Abstract

While Italy recently managed to build a national system for asylum seekers receptions (despite not always efficient), the issue of integration basically did not find a place in government's agenda. Nevertheless, a number of social innovative practices for integrating refugees emerged both from the private and the public sector. The rationale is the idea of activating local communities in order to either reduce stereotypes or offering refugees opportunities to enjoy social networks. The article provides a mapping of these experiences and it analyses the dimension of governance, which is crucial for social innovation. The results show a strong local characterization of the practices and a fragile coordination due to the lack of a national framework in the realm of the refugees' integration policies.