Raffaella Lioce

With more than 25 years of professional experience in European territorial cooperation, urban development and project management, I have designed, coordinated and implemented a wide range of EU co-funded projects supporting cities, regions and local stakeholders in developing innovative, sustainable and participatory solutions.

My areas of expertise include food policy and city-region food systems, food governance, food living labs, sustainable tourism, cultural heritage, culture-led development, active and healthy cities, sport policies, urban regeneration, functional urban areas, strategic planning, placemaking and territorial marketing. A significant part of my recent work has focused on supporting cities in moving from strategies and action plans towards implementation through co-creation processes, experimentation, stakeholder engagement and small-scale actions.

I have been  Lead Expert of the URBACT Re-Gen Action Planning Network and Ad Hoc Expert of URBACT Playful Paradigm II. Through these experiences I have supported cities in Integrated Action Planning, URBACT Local Group coordination, stakeholder engagement, policy implementation, capacity building and transnational learning. I have extensive experience in designing and facilitating Action Labs, Living Labs, peer reviews, study visits, participatory processes and local experimentation activities.

Throughout my career I have coordinated and implemented projects funded by Interreg, LIFE, HORIZON2020/ Europe, Creative Europe, Erasmus+ (including Sport and Youth actions), CERV and other European programmes. These experiences have enabled me to work with local authorities, universities, businesses, NGOs and community organisations across Europe, supporting integrated approaches to sustainable urban development, social innovation, cultural initiatives, healthy lifestyles and nature-based solutions.

As an architect and urban development specialist, I have worked extensively on public space regeneration, cultural infrastructure, sustainable mobility, tourism development and community-centred urban transformation. In recent years I have coordinated and facilitated several Urban Living Labs focused on sustainable tourism, food systems, healthy lifestyles, sport-based urban innovation and community wellbeing. In particular, I have supported the development of innovative city-region food systems and food-related governance processes involving producers, consumers, public authorities and civil society organisations.

Alongside my professional activities, I teach and lecture at universities and postgraduate programmes in the fields of urban development, innovation, economic evaluation, sustainable tourism and European project design. I contribute regularly to capacity-building activities for local authorities, practitioners and future project managers. I am also an ISO 9001 auditor, experienced in quality management, monitoring frameworks and continuous improvement processes.

My work combines strategic vision, implementation expertise and strong facilitation skills. I have authored publications, policy-oriented reports, implementation guides and training materials, and I regularly moderate international conferences, workshops and learning events. Through this combination of practical experience, policy knowledge and capacity-building expertise, I support cities in designing, testing, transferring and scaling innovative solutions that contribute to more sustainable, inclusive and resilient territories.