The project dedicated to developing and testing outreach models to facilitate access for young people who are furthest removed from services to career guidance, training and employment support programmes at Politecnico di Milano has come to an end.
How can local services reach young people who struggle to access these opportunities? How can we build relationships that engage and support them over time?
These are the questions at the heart of PROXIMO - Proximity and Innovation in Outreach Models, a project funded as part of the Polisocial Award 2024. The project aims to develop and test new proximity strategies to identify and engage with young people who are NEET NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) or at risk of becoming so.
Launched in January 2025 and coordinated by Professor Cristina Masella of the Department of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering, the project involved three departments at Politecnico di Milano: Management, Economics and IndustrialEngineering, Architecture and Urban Studies, and Design. Over the course of 18 months, analyses, co-design activities and trials were carried out by the multidisciplinary research group, with innovative outreach practices and models in Milan's 7 Municipal District being explored, including through the involvement of Off Campus San Siro.
The research addressed one of the key challenges associated with the NEET phenomenon: the difficulty of engaging with young people who are not accessing support services or networks. Building close relationships plays a central role in this context: simply offering opportunities is not enough; it is also necessary to build trusting relationships that encourage young people’s involvement and ensure the continuity of support programs.
Research and pilot projects have shown that identifying and supporting the most vulnerable young people depends on the effectiveness of services and the quality of relationships between institutions, the third sector, training organizations, businesses, and local communities. From this perspective, outreach emerges as a shared capacity within the local ecosystem, requiring stable collaborative networks and flexible support pathways that can respond to the diverse needs of young people.
On 16 September 2026, the results were presented at the closing event of the Off Campus San Siro project. This event brought together the Politecnico research team, project partners, and representatives from the City of Milan, Municipal District 7, CGIL Milano San Siro, and the Sodalitas Foundation. The meeting provided an opportunity to share experiences and discuss prospects for developing the launched pilot schemes, particularly with regard to strengthening the local network.
PROXIMO thus leaves behind a legacy of knowledge, pilot schemes and relationships that can contribute to the development of increasingly integrated, community-based strategies and foster new opportunities for social and labour market inclusion for the most disadvantaged young people.