"Ticino, an attractive place for doing business"
Director of the Economics Division of the Department of Finance and Economics (DFE), Stefano Rizzi is in contact with all the economic realities of the Canton of Ticino and with institutions in the rest of Switzerland. Despite strong international competition, the Canton of Ticino continues to be an attractive place to live and do business.
Who is Stefano Rizzi?
Since 1 January 2012 Stefano Rizzi has been Director of the Economy Division at the Department of Finance and Economics of the Canton of Ticino. After graduating in business administration from the University of St. Gallen, with a specialization in small and medium-sized enterprises, he worked in the private sector and since 2005 for the cantonal administration. His areas of responsibility include economic development, agriculture, labor market surveillance and unemployment and land ownership.
Despite the various economic and health crises, does Ticino remain an interesting place to do business?
Of course! In Ticino there are ideal conditions for doing business, thanks in particular to the strong propensity for innovation in our canton. In fact, there are numerous internationally listed research institutes, some of which have become real flagships of our territory. I am thinking, among others, of the Le Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence Studies (IDSIA), the Research Institute in Biomedicine (IRB), or the Swiss Center for Scientific Computing (CSCS). Just to give an example, the latter houses the most powerful super computer in Europe, called «Piz Daint».
In our territory there are also many cutting-edge companies, which operate successfully in various economic sectors: from life sciences to mechanics and electronics, passing from information and communication technologies up to emerging sectors such as lifestyletech, which includes the technological aspects related, for example, to food, fashion, design, tourism and health. With us there are many innovative companies that, by adopting modern technologies, know how to be appreciated in the world.
All these excellences have transformed Ticino into a canton strongly devoted to innovation, to the point that a recent study by the European Commission has positioned it among the innovation leaders: it ranks in the top ten of innovation systems at European level and second place after Zurich at national level.
This flattering result demonstrates the goodness of the economic development strategy implemented by the Canton, as well as the quality of the ecosystem in favor of innovation, which has materialized in recent years. A strategy, the one perfected by the Economic Development Office of the Economy Division, which is based on entrepreneurship, innovation and networking of the aforementioned skills present in our Canton at the academic, economic and institutional level. These three pillars allow the different types of entrepreneurs to find in our territory the ideal conditions to develop, thanks to differentiated support measures, projects with innovative contents.
In this context, an important instrument, which has assumed a central role over the years, is the Law for economic innovation: with its various measures it supports research and innovation within companies for applied research projects – carried out in collaboration with universities – or for investment projects, with the aim of developing innovative products and services to be marketed on an international scale.
However, given that we are not the only Canton to focus on innovation, we must be proactive and far-sighted in facing future challenges. To consolidate growth within the broader Swiss context and to attract new settlements, important projects have been launched that develop synergies both with the north of the Alps and with the south, in particular with the economic area of Lombardy. Ticino joins the Greater Zurich Area in 2019 – an organization dedicated to attracting companies – and the most recent construction of the Ticino headquarters of the Switzerland Innovation Park. This project, which began in the spring of 2021, is managed by the Agire Foundation. Looking south, a letter of intent was recently signed with MIND Milano Innovation District, the innovation district born on the grounds of Expo Milano 2015.
In this way the vision of a Ticino is realized firmly connected to the innovation axis that goes from Milan to Zurich, which allows us to strengthen our competitiveness and to be an ideal place to do business.
He told us about the Switzerland Innovation Park. What role will the Canton of Ticino play in this context and what benefits will the economy derive from it?
Ticino's membership of the Switzerland Innovation Park is perfectly in line with the Canton's economic development strategy which, as mentioned above, focuses on innovation, entrepreneurship and the networking of skills present in our territory.
Thanks to this important project, the Canton of Ticino will be able to further promote innovation, especially in strategic and future-oriented sectors, thus strengthening its already consolidated position at an international level.
The whole economy will benefit greatly: the establishment of cutting-edge companies, research and development departments of international companies, as well as start-ups will be facilitated. The Ticino branch of the Switzerland Innovation Park will be able to act as a catalyst for the birth and development of innovative projects, capable in turn of attracting other activities, and will contribute to generating interesting jobs. In addition, it will also allow the activation of collaborations with the economic realities present in the greater Zurich region, a goal that the Canton had already set itself by joining the Greater Zurich Area.
Which competence centers are currently under consideration in Ticino?
The backbone of the Switzerland Innovation Park is represented by centers of competence. Life sciences, Drones and ICT are in an advanced stage of development while other initiatives with future potential are being evaluated. These centers of expertise will contribute to multiplying the opportunities for exchange between companies and research institutes in highly technological sectors and will give life to new innovative projects.
A very topical issue is corporate social responsibility, for which the DFE has worked hard. Where are we today?
Recently, continuing the work already underway, the Council of State decided to make 450,000 francs available for the period 2021-2023 to take measures in the area of corporate social responsibility (CSR). In particular, the introduction of direct support is envisaged for companies investing in the training of their own CSR manager. This is a measure that will give the opportunity to have, directly in the companies and in an increased way, professional figures with the necessary skills for the implementation of good practices, which can more easily flow into a sustainability report. Furthermore, to continue with the awareness-raising activity on the issue and on the opportunities related to the adoption of good practices in the field of corporate social responsibility, the organization of activities and events is planned, as for example already done in February 2020. with the Day of the economy entirely dedicated to the topic. It will thus be possible to foster the further development of a common culture on corporate social responsibility.
I would like to underline that, during the emergency in our canton, there was no lack of examples of initiatives in this area, demonstrating that Ticino has been moving towards sustainable economic development for some time: socially responsible companies were the first to go down field, trying to contribute to the solution of community and territory problems. The hope is that companies in the future will continue to follow this direction, adopting more and more corporate practices that are attentive to economic, social and environmental developments.
How much has the Coronavirus pandemic impacted the cantonal economy?
The pandemic hit our canton in a totally unexpected way. From one day to the next we began to feel clear signs that something very big was taking place, with important consequences certainly in terms of health, first of all, but also social and economic. In particular, in the months of March and April 2020, severe measures were adopted, which required sacrifices and efforts, both from citizens and from Ticino companies.
The authority, however, did not leave citizens or companies in difficulty alone and immediately intervened by putting in place, in a complementary way between the Confederation, the Cantons and the Municipalities, a series of tools to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on our society. Examples include, among others, allowances for reduced work, allowances for loss of earnings, Covid-19 credits, Covid bridging benefits, aid for specific sectors such as culture, sport and media, bridging benefits. Covid-19 and aid for the so-called "hardship cases".
The pandemic has confronted us with great challenges and difficulties, of course, but it is precisely in the crises that new opportunities need to be glimpsed. Opportunities for development and growth which in this case, as also emerged from the activities of the strategic Group for the relaunch of the country, emerge above all in the areas of innovation, sustainable development and corporate social responsibility: these are the sectors on which to aim for the economic revival, where the Canton of Ticino, moreover, already has many cards to play.