WISH MI – Wellbeing Integrated System of Milan

Milan faces several key challenges, including income inequality and unequal access to opportunities, child poverty, coupled with social isolation and weakened community networks, further complicates access to education and well-being services. The fragmentation of resources and limited use of digital technologies hinder the effective delivery of education and well-being services. Additionally, the city struggles with the integration of immigrant communities.

With the above-mentioned challenges in mind, the innovative financing scheme (IFS) proposed by WISH MI is an incentive mechanism in the form of a digital voucher scheme. The Municipality built a digital platform and voucher system that aimed to address these issues by promoting equitable access to (public) services and connecting public and private resources.

The digital voucher scheme aimed to shift the public administration's role from being a direct service provider to facilitating a network that connects resources both inside and outside the municipality. The purpose of the incentive mechanism is to allow all Milanese children to start with some credit and invest in themselves as a seller or buyer of opportunities to develop their skills and talents.

The digital voucher scheme in the WISH MI project was set up to facilitate minors' access to well-being services in Milan by providing families with virtual credits that could be used to access activities and services listed in the Milan 0.18 Catalogue (available on the website of the Municipality). The vouchers were aimed at children from low-income families and worked in two steps:

• Eligibility and Application: Families with minors living in Milan and with an ISEE (Equivalent Economic Situation Indicator[1]) below € 27,000 could apply for digital vouchers. The voucher amount ranged from € 100 to € 400, based on the family's ISEE. Those with an ISEE below €10,000 received the maximum voucher amount (€ 400), while those with an ISEE between €22,000 and €27,000 received € 100. Families applied through a system that took into account family composition and the presence of disabled members, with rankings published to determine voucher recipients.
• Use: Once granted, vouchers could be spent on activities offered by profit and non-profit organisations. Vouchers had to be used by a specified deadline, fully or partially covering the cost of chosen activities.

Figure 1. Visual representation of the IFS

The digital voucher scheme (i.e., the IFS) firstly required to have a digital platform developed. In this sense, the Municipality of Milan developed the Milan 0.18 Catalogue, which is an online platform designed to consolidate public and private activities for children and teenagers in Milan. It includes offerings from both profit and non-profit organisations that met certain criteria and were selected through a public call. Initially, a new platform was planned, but due to delays, the Catalogue was integrated into the existing "0-18 years" section of the Municipality’s website[1]. The Catalogue featured five categories: Art, Health, School+, Sport, and STEM.

The Municipality introduced a digital voucher system to help families access the services listed in the Milan 0.18 Catalogue. All partners were involved in defining the requisites for applying to vouchers and did information and communication actions to foster digital vouchers, while the municipality managed the voucher system and evaluated the tenders submitted.

[1] https://wemi.comune.milano.it/0-18

According to the project coordinators, the design of the IFS was straightforward, as its goals were clear. However, the implementation of the IFS proved more complex because it introduced two new procedures that diverged from traditional municipal practices. These included a public platform for service providers and a digital voucher system for families. The digital voucher system itself was experimental, as families received vouchers that could only be used on the platform for pre-selected services, rather than freely spent elsewhere. This required careful legal and financial planning to establish how the vouchers would function. Despite the clear objectives, the procedures took longer to implement than anticipated, leaving less time for providers and families to engage with the platform effectively.

The target group of the digital voucher scheme included all minors aged 0-18 living in Milan, with a focus on the most segregated and disadvantaged families. More specifically, the scheme targeted:

• 21,000 minors in absolute poverty.
• 6,000 children (0-6 years old) in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services, plus 4,000 school children (6-14 years old) in schools with high segregation levels.
• 1,000 children who lack access to ECEC services due to parental unemployment or cultural reasons.
• 8,000 teens (11-18 years old), including NEETs (i.e., not in education, employment, or training), to promote their social reactivation through local co-designed activities.

The project also indirectly involves educators, school managers, social workers, and community organisations, including sports and youth associations, migrant organisations, and private companies, to promote the co-design and implementation of activities.

The expenditure for the development of the WISH MI platform was € 2,523,292.65[1]. This included the collaborative co-design of the WISH MI digital platform, the technological development of the WISH MI digital platform, the aggregation and re-composition of services/opportunities for minors on the WISH MI platform, the management of the digital vouchers for persons and communities, and the WISH MI web based digital platform go-live: the game[2]. Out of this budget, € 2,306,428.75 were dedicated to the external expertise and services in two main tasks: 1) the technological implementation of the digital platform tendering procedure (€ 500,000.00) and 2) the tender for the voucher systems (€ 1,800,000.00). From the remaining sum, € 56,940.40 went to expertise to support the ‘minisito’ connected to the website of the Municipality, and € 137,065.85 went to tenders for user experience designers and front-end developers.

The budget breakdown for the IFS is summarised in the table below.

The platform maintenance costs for the Municipality of Milan, excluding costs for any future development, remain low as the platform was integrated into the administration’s existing digital portal system, allowing it to be maintained internally. To manage the platform, a dedicated unit was established, staffed by 4 full-time employees (FTEs) providing customer support to both providers and citizens. Additionally, the costs for 2 FTEs handling administrative tasks and 1 FTE focused on communication and marketing were accounted for. For service providers, costs involve the initial setup for populating the portal’s content, along with one staff member managing the platform’s section and interactions with citizens and the municipality.

The project aimed to integrate resources from various municipal departments and private organisations to improve access to child welfare services, supported by a new governance structure that facilitated multi-agency collaboration, provider engagement, and customer care services for families using the voucher system. WISH MI engages all sectors of the Municipality of Milan (Comune di Milano), including welfare, education, culture, resilience, sports, and EU relations, to address gaps in child and youth development strategies. The municipality, as the project lead, involved three key departments in the WISH MI project: the Social Policy Department, Education Department, and Foreign Affairs Department.

In collaboration with municipality, several key partners contributed to the project. Milan Polytechnic (higher education and research institution), through its Department of Design, brought technical expertise (i.e., user experience and IT). The Milan Polytechnic Foundation, a private organisation, supported the project by offering its expertise and delivering specific tasks (i.e., expertise to support the site connected to the Municipality website). ActionAid (private organisation) played a pivotal role in communication, co-designing and developing the digital platform, and working on wellbeing policies and community organisation. Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, through its Research Centre on Intercultural Relationships, contributed with its knowledge on educational segregation, early childhood education, social exclusion, and parental and community development. Lastly, ABCittà s.c.s, a cooperative, provided insights into neighbourhood and school mechanisms, contributing to various aspects of the project.

• Strong partnerships and collaborations: Required overcoming competitive dynamics to foster collaborative relationships, ensuring public administration worked in tandem with external actors, including private and public entities.
• Commitment of the community: Vital for promoting and embedding the platform approach, engaging citizens as active participants and contributors in the system.
• Private sector commitment: Necessary for investing in and supporting the collaborative model, bringing additional expertise, resources, and innovation to the initiative.
• Financial support: Funding from UIA and other external sources was crucial to sustain experimentation in the absence of municipal budgetary resources, enabling the launch and early development of the platform.

The effectiveness of the IFS was influenced by several key political, social, and economic factors.

Politically, while there were no significant external factors negatively impacting the project, strong internal political support was deemed essential by project coordinators. This support facilitated the implementation and alignment of the project with broader policy goals, ensuring its success. Moreover, regulatory flexibility allowed the creation of new procedures within the national regulatory framework, supporting the experimentation and implementation of the platform concept.

Socially, the active involvement of the community and citizens played a critical role. This was achieved through workshops targeting minors and families, a communication campaign, and a public call for individual and collective vouchers. Local engagement activities further enhanced participation, ensuring the scheme was inclusive and community-driven.

Economically, the project benefited from strategic funding sources. It leveraged Legge 285[1], a national fund dedicated to childhood and adolescence, to supplement the budget for vouchers alongside the financial support provided by UIA. This combination of resources ensured financial support to the scheme during the project.

[1] https://www.minori.gov.it/it/ricerca-guidata?f%5B0%5D=field_attivita%3A1319#:~:text=La%20legge%2028%20agosto%201997,adolescenza%20realizzati%20dalle%20amministrazioni%20locali.

• Political changes: A change in the municipality’s political leadership required the project team to rebuild relationships with new political bodies. The new leaders had not been involved in the project’s initial planning, causing delays in gaining political support and aligning with the project’s objectives.
• COVID-19 pandemic: The pandemic disrupted the project through delays caused by remote communication.
• Family engagement and usability issues: Many families, particularly those with migrant backgrounds, struggled to use the digital platform due to language barriers and a lack of nearby services. These challenges reduced the vouchers' effectiveness and required additional support to ensure broader participation.
• Shifting mindsets: Service providers had to transition from a competitive to a collaborative approach, trusting the public platform to aggregate services effectively. At the same time, citizens needed to shift from expecting passive assistance to actively selecting and using services on the platform.
• Cross-departmental coordination: Effective collaboration across departments such as welfare, education, sport, and culture was essential but challenging. Teams faced difficulties in coordinating efforts to address the diverse needs of the 0-18 age group.
• Limited organisational resources: The project team was undersized relative to the complexity of the tasks and the ambitious goals. This lack of resources impacted the administration’s ability to create lasting systemic changes, particularly under the pandemic's compressed timeline.

In terms of its stated goal to expand access to services, WISH MI reached 14,051 households (below the target of 19,000). The project exceeded its goal for informing impoverished households, achieving 131% against a target of 75%. The number of households using multiple city services grew by an astounding 764%, far surpassing the 40% target. Participation in early childhood education increased by 419%, and vulnerable students participating in afterschool activities rose by 653%, well above the 40% goal.

Another objective of the project was to improve the Municipality’s capacity to listen to and engage minors and families. By the end of the project, 82% of minors felt heard (target: 40%), though fewer families felt the same (16%). The project significantly exceeded its target for community participation in co-design, reaching 2,596 people (target: 1,250 people), and community members launching activities rose by 161%. Participation in community activities went up to 1,773%, far beyond the target of 20%.

The WISH MI platform hosted 751 youth-targeted services (target: 600), and 100% of service providers were trained in the WISH MI protocol (target: 80%). Daily platform visits reached 427, exceeding the goal of 300, with overall use increasing by 16.4%.

The digital voucher scheme was at the core of WISH MI’s mission and aims. Therefore, the impact and effectiveness of the IFS was linked to the overall impact and effectiveness of the project. The achievements stated above indicate that it was instrumental in reaching and surpassing many of the objectives of the project.

The IFS has contributed to achieving the project’s innovation goals. Importantly, the project helped change the culture within the city of how projects can be financed. The digital platform / catalogue served as the infrastructure enabling the integration and balancing of supply and demand for services. Through the voucher system, financial resources were centralised within the platform, which allowed families to access a wider range of well-being opportunities. This approach facilitated the restructuring of financial and service resources, making them more accessible and efficient in addressing the needs of minors and their families.

While the incentive mechanism is not currently in use due to the need of financial support, plans to reinstate it reflect the city’s commitment to using vouchers as a tool for promoting child and youth well-being.

The digital catalogue of child and youth well-being services and the dedicated infrastructure are under evaluation in order to achieve a fully operational high-quality system. Some small-scale experimentations with the vouchers are on-going[1].

The recent allocation of € 400,000 from the National Fund ex Legge nr. 285 to support youth participation in sports is a direct continuation of this approach. This funding sustains the initiative and expands its scope to address youth engagement in sport activities, thereby building on the project's legacy.

[1] From the UIA Final Qualitative report, Internal document, made available by UIA Permanent Secretariat.

In terms of scalability of the incentive mechanism, there is potential to expand beyond the initial focus on child youth and well-being. According to survey responses, the platform’s infrastructure can be easily extended to serve different target groups and be applied to various social challenges, such as addressing poverty among NEETs (Not in Employment, Education, or Training), adults, and the elderly. This adaptability reflects the broader applicability of the digital voucher system to promote well-being in diverse sectors.

Additionally, the Municipality of Milan has invested in a digital infrastructure through the WISH MI project that is now integrated into the city’s permanent IT systems. This platform, originally designed to match services with the needs of minors and families, is now positioned to be repurposed for other vulnerable groups, such as the elderly or people with disabilities. These populations often face challenges in navigating available services, and the platform can simplify access by bringing together service providers and beneficiaries in a more coherent and user-friendly manner.

However, for this expansion to succeed, there must be continued engagement with service providers in Milan. Aligning policies and strategies between the city and providers is crucial to ensure a unified approach to service delivery for new target groups. The lessons learned from the WISH MI project’s implementation can guide the expansion of the platform into areas like elderly care or services for people with disabilities, enabling the city to maintain a flexible yet impactful tool for promoting well-being across different demographics..

The voucher scheme seems to be adaptable and replicable in cities of similar or larger size, as well as legal framework for cities outside Italy. The flexibility of the tool allows it to scale to different urban contexts, making it a valuable model for other municipalities aiming to improve access to wellbeing services.

Besides the UIA funding, the project used funds from a national fund from the central government geared at promoting activities in favour of minors (National Fund Law 205/1997).

When interested in developping a similar IFS, municipalities should be mindful of the following:

• Strong political and strategic investment is essential, it requires cities to define and align long-term strategies and challenges with local stakeholders to have a shared vision.
• Effective governance structures rely on cooperation between public and private actors, ensuring that service providers and stakeholders work toward shared goals rather than competing for resources.
• Promoting innovation requires robust investment in governance, both within the public administration and through external partnerships, to support the successful implementation of the IFS.
• It is important to keep in mind that establishing the IFS requires at least 2-3 years to build trust, refine processes, evaluate outcomes, and ensure the digital voucher system is integrated into the local context.
• Building meaningful relationships with stakeholders and citizens should be a priority – it requires dedicated time, skills, and a focus on trust-building rather than reliance on administrative actions or digital tools alone.

• WISH MI - Wellbeing Integrated System of Milan | Portico
• #ISEE (Indicatore Situazione Economica Equivalente) - ISEE (Equivalent Economic Situation Indicator) | PAeSI - Pubblica Amministrazione e Stranieri Immigrati
• WISH MI Project Application Form, Internal document, made available by UIA Permanent Secretariat
• WISH MI Annual Progress Report 4, Internal document, made available by UIA Permanent Secretariat
• WISH MI Final Qualitative Report, Internal document, made available by UIA Permanent Secretariat
• Interview with Vera Paruzzolo, WISH MI Project, Emanuela Losito, WISH MI project and Marco Mazzioti, WISH MI project
• Survey with project coordinators of WISH MI