TechSov4Futures – Social Dialogue for Digital Sovereignty in the Workplace
Acronym: TechSov4Futures
Project No.: 101262673
Programme / Call: SOCPL-2025-SOC-DIALOG – Support for Social Dialogue
Type of action: SOCPL Project Grant
Granting Authority: European Commission
Duration: 36 months
Partnership: TechSov4Futures brings together employers’ organisations, Chambers of Commerce, European-level organisations, research institutions and social partners from several European countries.
Coordinator:
- CONFIMI INDUSTRIA – Confederazione dell’Industria Manifatturiera Italiana e dell’Impresa Privata – Italy
Beneficiaries:
- Confartigianato Imprese Bergamo – Italy
- European DIGITAL SME Alliance – Belgium
- Connect Europe – Belgium
- Fondazione ADAPT – Italy
- Confederación de Organizaciones Empresariales de Castilla y León (CEOE) – Spain
- Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Tirana (CCIT) – Albania
- Budapest Chamber of Commerce and Industry – Hungary
Affiliated entities:
- Confimi Industria Bergamo – Italy
- Confimi Industria Digitale – Italy
- ADAPT – Associazione per gli Studi Internazionali e Comparati sul Diritto del Lavoro e sulle Relazioni Industriali – Italy
Associated partners:
- Regional Council of Apulia – Italy
- UNI Europa – Belgium
- Confimi Puglia – Italy
The partnership brings together organisations operating at European, national, regional and sectoral levels, allowing digital sovereignty and social dialogue to be addressed from the perspectives of businesses and SMEs, research institutions, policymakers and workers’ representation.
Total project budget: EUR 830,719.11
Maximum EU contribution: EUR 747,647.21
About the project
TechSov4Futures – Social Dialogue for Digital Sovereignty in the Workplace aims to strengthen the capacity of employers’ organisations to engage effectively in social dialogue and contribute to shaping Europe’s digital transition in line with democratic values, fundamental rights and European strategic autonomy.
The project addresses the challenges arising from Europe’s growing reliance on foreign digital technologies, particularly in areas such as artificial intelligence, data governance and cloud services. In this context, it examines how digitalisation is transforming the role of employers’ organisations and their capacity to represent businesses in policymaking and social dialogue processes.
TechSov4Futures combines applied research, peer learning, capacity building and transnational cooperation, bringing together actors operating at European, national, regional and sectoral levels.
Main objectives
The project aims to:
- strengthen the capacity of employers’ organisations to participate in social dialogue on digital transformation;
- explore the impact of artificial intelligence, data governance, digital platforms and emerging technologies on businesses and the workplace;
- improve the capacity of business organisations to represent SMEs in digital transformation policies;
- promote mutual learning and exchange of practices across countries and sectors;
- develop practical tools for capacity building and digital social dialogue;
- establish a multilingual Community of Practice for continuous knowledge exchange and peer learning;
- contribute to European policy discussions on digital sovereignty, artificial intelligence, data governance and institutional resilience.
Main activities
TechSov4Futures follows a methodology combining research, training, transnational exchange and policy dialogue.
The first phase will include territorial needs assessments in Italy, Spain, Hungary and Albania, combining desk research, stakeholder mapping and expert interviews.
Building on these findings, the project will develop a common capacity-building model and organise national workshops addressing topics such as artificial intelligence, data governance, digital transformation, SME needs and social dialogue in the digital age.
A central project component will be the TechSov4Futures Community of Practice, a multilingual platform supporting peer learning, knowledge exchange, practical resources and cross-border dialogue.
Project results will also be disseminated through policy briefs, EU-level exchanges, online communication activities and a final conference in Brussels.
Target groups
The project’s main target groups include:
- employers’ organisations, companies and business associations;
- SMEs;
- national and regional Chambers of Commerce and Industry;
- social partners and workers’ representatives;
- company-level HR professionals involved in social dialogue;
- policymakers and institutional stakeholders working on digital transformation;
- organisations operating in countries or sectors where industrial relations and social dialogue structures are still developing.
Expected results
The main expected results include:
- an integrated research report bringing together four national assessments, structured interviews and comparative European-level findings;
- a modular capacity-building package on digitalisation, SME needs, employers’ engagement and digital social dialogue;
- four national workshops, involving at least 80 participants in total;
- the launch and operation of the TechSov4Futures Community of Practice, with at least 30 active users during the project;
- publication of at least three policy briefs;
- an EU-level online workshop supporting cross-border exchange;
- a Final Conference in Brussels;
- continued operation and use of the Community of Practice beyond the formal project period.
Through these results, TechSov4Futures seeks to strengthen the ability of employers’ organisations and social partners to participate in an informed and effective way in debates on artificial intelligence, data governance and Europe’s digital sovereignty.
Funding: The TechSov4Futures project is co-funded by the European Union under the SOCPL-2025-SOC-DIALOG – Support for Social Dialogue call.
