Problemi di controllo nel rapporto tra amministrazioni pubbliche centrali dello Stato ed agenzie

During the last ten years the Italian administrative system has engaged a shift toward a different approach in the organization of public functions. As occurred in other countries, the shift has been from a centralized and unitary system, toward a more complex design of actors interacting in order to achieve public goals. This plurality of actors can be analysed in their quantitative dimension (the number of actor operating in different policy sectors) but also in qualitative dimension as regards to the nature of those actors. This research investigates the steering and control systems on non departmental public bodies (NDPBs) in Italy by focusing on the control system complexity, the governance mechanisms and the process of results control. The hypothesis about the existence of a relationship between the legal framework of NDPBs and the characteristic of steering and control systems are empirically tested by using data drawn from a research on Italian agencies and semi-autonomous organizations. The data set is defined on Comparative Public Organization Data Base for Research and Analysis (COBRA) network research framework and based upon a survey conducted at the end of 2006 over an identified population of 56 organizations, with 72% redemption rate.