Specialist building competencies for public administrations: the case of "evaluation units" in the Calabria Region, Italy

Abstract

The experience which will be presented was carried out in Calabria, the least developed southern Italian region, at the beginning of the 2000 - 2006 programming period in order to strengthen the regional civil service in its role in support of local development.

This was part of a national programme to improve the quality of public spending - including both European and national funds - via the creation of specialised evaluation nuclei in each level of the administration. These nuclei would operate as part of a national network coordinated by the new central Evaluation Unit set up within the Ministry of the Economy.

Additional measures were taken for the Calabria Region, which had a negative record in terms of the effectiveness of development initiatives, and remained, despite massive support from both national and European sources, one of the least developed Regions in Europe. To deal with this emergency situation a highly-skilled task force (Struttura Operativa di Gestione - SOG) was planned to provide internal consultancy and support to the regional administration

The Calabrian evaluation Nucleus and the SOG were recruited via an international call which highlighted the challenging nature of the task and the possibility of making a real difference in a critical situation. The response was enthusiastic, with more than 3000 applications from all over the world.

The selection process was carried out with the organisational and technical support of Formez, which acted as secretariat to the selection panel. At the same time Formez planned a two-phase teambuilding process, first to create a team spirit among the successful candidates and then to integrate this team with the local civil servants.

The experience teaches important lessons on the tools to be adopted and risks to be faced when an attempt is made to graft modern management methods onto a structure which is traditionally weak and resistant to change.