This report addresses issues related to the conceptualisation and measurement of Social Sustainability (SS) with a focus on the Italian case. The analysis confirms SS as a multifaceted term stemming both from its multidimensional nature and the interdisciplinary interest it attracts in the extant literature. Acknowledged intertwined dimensions include adaptability, equity, safety and security, social inclusion and cohesion, and quality of life. 

The evidence collected in this report confirms that - despite the strong links between dimensions- the variety registered with respect to both its conceptualisations and operationalisations across disciplines (e.g. urban planning, economics, social sciences, sociology, and public administration) makes SS a concept diversely comprehended which is most often subject to a separate treatment tending to over-rationalisation. 

With regard to the Italian case, interesting results are worth noticing in this report. As for the relationship between GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and multidimensional SS, a ‘threshold effect’ is detected in the empirical literature. That is to say, the growth in GDP does not necessarily contribute to sustainable welfare. Indeed, there is evidence that social welfare stagnated after 1991 due to rising inequality and reduced nonmarket contributions, despite the registered growth in GDP. Undeniably, this divergence is a piece of further evidence that highlights the limits of GDP as a welfare measure. ù

At a more granular spatial level, by considering Italian municipalities, a multidimensional approach to SS highlighted a significant north-south gradient, therefore, confirming from a different standpoint the Italian long-standing socio-economic spatial divide. Furthermore, an analysis with a microeconomic approach conducted on 418 business plans from the "Imprenderò" program (in Friuli Venezia Giulia region) shows that private entrepreneurship is effective in fostering SS. More in detail, a shred of clear evidence emerges that the network of both formal and informal relationships along with the interaction between private agents and public sector bodies are crucial to fostering female entrepreneurship. 

Traditional methods of measuring SS have attracted some criticism to the extent that both elementary indicators and composite indices are somehow deemed insufficient for capturing the complexity of social GRINS – Growing Resilient, Inclusive and Sustainable “9. Economic and financial sustainability of systems and territories” Codice identificativo: PE00000018 systems. To address this issue a shift towards non-aggregative and structural approaches is advocated. More in detail, alternative complexity-reduction techniques, applying methods such as Self-Organising Maps and partial order theory to OECD data on regional well-being have been applied in the extant literature. A peculiar strength of these methods lays in their ability to preserve the multidimensional structure of social data revealing the underlying patterns at the same time as limiting oversimplification issues. 

Overall, based on the evidence collected in this report the following recommendations can be made: 

• Considering SS aspects along with GDP and alike measures of economic performance in policy assessments is a crucial exercise. Lack of consideration of the SS dimension of the effects of policy intervention narrows down the perspective up to the point of missing the evaluation of policies on the more vulnerable social groups which, most often, are more in need of effective and efficient public intervention. 
• The discourse around SS, however, is often fragmented across different conceptualisations, approaches, and disciplines. This shredded analytical framework jeopardises the possibility of more effective cross-contributions stemming from different standpoints. This evidence calls for a closer interdisciplinary work aiming for a more holistic approach. 
• Such an approach building upon interdisciplinary contributions using both quantitative and qualitative multidimensional approaches to SS can offer policymakers a tool to target interventions more effectively at the local level, where inequalities and SS issues are most pronounced. Hence, the effort should focus on the local spatial dimension.