Davide Capecchi

Davide Capecchi is an experienced international consultant, facilitator and senior executive with twenty-four years of leadership across education, civil society, public policy and intergovernmental cooperation. He has designed and led complex European and multilateral programmes, combining strategic management with participatory policy development, capacity building, peer learning and knowledge capture. His work is particularly relevant to cities and urban stakeholders seeking to strengthen integrated governance, social inclusion, civic participation and innovation in local and regional development contexts.

Davide brings extensive experience in accompanying multi-country and cross-sector partnerships through processes of exchange, learning and implementation. As Chief Programme Officer, he directed global programmes advancing dialogue, institutional learning and social cohesion across Europe, Africa and Asia, including the management of more than 200 grants supporting civic, educational and youth-led initiatives. Previously, he led governance reform, digital transformation and EU-funded cooperation in the fields of intercultural dialogue, education and mobility. As Director of the European Youth Information and Counselling Agency (ERYICA), he managed multi-country initiatives that strengthened public services, participation frameworks and youth information systems across more than twenty European and neighbouring countries.

He also served as Programme Manager for the EU–Council of Europe Youth Partnership, coordinating the Pool of European Youth Researchers, and contributing to the policy environment surrounding the EU Youth Strategy 2019–2027. More recently, he designed and coordinated the UfM Med Youth Lab 2025, combining online learning, facilitation and onsite capacity building for young civic innovators across the Mediterranean. Across these roles, he has consistently worked at the intersection of participation, learning, policy translation and institutional change.

Davide is a PhD candidate in Management and Organisational Behaviour at ISCTE – University Institute of Lisbon. His academic work focuses on trust, dialogue and institutional learning, with the support of AI, and his research area is increasingly configuring itself around social economy, participatory methods and education. He holds an Executive MBA in International Arts Management, a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Johns Hopkins University, an MA in Philosophy, and a recent certificate in Public Policy Analysis from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is fluent in six languages and has worked in over 40 countries.

Core competences

• Design and facilitation of transnational exchange and learning processes

• Integrated and participatory approaches to strategies and action planning

• Governance, stakeholder engagement and institutional development

• Capacity building, peer learning and local group accompaniment

• Monitoring, evaluation, knowledge capture and learning-oriented implementation

• Strategic leadership, organisational transformation and cross-sector cooperation

Thematic expertise
Participatory governance; social economy; education and lifelong learning; social inclusion; civic engagement; culture and social innovation.

Methods and tools
Participatory design of strategies and action plans; facilitation of stakeholder co-creation processes; support to peer exchange and local learning journeys; integrated monitoring, evaluation and knowledge capture for implementation and impact.