Maurizio BUSACCA

Actually, I teach economic sociology and social policy at Ca' Foscari University within the Department of Philosophy and Cultural Heritage. Since 2025, I have served as the Director of the ATS Master’s program (officially titled 'Specialization in Methods and Practices for Strengthening Case Management and Social Support Pathways'). This program is designed for staff within Ambiti territoriali Sociali and aims to enhance and specialize the professional expertise of social workers within the integrated system of social services. Since 2023, I have been a member of the Yunus Social Business Centre at Ca' Foscari University, where I serve as the Scientific Director of the Labour Unit, focused on labour transformations (https://www.unive.it/pag/46277). In 2023, I was also appointed by Rector Prof. Tiziana Lipiello to represent Ca' Foscari University in the cross-cutting initiative LAB VILLAGE of the iNEST Consortium, with the aim of experimenting with the creation of an advanced research hub for the exchange and cross-pollination of ideas in the field of cultural and creative industries within high-density tourist environments.
My research interests focus on innovation in mission-oriented collective action, specifically through studies on social innovation, local welfare, social enterprise, and democratic innovation.

I published articles and essays in various journals and books. A list of my publications is available here https://www.unive.it/data/people/10482641/pubblicazioni 

As reviewer, I support various Italian and international journals: Archivio di Studi Urbani e Regionali, Autonomie Locali e Servizi Sociali, Economia e Società Regionale, Genalogy, Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research, Journal of Risk and Financial Management, Smart Cities, Sociologia del Lavoro, Sociologia Urbana e Rurale, Studi Organizzativi, Sustainability, Tracce Urbane.

I am a member of the Steering Committee of the scientific journal Archivio di Studi Urbani e Regionali and of the Scientific Committee of the journals Impresa Sociale and Nessi.

My approach to the academic job is very attentive to the relationship between university and community, i.e. for what we call university third mission, engaged university or entrepreneurial university. For this reason I'm frequently involved in international, national and local projects in the fields of education, poverty, youth, social inclusion, local development, and urban regeneration.

At methodological level, I prefer comparative research and the case study approach, using in particular observation, interviewing, participatory action research and secondary data. I have a good knowledge of the following data analysis software: NVivo, Qualitative Data Analysis Software; ATLAS.ti, Qualitative Data Analysis & Research Software; SPSS, software for advanced statistical analysis.