In this edition of PhD Stories from the Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication (ESHCC), we speak with Dr Massimo Fattori about his research on how trust shapes the complex web of partnerships behind public safety. His PhD explores how governments, corporations, NGOs and research institutions collaborate, and sometimes compete, to define what “safety” means in modern society.
Beyond the badge
When we think about public safety, the first image that often comes to mind is a police officer: a uniform, a badge, maybe a radio or a pair of handcuffs. But, as Dr Massimo Fattori reminds us, there is far more happening behind the scenes. “If you look at a police officer, you see the uniform, the phone, the taser,” he explains. “But who sold those tools to the police? And how are those decisions made?”
On 25 September 2025, Massimo defended his PhD at the Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication (ESHCC), exploring the complex web of relationships that shape how safety is managed in today’s societies. His research focused on the growing influence of public–private partnerships - collaborations between governments, corporations, NGOs, research institutions and citizens - that together define what public safety means in practice. “These partnerships are enormous in terms of budget and power,” he says, “but their influence often remains invisible to most of us.”
At the heart of his project was a deceptively simple question: how should we understand public safety management when so many different actors and trust relationships are involved? The more he studied the subject, the clearer it became that safety is not just about policing or technology - it is about collaboration, trust and shared responsibility.
Following the money - and the trust
To understand these dynamics, Massimo looked closely at how safety is built, marketed and maintained. He analysed the websites and communication strategies of major corporations that sell public safety technologies, from facial recognition software and automated number plate recognition to predictive policing systems and body cameras. He also attended industry conferences and trade fairs, where he could observe first-hand how police representatives, policymakers and tech companies interact, negotiate and build relationships. “I wanted to see how trust is created and how partnerships take shape in practice,” he explains.
His fieldwork took him to Portugal and Italy, where he studied two specific public–private partnerships in depth. These case studies revealed a striking pattern: while technology and data dominate public discussions about safety, the true drivers of successful partnerships are not digital tools, but human connections. “Corporations use marketing strategies that aim to build trust and persuade public authorities to adopt their products,” Massimo says. “In doing so, they help shape our collective idea of what safety is. But if NGOs, citizens or universities have less say in that conversation, the resulting definition of safety is incomplete - and biased.”
For Massimo, trust emerged as the central concept throughout his PhD. It is not just a research topic, but the key to understanding how cooperation works - or fails. “Technology may facilitate safety, but trust sustains it,” he concludes. “Without trust, no system, no policy and no institution can function effectively.”
Seeing behind the uniform
This insight also changed the way Massimo looks at the world around him. “Every time I see the police now, I know there’s so much more going on behind that uniform,” he says. “They’re not just investigating crimes or patrolling the streets. They’re engaging in community work, collaborating with universities, attending conferences and purchasing equipment. There’s an entire ecosystem operating in the background that we rarely see.”
That understanding didn’t come easily. Building trust with his own research participants turned out to be one of the most challenging parts of the PhD. “Trust takes time,” he recalls. “A CEO might hesitate to speak openly about their relationship with government, even in an anonymous interview. The key is to make people feel at ease, sometimes that means being patient, and sometimes it simply means sharing a meal.”
Technology, power and the human factor
Throughout his studies, Massimo immersed himself in literature on safety technologies, reading extensively about tools such as facial recognition, tasers and predictive policing. These technologies often feature in “smart city” narratives, promising efficiency and innovation. Yet, his research demonstrates that technological progress alone is not enough to guarantee public safety. “The most advanced technology cannot replace human judgment or trust,” he says. “It is the relationships between people and institutions that ultimately determine whether societies feel safe or not.”
This reflection also ties directly to broader societal concerns. Around the world, budgets for safety and defence continue to grow each year. For Massimo, that makes it crucial to ask how public money is spent and how those spending choices shape our collective understanding of what it means to be safe. “Public safety is not only a matter of protection,” he adds, “but also of perception. The more we invest in it, the more we need to question who defines it and to what end.”
From research to real-world impact
After completing his PhD, Massimo decided to take his insights into practice. He now works as a partnership manager for technology and digitalisation, a role that allows him to apply his expertise on collaboration and trust outside academia. “It felt natural to continue working at the intersection between institutions, innovation and people,” he explains. “My research taught me how crucial partnerships are for addressing complex challenges, and that’s exactly what I do now, every day.”
Asked what message he hopes readers will take away from his work, he reflects for a moment before smiling:
“Contrary to what you may think, it’s not ChatGPT or AI that truly changes the world today. It’s you - and how you interact with others, how much you trust them, and how much they trust you. Especially in public safety, what you don’t trust is where the real danger lies.”
- PhD student
- More information
Name of the PhD candidate: Massimo Fattori
Title of the dissertation: Public Safety Management and Trust
Date of defence: 25-9-2025
Department: Media and Communication, ESHCC
