THE NEW COLLABORATIVE WELFARE IN ITALY: Co-programming and Co-design as tools for local welfare innovation

Euricse’s research “The New Collaborative Welfare in Italy: Co-Programming and Co-Design as tools for local welfare innovation” is the first nationwide investigation that delves into the concrete application of Article 55 of the Third Sector Code, which introduced the legal tools to promote a new, more collaborative and equal conception of the relationship between the state and Third Sector entities. In light of the legislation introduced by the Code and consolidated by the Constitutional Court’s 2020 ruling, the aim of this work is in fact to investigate whether and how the relationships between the public and the Third Sector are changing and the role that each of the different actors can play in the construction of local welfare.

The 20 cases of co-design that were analyzed by the research team coordinated by Prof. Luca Fazzi of the University of Trento, in 10 Italian regions (Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto and Trentino, in the North; Emilia-Romagna, Lazio and Tuscany, in the Center; and Puglia, Campania and Sicily, in the South) through 60 interviews with experts, professionals, public managers and representatives of the Third Sector, shed light on an articulated picture of experiences, strengths, criticalities and prospects for sustainability and development of collaborative welfare. The experiences examined are not only virtuous: in fact, the purpose of this survey is to outline the conditions that make collaboration possible, examining both successes and failures in order to draw useful lessons from them.

The research findings are made available in three Reports. The first report, which can be downloaded below, frames the evolution of local welfare at the national level and illustrates the context of the new collaborative welfare, with an initial assessment of the positive effects and critical issues that emerged from the survey. The second report is devoted to the enabling conditions of collaboration and the third to the operational dimensions of collaborative processes, and they will be published soon on Euricse’s website.

Scientific coordinator:
Luca Fazzi

Researchers:
Gianfranco Marocchi
Mirella Maturo
Giacomo Pisani

Download the first Report below