MoST
Modeling and Simulation of Socio-Technical Systems
About MoST
The Modeling and Simulation of Socio-Technical Systems (MoST) unit at
Fondazione Bruno Kessler
researches models and simulations of complex socio-technical systems to support
public data-informed decision-making and civic participation. Combining AI and data-based
methods, the MoST unit faces major societal challenges in key areas like urban planning,
socio-economic inequality, climate neutrality, and public administration.
The group is part of the
Digital Society Center, which conducts interdisciplinary
research and develops digital technologies to address challenges in areas such as integrative AI, intelligence
at the edge, and socio-technical systems. The center fosters collaborations with public administrations,
industry partners, and academic institutions to support the digital and green transition and to build a more
sustainable society.
Vision
As societies face rapid transformations and increasing interdependence
between technical and social systems, we envision a future in which
digital technologies become essential for society to make sense of
complex environmental, social, and technological
challenges and transformation processes.
This requires not only more effective and efficient analysis and decision-making tools,
but also new approaches to democratize the access to these tools.
To this end, we champion a vision in which data-driven systems are
open, interpretable, co-designed with the
relevant institutions, organizations, and communities.
Approach
We research models, analysis and simulation of complex socio-technical systems
and blend them with methods and tools to support collaborative design, participatory planning,
and accountable public decision-making.
We develop digital tools aligned with our research agenda to help institutions,
large organizations, and communities understand complex transformation processes, explore
what-if scenarios, and make data-informed decisions in high-stakes, real-world contexts.
Our applications are in key domains such as cities (mobility, urban planning,
tourism, studentification, etc.), rural areas (tourism, climate neutrality, etc.),
and large organizations (in particular, Public Administration).
