Davide Capecchi

Edited on 08/12/2025

Davide Capecchi

  • Portugal

  • Italian, English, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish
Portrait in shirt and jacket
Availability :
Available for Lead Expert role and Ad-hoc expertise missions

Validated Expert info

Expert can perform the Lead expert role and Ad hoc expertise missions at network and programme level in relation to:

 

1. The design and delivery of (transnational) exchange and learning activities

 

2. Thematic expertise:
> Education

 

3. Methods and tools for integrated and participatory approaches:
> Integrated and participatory design of strategies
> Sustaining stakeholder engagement and translating strategies into actions

Summary

Davide Capecchi is an experienced international consultant and senior executive with over twenty years of leadership across education, civil society, and intergovernmental cooperation. He has led large-scale European and multilateral programmes, combining strategic management with participatory policy development and capacity building. His expertise spans sustainable governance, social inclusion, youth participation, and civic innovation in urban and regional contexts. You can explore more of Davide's experience at his LinkedIn profile.

As Chief Programme Officer (CPO), he directed global programmes advancing dialogue and social cohesion across Europe, Africa, and Asia, managing over 200 grants supporting civic and youth-led initiatives. Previously, he oversaw governance reform, digital transformation, and EU-funded projects promoting intercultural education and learning mobility. Earlier, as Director of the European Youth Information and Counselling Agency (ERYICA), he managed multi-country initiatives strengthening youth services and public participation frameworks in over twenty European and neighbouring countries.

Davide has served as Programme Manager for the EU–Council of Europe Youth Partnership, coordinating the European Knowledge Centre on Youth Policy (EKCYP) and the Pool of European Youth Researchers (PEYR) — contributing directly to the design of the EU Youth Strategy 2019–2027. More recently, he designed and coordinated the UfM Med Youth Lab 2025, integrating online learning and onsite capacity building for young civic innovators across the Mediterranean on climate adaptation, transition from education to work, and peacebuilding.

A PhD candidate in Management and Organisational Behaviour at ISCTE–University Institute of Lisbon, Davide’s academic work focuses on trust, dialogue, and institutional learning with support of AI. He holds an Executive MBA in International Arts Management, a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management (Johns Hopkins University), and an MA in Philosophy. He recently gained a certificate in Public Policy Analysis from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He is fluent in six languages and has worked in over 40 countries.

Core Competences

  • Governance, participation, and institutional development

  • Integrated and participatory policy design

  • Capacity building, facilitation, and peer learning

  • Monitoring, evaluation, and knowledge management

  • Strategic leadership and organisational transformation

Thematic expertise: Participatory governance, education and lifelong learning, inclusion and civic engagement, culture and social innovation.

Methods and tools: Participatory design of strategies and action plans; sustaining stakeholder engagement and peer learning; integrated M&E for impact and learning.