On December 16, 2024, the first results of the Project of Relevant National Interest (PRIN) titled “Administrative Capacity: Definitions, Measurement, Policy Interventions, and Economic Impacts” were presented at the Svimez headquarters in Rome. This initiative, developed in collaboration between the Polytechnic University of Milan and the University of Padua, aims to redefine the tools for analyzing and evaluating administrative capacity in local Italian contexts. The project, funded by the Ministry of Education, University and Research, will last two years, with completion scheduled for 2026.
The project’s primary objective is to develop new indicators for measuring administrative capacity, favoring metrics that reflect internal administrative processes rather than external citizen perceptions. The focus is particularly on municipalities, where human capital is a crucial variable for the effective management of public services and the implementation of local policies.
A distinctive element of the project lies in the use of open data, particularly that made available through the OpenCUP portal. The focus was on the analysis of revoked or canceled Unique Project Codes (CUP) in public procurement. Using this data enabled advanced analyses to identify correlations between the human capital of local governments and improvements in their administrative performance.
The Department for Economic Policy Planning and Coordination (DiPE) contributed, within its scope of expertise, offering technical clarifications and contextualizing the results of the analyses.
The presentation of the preliminary results was curated by the project’s scientific coordinators, Professor Ugo Fratesi (Polytechnic University of Milan) and Professor Laura Polverari (University of Padua), with the collaboration of Dr. Cristina Zerbinati (University of Padua) and Dr. Felipe Livert (Polytechnic University of Milan). The event attracted an audience of experts and institutional representatives, including Dr. Giovanni Crescenzi (IGOP – MEF), Dr. Walter Tortorella (IFEL), Dr. Pia Marconi (Cohesion Policy Unit of the DPCoe), Dr. Sabrina Bandera (SNA – PCM), Dr. Davide Aromando, and Dr. Chiara Roccasecca (DiPE-PCM).
In the next phases, the PRIN project will focus on in-depth analysis of specific case studies, as well as further investigations into the relationship between human capital and increased administrative capacity.
This project represents a prime example of how the use of open data and an interdisciplinary approach can support research and provide a more in-depth analytical framework on the importance of administrative capacity for the growth of local economies.