Giacomo Damioli is a research fellow at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. His professional career combines experiences in the academia, the private and the public sectors. He has longstanding experience at performing research projects and providing consultancy services in multiple domains including innovation, economic development, labour, vocational training, poverty and inequality. His present work focuses on the globalization of innovative investments, technological development, business performance and dynamics, as well as the consequences of these phenomena on local development. Giacomo holds a PhD in Economics from the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex and is a graduate from Bocconi University in Milan.