“I always try to do what I am not able to, so as to learn how to do it.”  Pablo Picasso

I am currently Executive Director for the Cohesion and Development Fund, the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (Next Gen EU plan), and the applications of Generative Artificial Intelligence for Public Administration, including within the European context. My work focuses on integrating technological innovation, organizational transformation, and multi-level governance of public policies.

Until September 2025, I served as Director General for Resources, Europe, Innovation, and Institutions of the Emilia-Romagna Region, a position I held since March 2016, also acting as the Chief Digital Officer (CDO). In this role, I coordinated European policies and their evaluation, managed human and financial resources, logistics, property, procurement, and organizational structures. I led regional strategies on ICT, statistics, internal communication, and institutional reorganization, representing the Region in national and European institutions, including the Conference of Regions and the Brussels office.

Among other roles, I am a member of the Advisory Board of the Fondazione Leonardo and part of the National Executive Committee of Andigel (the Italian National Association of General Directors).

Previously, for seven years, I was Director General of the Union of Municipalities of the Lower Romagna, one of Italy’s most advanced inter-municipal collaborations. I promoted integration, cohesion, and change management processes, which generated greater administrative efficiency and higher-quality services for over one hundred thousand residents.

In parallel, I have been a lecturer and trainer for prestigious Italian universities and research centers, collaborating with regional governments, local authorities, ANCI, and Legautonomie, as well as with ministerial think tanks dedicated to performance management and financial programming in Public Administration.

I have published several essays and articles in specialized journals and economic newspapers, and co-authored the volumes “Digital Transformation & Smart Working in the Public Administration” (Maggioli, 2021) and “Unions of Municipalities” (Maggioli, 2012).

My professional career began in local public finance, as Councillor for Budget and Public Participation of the Municipality of Modena, later becoming National Head for Local Finance at the League of Local Authorities. I have also been deeply engaged in public participation policies, experimenting with Consensus Building methodologies and directly studying the pioneering experiences of Participatory Budgeting in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in the early 2000s.

I hold a degree in Political Science from the University of Bologna, with a concentration in economics and public administration, and an Executive MBA from Bologna Business School.

I live in Modena, was born in Urbino — a city to which I remain deeply attached — and have a passion for astronomy, symphonic music, and classical art.

@F_R_Frieri