ASP 12th Cycle Opening Politecnico di Milano February 19th, 2016 video https://youtu.be/w8GBEq5lkfk

1. innovation in
Public Administration
Alessandro Fusacchia
Head of Cabinet
Ministry of Education, Universities and Research
ASP 12th
Cycle
Cycle Opening Event
Milano, February 19th
2016

3. 1
the best place
to make innovation happen
Bureaucracy,

4. engineers, architects,
designers & Co.
Why should you care?
1. whatever you are going to do,
the State will be there
2. you can make the State a better place

5. is bureaucracy scary?
innovation in Public Administration | #ASP16

6. the starting point
Quality of democracy depends on quality of laws
● Ambiguity → laws reflect compromises
● “Stratification approach” → partial interventions
after a while it is impossible to have (and understand) a comprehensive framework
● Exception is the rule → waiver + lack of repeals
The lawmaker
● how does the Council of Ministers work?
● how does a Parliament work?

7. the starting point
Quality of laws determines the level of red-tape
● Public officials are unable to implement since lawmakers/regulators are
unwilling to avoid ambiguities → Delays!
● When public officials cope with ambiguities… they have to provide an
interpretation → counterparts can appeal them,
TAR (administrative courts) gets into the scene
● Red-tape language is used in order to “protect” public officials
●
there is no ESC key!

8. innovation in Public Administration | #ASP16

9. policy #1 “Restart, Italia!”
CHALLENGE
How can a Government (2012) expected to tax
do something for Youth, Entrepreneurs and Innovation?
→ turning Italy into an attractive country for start-ups.
PATH
Task Force (12 experts / policy angels) → informal consultation
Report Restart, Italia! → Law Decree “Crescita 2.0” (October 2012)
OUTPUTS (more at MiSE’s website)
- how many? → 5.143 and counting → a strong cultural movement
- evolution (the policy was extended = Trojan horse)
→ small and medium-sized enterprises, Start-up Visa, Start-up Hub, Patent Box

10. contents of “Restart, Italia!”
innovative start-ups and certified incubators
incentives for investments in seed and venture capital
fixed-term contracts
stock option and work for equity
crowdfunding
no shame for a failed company

11. policy #2 “La Buona Scuola”
CHALLENGE
invest in education (at a time of spending review) and update the educational framework
PATH
2 working groups → “teachers” + “skills”
“data driven” drafting and policy design → “La Buona Scuola. Let the country grow”
CONSULTATION → a debate as big as a country
1,8 million of citizens involved / 2,000 debates / 115 position papers / 20 regional reports
La Buona Scuola Reloaded – citizens can improve a Government draft
Survey + Comments + Co-Design Sections
APPROVAL
IMPLEMENTATION → work in progress

12. contents of “La Buona Scuola”
More autonomous and responsible schools
An extraordinary teacher recruitment plan
School principal as the educational leader
New skills and literacy
School-to-work schemes, laboratories and digitization
Professional development schemes
Funds aimed at awarding teachers
The school system gets transparent: Open Data & Registers
School bonus

13. key dimensions
innovation in Public Administration | #ASP16

14. key dimensions
Target Content Process

15. 1 Target Restart, Italia! La Buona Scuola
Numbers A few A lot
Initial impact Low High
Density Low High
Self-awareness No Yes
An homogeneous
community?
Yes No
Mood Cool – Change –
We can make it
Disappointment –
Things never change

16. 2 Content Restart, Italia! La Buona Scuola
Inputs coming from... External Internal
Killer application No Yes (extraordinary
recruitment plan)
“Can we adjust the
trajectory”?
Very Much Little
Demand Policy-driven … drives the policy

17. 3 Process Restart, Italia! La Buona Scuola
Commitment
of the “target”
Low High
Modality online/offline online/offline
Approval Extra–group Intra–group
Timing Autonomous Fixed schedule
Role of media Follower Agenda setter

18. how to make it
innovation in Public Administration | #ASP16

19. golden rules for (better) government
1. focus on ex post, stimulate engagement in the implementation phase,
not just during the drafting phase
2. build up an alliance with the best public officials around,
and challenge them openly
3. invest in training programs for public officials, attracting human capital
4. develop a “narrative” in public policies: citizens must be brought up, trained, driven
towards new collective behaviours (e.g. ban on smoking in public spaces)
5. do not contradict the method/process,
“be consistent otherwise people will not trust you!” + “there's no way back!”

20. the State of the art
- Ideologies are dead → how can we cope with decisions aimed at
safeguarding small interests or peculiar/partial requests?
- We lack incubators of comprehensive and global visions, we lack
Nineteenth Century’s political parties at their best = clearing houses
- Without a clear electoral/political mandate and with electoral
campaigns merely focused on personalities…

21. the art of the State:
from law making to policy design
better and more effective decisions
crash tests + mobilization
reconcile two traditional dimensions of politics:
solving problems + building up consensus
cope with the representation crisis
much deeper than the political crisis

23. in the meanwhile...
the case of the European Union
● efficient and innovative public administration
● good quality policy making
BUT…
● governance rather than government;
● the Constitutional 3%, “representation without taxation”;
● “No Europe for young men”
= stress test failed?
[ policies require politics ]

24. and good luck!
thank you,
@Fusacchia
alessandro.fusacchia@istruzione.it
ASP 12th
Cycle
Cycle Opening Event
Milano, February 19th
2016