The research is part of the agreement between the Design Department / DensityDesign Lab and PoliS Lombardia, which aims to carry out analysis and research activities in the field of Digital Methods to monitor the emergence of issues or topics of public debate at a regional (and possibly national) scale - in relation to, but not limited to, the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympics. Major events of a social and territorial nature, such as the Olympics, often generate debates and controversies that can be analyzed through digital methods and brought to the attention of the various stakeholders also actors in the phenomenon - for more effective and participatory decision-making, related or future, and overall evolution of the phenomenon.

The research will proceed in accordance and collaboration with Polis, with whom the research themes, focus of analysis, data sources, and methods of representation and communication will be agreed upon and shared. At present, 5 research themes of interest for the investigation have been defined:

• The general public discourse on Milan Cortina 2026;
• The public discourse around the locations in the Lombardy Region that will host the Olympic competitions and ceremonies;
• The public discourse on Lombardy Region's Olympic works under construction or upgrade;
• The public discourse about political figures, institutions and entities in the Lombardy Region;
• The perception of how much the public associates the Milan Cortina 2026 event with the Lombardy Region.

The research topics presented will be observed on a multitude of online platforms, among those defined are: Google Search Results, Google News, Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok and X (Twitter).