The INFN has a significant impact on Italian society. Its activities continue to attract the most highly qualified researchers and research managers and it is by no coincidence that senior staff from here frequently move on to direct other major Italian research centres and are called upon to lead top international scientific organisations, both in Europe and in the United States.

Another qualifying factor is the training of young people: every year about one thousand undergraduates, graduate students and research fellows are involved in the INFN’s research activities. This goal will be furthered through the fledgling Gran Sasso Science Institute, the new international doctoral facility.

The INFN also has a positive impact on the Italian economy, through its close collaboration with high-tech companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It participates with them in joint initiatives for Italian projects but, above all, in major international ventures. For instance, Italian companies made an extremely significant contribution to the construction of the most technologically advanced components used in the LHC particle accelerators at CERN in Geneva.

The technology and expertise developed by the INFN in conducting its experiments also has major implications for the medical and healthcare industry and for the technology sector in general. Of the numerous examples, the development of a technique that uses carbon ions and protons to treat tumours (hadron therapy) stands out as particularly significant. The INFN has over a decade of experience in this field, gained directly at its laboratories in Catania, and built the hadron therapy machine installed at the CNAO in Pavia. The INFN is also a leading national and international player in the GRID, supercomputing network project and in expanding its use to applications in other scientific fields, e-commerce and culture. The INFN also uses its own analysis and research instruments and facilities to addresses issues regarding the cultural and environmental heritage.

The INFN is fully committed to promoting scientific culture. It takes part in all the main dissemination activities in Italy and each year it organises various exhibitions and events throughout the country, some of which are broadcast on TV.

The following currently also form part of the overall structure:

• The National Centre for Research and Development in Information Technology (CNAF), based in Bologna.
• The GGI, Galileo Galilei Institute for Theoretical Physics, in Firenze.
• TIFPA Trento Institute for Fundamental Physics and Applications.
• The Head Office, in Rome.

The INFN is a member of the following consortia:

• The European Gravitational Observatory (EGO), in Cascina (Pisa)

	Head Office piazza dei Caprettari, 70 Roma 00186			LNF Frascati National Laboratories Via Enrico Fermi, 40 00044 Frascati - Roma
	Communications Office piazza dei Caprettari, 70 Roma 00186			LNGS Gran Sasso National Laboratories S.S. 17 BIS km. 18.910 67010 Assergi L'Aquila
	Administrative HQ Sede legale: via Enrico Fermi, 54 00044 Frascati - Roma			LNL Legnaro National Laboratories Viale dell'Università, 2 35020 Legnaro (PD)
	Divisions and associated groups view all			LNS Southern National Laboratories via S.Sofia 62, 95125 Catania
	CNAF National Center of INFN (National Institute of Nuclear Physics) for Research and Development into the field of Information Technologies			EGO European Gravitational Observatory Via E. Amaldi 56021 S. Stefano a Macerata Cascina (PI)

The INFN is an important organisation with a presence in five continents and more than 30 countries, including: Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hungary, India, Israel, Japan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Slovenia, South Korea, Sweden , Switzerland, Turkey, UK, Ukraine, and USA.

This strong global presence also reflects the deeply rooted international scope of scientific collaboration in the domain of physics research. Most research activities promoted and conducted by the INFN are undertaken within a network of collaboration, at foreign and international laboratories and at its own facilities in Italy, involving large numbers of scientists from all over the world.

Of its countless international activities, some of the most important research is conducted at  CERN in Geneva. Italy was one of the European laboratory’s founding Member States and, through the INFN, it continues to be one of its most active members.

Around 1,000 scientists from the INFN work in research groups at CERN, taking part in all experiments with the LHC particle accelerator (CMS, ATLAS, ALICE, LHCb, LHCf, Totem) and the SPS accelerator (COMPASS).

The INFN is also a major contributor to experiments at other leading foreign laboratories including  FERMILAB, SLAC, BNL, and JLAB  (United States); PNPI, BINP and JINR (Russian Federation); CIAE and IHEP (China); RIKEN and KEK (japan); BARC (India), DESY and GSI (Germany), ESRF (France), PSI (Switzerland) etc.

In Italy, international collaboration is mainly concentrated at the INFN’s four national laboratories, where major experimental facilities are available for use by the scientific community. One example is the  VIRGO, interferometric antenna at Cascina, near Pisa, a joint-venture with the French CNRS IN2P3.

The INFN also takes part in European scientific computing and nuclear physics projects. Together with numerous other research agencies from leading European countries, it founded the  ApPEC (Astroparticle Physics European Coordination); it is a founding member of the French-Italian European Gravitational Observatory (EGO) Consortium (Cascina-Pisa); it is a member of the European Science Foundation (ESF) based in Strasbourg; it coordinates the EU-IndiaGRID2 project to improve grid technology in India. It has representatives on the NuPECC (Nuclear Physics European Collaboration Committee), on the PESC (Physical and Engineering Sciences) of the ESF, on the ICFA (International Committee Future Accelerators), on the  ECFA (European Committee Future Accelerators) and on the FALC (Funding Agencies for Large Colliders). It is a member of the European Association for the Promotion of Science and Technology (EUROSCIENCE) in Strasbourg; it holds a stake, with the CNR, in the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble.