Seventh edition of the “Mario Pavan” Award promoted by the Municipality of Varese for young researchers and researchers whose theses focus on the environment and sustainability

The Municipality of Varese, in collaboration with the G.V. Schiaparelli Astronomical Society, will award a €2,500 prize to a PhD graduate whose doctoral thesis addresses issues related to the environment and sustainability. Below we publish the announcement issued by the Municipality of Varese.

The seventh edition of the “Mario Pavan” Award is now underway. The award was established to recognise the doctoral theses of young researchers and support them at the beginning of their careers. The 2026 call, open until 7 October 2026, focuses on “Natural capital and public value: knowledge, innovation and governance for sustainability.” Its aim is to highlight original research which, in line with the United Nations 2030 Agenda, offers concrete solutions that can be applied by public administrations for land management and environmental protection.

The award is dedicated to the memory of Professor Mario Pavan, a distinguished entomologist, world-renowned scientist and Minister for the Environment in 1987. Applications are open to PhD graduates who defended their thesis at an Italian or foreign university between 1 January 2023 and the deadline of the call.

Applications will be assessed by a judging committee, which will award up to 100 points, with particular emphasis on the project’s social and environmental relevance, the innovation of its results, their practical transferability and its multidisciplinary approach. The official award ceremony will take place during a public event in Varese.

“The theme chosen for this edition lies at the heart of today’s administrative challenges,” said Nicoletta San Martino, Councillor for Environmental Protection, Social Sustainability and the Circular Economy of the Municipality of Varese. “Translating the value of our natural heritage into ‘public value’ and concrete governance actions is the key to ensuring genuinely sustainable development. Through the Pavan Award, the Administration aims to support young PhD graduates who go beyond theoretical analysis to provide tools and models that can be applied by local authorities. We need the innovation, scientific rigour and fresh perspective of the new generations of researchers to manage our territory in harmony with the Earth’s resources, transforming knowledge into public policies for the benefit of the entire community.”

Call for applications and useful information

By way of example, and without limitation, relevant studies include: methods for assessing natural capital and ecosystem benefits; tools for integrating natural capital into spatial planning and public policies; environmental accounting systems and the assessment of externalities; multidimensional indicators of sustainability and well-being; decision-making models integrating environmental, economic and social data; the protection and management of natural heritage as a factor in local development; technological innovations for monitoring and managing natural resources; legal and economic instruments for the conservation and enhancement of natural capital; participatory processes and collaborative governance of common resources; and interdisciplinary approaches to measuring the public value generated by ecosystems.

In addition to theoretical analysis, theses must present concrete and feasible proposals capable of generating positive and measurable impacts on the environment and quality of life, with particular reference to practices that can be adopted by local authorities and public administrations.

Mario Pavan, Salvatore Furia and the origins of the award

The figures of Furia and Pavan share a scientific approach to environmental protection. An entomologist, speleologist and Minister for the Environment in 1987, Pavan had already received, in 1978, the same Varese City Ecology Award established by Furia. He worked extensively with the Forestry Service and also contributed, as an adviser to the relevant parliamentary committees, to the drafting of the law on Italy’s state nature reserves.

His work clearly echoes the path followed by Furia, who, in turn, founded the Cittadella delle Scienze, promoted the establishment of the Campo dei Fiori Regional Park, conceived the regional corps of volunteer ecological wardens and played a leading role in campaigns to protect ecosystems, starting with Lake Varese.

The Pavan Award, established in 2018 by the municipal administration and the organisations belonging to the scientific committee of the Furia Award, therefore provides an opportunity to promote approaches within scientific research that are capable of creating connections between different academic disciplines and, starting from theoretical knowledge, identifying practical solutions that can be of concrete use in the day-to-day administrative activities of local authorities and public bodies.

Applications for the award, accompanied by the required documentation and addressed to the Mayor of the Municipality of Varese, must be submitted either by registered mail or by hand to the Registry Office of the Municipality of Varese, Via Sacco 5, 21100 Varese, or sent by certified email (PEC) to protocollo@comune.varese.legalmail.it.

For further information: tutela.ambientale@comune.varese.it