italy’s most significant environmental education experiences and received Legambiente’s 2025 Bandiera Verde (Green Flag) in the category dedicated to education and culture projects.
Our commitment to regenerating and creating shared value
2025 also highlighted certain challenges, particularly in building broad and sustained engagement around environmental topics. For this reason, the Studio looks to the future with the aim of strengthening educational and inclusive dimensions, promoting new opportunities for involvement and behavioural change.
In 2025, inspired by our participation in the Abundance Fellowship, Shift made this intention even more structured by launching the Club dell’Abbondanza (Abundance Club): an ecosocial business regeneration programme, designed to support small organisations with “abundant ideas” that generate positive impacts on society, culture and the environment. The call, launched in April, was reserved for non-profit organisations, duly registered, with an average annual turnover of less than €20k. As an essential selection requirement, candidate ideas had to be aligned with Studio Shift’s values and principles.We laid an important foundation for our true co-creation offering by participating in the Lego© Serious Play© facilitator training course by Rasmussen Consulting and FDX Lab, enriching and expanding our capacity to intervene and provide support to ETSs and public administrations.
Looking ahead to 2026
2026 will mark a significant milestone: Studio Shift’s tenth anniversary. A symbolic threshold that invites us to consolidate what we have learned and to chart new trajectories for our work. With a long-term perspective, our commitment remains to contribute to building lasting wellbeing for people, communities and territories, transforming each project into a possible “seed of the future”.
Just as 3 is not merely a number, words alone are not enough to generate change. It is in relationships, combinations and shared processes that something meaningful takes shape. It is a small rule of the world: when different elements meet, a new space is created – fertile, capable of generating possibilities.
Looking to the future, Studio Shift intends to continue along this path: consolidating what has been built, opening up to new collaborations – in Italy and across Europe – and further developing learning formats and tools capable of making co-design ever more accessible and effective. At the same time, the commitment to listening and evaluating our own work will continue, so as to improve, on an ongoing basis, the quality and impact of our projects.
2026, the year of our tenth anniversary, represents an important milestone – not only to celebrate, but to relaunch. At the centre remain the people who make this journey possible: the community of “Shifters”, grown over time through new energies and consolidated relationships, and all the partners, clients and funders who share this vision.
To them goes our gratitude. It is through these connections that ideas can be transformed into actions and contribute, step by step, to building a future that is more just, more sustainable and – why not – more “abundant”.
April 27, 2026
Make a Shift is Studio Shift's e-magazine, focused on design and social innovation, where you can find articles and case histories of our projects.
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