Francesco Grillo is advisor to Italy's Minister for Education, Universities and Research on national innovation policies and is affiliated with the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy. He is columnist at Corriere della Sera, holds an MBA from Boston University, USA a PhD from the London School of Economics and Political Science and has been a visiting scholar at Oxford University, UK. He is Managing Director of Vision & Value (consulting firm), and advises the European Commission on innovation and smart specialization. Raffaella Y. Nanetti is Professor Emerita of Urban Planning and Policy in the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA, and part of the core team of the Economic and Social Cohesion Laboratory in London, UK. She is an Associate of Italy's National Research Council (CNR) in Rome. Her main research areas are policy and programme evaluation, research design and methodology, and territorial development policies.