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What has the PNRR left behind for accessibility?

Design for All and Italy’s Recovery Plan (PNRR): what remains for accessibility

Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) comes to an end in 2026, after funding two accessibility measures – for cultural venues and for pathways to independence, the second scaled back when the Plan was revised. We set out the updated budgets and targets, the obligations that remain and the process that makes an investment last beyond the funding period.

· updated 7 min read

A sheet of paper in a typewriter with the typed line “Design for All e PNRR”, above the red and black ribbon.

Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) is worth €194.4 billion and comes to an end in 2026: the targets for the final instalment had to be met by 31 August, the payment request was sent to the European Commission on 29 September and payment is expected by December. For accessibility, the Plan mainly funded two measures – the removal of physical and cognitive barriers in museums, libraries and archives, and pathways to independence for people with disabilities – alongside the reform of disability law. This article, written in March 2025 as an invitation, now becomes an account of what the Plan put in place and what remains to be done.

Accessibility and inclusion are no longer only ethical and social goals: they have become strategic parameters for development and innovation. Design for All, a design approach founded on inclusion and on usability for the widest diversity of people, is an essential tool for ensuring that products, services and environments can be used by as many people as possible, regardless of their physical, sensory or cognitive abilities.

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A structure of large, slanting white tubes crossing in a dense lattice against a grey sky.
A lattice of load-bearing elements: each one holds because it is connected to the others.

The PNRR in brief: resources and deadlines

In this context, Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) is a crucial opportunity to transform places and public services according to criteria of accessibility, sustainability and innovation. With a total budget of €194.4 billion after revisions, the PNRR provides for targeted measures in many fields, including education, mobility, urban regeneration, culture and digitalisation, with a specific focus on social inclusion.

The final timetable is set. The 156 milestones and targets linked to the tenth and final instalment had to be met by 31 August 2026; on 29 September Italy submitted its payment request, and disbursements must be completed by 31 December 2026 (Ottava Relazione al Parlamento [‘Eighth Report to Parliament’] (opens in a new tab)).

What it funded for accessibility

One of the Plan’s pillars is Mission 5 – Inclusion and Cohesion, which funds initiatives to reduce inequalities and ensure equal opportunities. For accessibility, the main measure is Investment 1.2 of component M5C2, “Pathways to autonomy for people with disabilities”: adapting people’s homes and providing digital devices, with training, to people with disabilities. In 2021 it was worth €500 million for at least 5,000 people; with the revisions to the Plan it fell to €197.3 million (Italian Parliament monitoring report, April 2026 (opens in a new tab)), with a target of at least 3,120 beneficiaries by the second quarter of 2026 (annex to the EU Council decision, 25 March 2026 (opens in a new tab)). A target states how many people the Plan commits to reaching, not how many have already received support.

Mission 1 funds the accessibility of cultural venues: Investment 1.2 of component M1C3, “Removal of physical and cognitive barriers in museums, libraries and archives”, is worth €300 million, with the target of certifying the completion of works in at least 617 museums, monuments, archaeological sites, archives and libraries by the second quarter of 2026.

The disability reform is also linked to the Plan. Enabling Law 227/2021 led to Legislative Decree 62/2024, which introduces the individual life plan and the new basic assessment, trialled in a further 40 provinces from 1 March 2026, and to Legislative Decree 222/2023, which requires public administrations to set accessibility objectives in their plans and to appoint a manager, or equivalent figure, with experience in inclusion and accessibility.

One of the PNRR’s objectives is the digitalisation of public administration and of services for citizens. Digital accessibility, however, is still an open challenge. The legal reference is Directive (EU) 2016/2102, transposed by Legislative Decree 106/2018, which amended Law 4/2004 (the Stanca Law), together with the AgID Guidelines; since 28 June 2025 the European Accessibility Act has extended accessibility requirements to specified products and services placed on the market by private businesses.

The PNRR also allocates significant resources to making cities more inclusive, with projects for the regeneration of urban areas, public spaces and transport infrastructure.

The hands of two people working at a table covered with technical drawings of a product, a notebook, a laptop and a keyboard.

What it left open

Applying Design for All in PNRR-funded projects is not limited to removing architectural barriers: it extends to many sectors, encouraging a comprehensive approach to accessibility. The risk with time-limited funding is that it rewards the intervention that is easiest to report on: the ramp, the lift, the stairlift. What remains open is the quality of the experience, wayfinding and communication for people with sensory and cognitive disabilities, and the long-term maintenance of what has been built.

Renovated spaces must comply with accessibility regulations (DM 236/1989, DPR 503/1996). The standard UNI EN 17161:2019 adds a voluntary reference for organisations that want to adopt the Design for All approach in their own processes: it does not set dimensions, but asks them to involve people and to extend the range of those who can use their products and services. It is this integration that helps solutions meet the needs of as many people as possible, including people with motor, sensory or cognitive disabilities. The regulatory framework is described in the article on Law 13 and the removal of architectural barriers.

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After 2026: where the work continues

The PNRR ends; the obligations do not. Law 13/1989, DPR 503/1996 and the Plans for the Elimination of Architectural Barriers remain in force; Legislative Decree 222/2023 requires public administrations to set accessibility objectives and appoint a responsible person; since 28 June 2025 the European Accessibility Act has also applied to private businesses, for specified products and services. Resources are shifting to regional programmes and ordinary measures, such as Regione Lombardia’s grants to municipalities for drawing up PEBA. The design opportunities that remain open are collected on our page on Design for All opportunities.

The contribution of Design for All

Funding removes a barrier; it does not guarantee that the renovated space will be one people love to use. What makes the difference is the process: involving the people who will use the place, with all their different abilities, from the outset, and testing choices in use before they become final. This is the process Design for All Italia followed with the Department of Architecture of the University of Ferrara for the Bologna Civic Museums (opens in a new tab): 12 museum sites, more than 10 Co-Design workshops with more than 150 participants, and more than 400 needs identified and organised into 6 thematic and operational areas. The result was the design guidelines and the barrier-removal plans drawn up under the ministerial guidelines for museums, libraries and archives, in which removing barriers goes hand in hand with the quality of the experience and with well-being – physical and psychological comfort, not mere regulatory compliance. Design for All and Inclusive Design, two distinct approaches, exist precisely for this: to make sure that public investment leaves something that lasts beyond the funding period.

Our work with public bodies, companies and professional practices is organised into four activities:

  • Accessibility analysis and audits: assessing existing conditions and defining upgrade strategies for environments, products and services from a Design for All perspective.
  • Inclusive design: developing innovative, accessible solutions in architecture, product design and digital communication.
  • Advice on funding calls: support in preparing the technical documentation needed to apply for regional and national funding.
  • Training and capacity building: professional development and awareness-raising on accessibility and inclusion for designers, public administrators and companies.

These activities are described on the pages for Design for All services and Design for All and Inclusive Design consultancy; our completed projects are the evidence. To discuss a project under way or being planned, get in touch.

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