di Maddalena Sanchietti – Dottoranda di ricerca in Public Management and Governance, Dipartimento di Management e Diritto,
Università degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata
The study analyzes ways in which the Italian public administration conceives the regulatory innovations recently introduced in Italy on participatory evaluation of public performances and how it intends to implement them. Because of their relevance within the Pa in the execution and monitoring of the abovementioned innovations, the study is based on empirical data obtained by the Independent Evaluation Bodies thanks to a questionnaire with open and closed questions, analyzed by manual coding. Primary data show they support this involvement: there is clarity regarding an engagement intended in terms of effective participation of citizens and not customer satisfaction, and of valorizing the related outputs to improve public planning. Digitalisation is considered to enable Pa, including during the occurrence of extraordinary events, such as the Covid-19 health emergency, which determines an acceleration in digital transformation, and Pa is evaluated as a lever for the creation of public value. This is in particular for local public administrations, even if Pe is not considered a priority for them. The procedural complexity of the performance management cycle and the perception of citizens with low technical-specialist skills are considered barriers and, therefore, possible threats, to Pa. Finally, the professional profile of IEBs is of a managerial type, allowing an outline of a public performance cycle anchored to public management.