PRIN2017 - Rights protection and quality of services from the perspective of an integrated territorial development, sound administration, multilevel governance and territorial cooperation for a new strategy for resource allocation and rationalisation of public expenditure

The research project aims to deal with the rationalisation of expenditures in public administrations in the light of the principles of sound administration and good management. Its focus is mainly the investigation of the tools, both national and European, related to the best possible utilisation of funds. By taking a closer look at the role of instruments, such as the harmonisation and coordination of public finance, the governance models adopted within the EU, the simplification and technological innovation, transparency and anti-corruption laws, the organisation of public services, and the internal and external controls of public spending, the overall goal of this project is to identify and design instruments to complete the process of modernisation of public administrations.

Bologna research Unit will focus its work on local public services and cultural services. As far as local public services are concerned, the Unit intends to examine the organisational, managerial, and financial issues related to Optimal Territorial Ambits. The aim is to pinpoint, by analogy with inland areas, a new structure for the organisation of public services, taking also into account the rationalisation process of public companies. As for cultural services, moving both from their qualification as essential public services and from the economic theory of development on a cultural basis, the Unit will analyse how the reorganisation of the structures and the forms of management, the development of innovative services, the new forms of incentives and rewards can constitute instruments for the rationalisation of public expenditure and the development of cultural services.

On one hand, by addressing the issue of restructuring local public services through a systematic investigation, the research aims to achieve results, which may be useful in analysing the plans for reorganisation in the sector and in drafting technologically advanced proposals for the organisation of cultural services. On the other hand, since the issue of the so-called optimum level of services will also be taken into consideration, the research will identify between the new possible structures for organisation of public services the ones which better suit the needs of both citizens and companies. In such a perspective, rationalisation might actually lead to an increase in the levels of protection of individual rights and of the quality of services.