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Incentivising inter-municipal collaboration: the Lombard experience

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Abstract

The purpose of this exploratory research is to show how incentive policies have helped to shape the scenario of inter-municipal partnerships in the Italian region of Lombardy. Do these policies really work? Have they been the driver of greater collaboration among municipalities? Overall, the impact of the financial subsidies can be seen mainly when the intended beneficiaries are involved in the stages of negotiation and commitment that precede the setting-up of the collaborative arrangements. However, the capacity of the incentives to ensure that collaborative efforts are effectively maintained and developed over time is questionable. Importantly, the incentives do not seem to make a real difference in the collaborative choices aimed at joint policy-making and regulation. This qualitative study extends the evaluation research on implementation and contributes to the partnership management debate.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Alessandro Bianchi for his support in gathering and processing the data shown in Fig. 1. The authors also thank the guest Editors and the anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and suggestions. While the article is the joint product of the authors, in the final drafting, Sect. 4 was written by Massimo Simonetta, the other sections by Maddalena Sorrentino, and Sect. 7 was jointly written. An earlier version of this article was presented at the 10th EURAM Conference held on 19–22 May 2010 in Rome.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Scienze economiche, aziendali e statistiche, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Conservatorio, 7, 20122, Milano, Italy

    Maddalena Sorrentino

  2. Ancitel Lombardia, Via Meucci, 1, 20093, Cologno Monzese, MI, Italy

    Massimo Simonetta

Authors
  1. Maddalena Sorrentino
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  2. Massimo Simonetta
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Correspondence to Maddalena Sorrentino.

Appendix: Interview guide

Appendix: Interview guide

Organisation: _________________________________

Respondent: __________________________________

  1. 1

    Information on the organisation and the respondent

    • Can you describe your municipality (number of residents, population density, number of municipal employees)? What associative initiatives is the council involved in?

    • Please tell us about your role in the council and the associative bodies in which it is involved.

  2. 2

    Information on the associative form in which the respondent is involved

    1. 2.1

      Please describe the associated management context.

    2. 2.2

      How were the partners selected and how was the legal form of the partnership decided?

    3. 2.3

      Did your municipality have any previous experience of associated management?

  3. 3

    Role of the incentive policies in developing the associated management experience

    1. 3.1

      In your opinion, how was the decision to set up the associated management influenced by the regional and national incentive contributions?

    2. 3.2

      How do you rate the management system of the incentive competitions? In your opinion, how adequate is it in terms of the candidate selection phase, the evaluation of the projects submitted, support and reporting?

    3. 3.3

      How were the contributions received effectively used?

  4. 4

    Set up and launch of the associated management initiative

    1. 4.1

      What benefits did your council expect from the setting up of an associated management form?

    2. 4.2

      What factors obstructed/favoured the setting up of the initiative?

    3. 4.3

      Were the decisional processes leading to the set up of the associated management quick or were they lengthy and difficult?

  5. 5

    Operational roll-out of the associated management initiative

    1. 5.1

      Has the initiative produced the benefits expected at the time of its setting up?

    2. 5.2

      What factors obstruct/favour the functioning of the associated management?

    3. 5.3

      Have any unforeseen situations arisen since its launch?

    4. 5.4

      Have all the partners upheld the commitments undertaken?

    5. 5.5

      How has the range of services managed in associated form changed over time?

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Sorrentino, M., Simonetta, M. Incentivising inter-municipal collaboration: the Lombard experience. J Manag Gov 17, 887–906 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10997-011-9204-3

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