Program Management in Territorial Cohesion Policies

The policy for territorial cohesion aims at reducing the development gap be­tween the Italian regions and is often subjected to revisions, reprogramming, re­organisations which from time to time try to correct the path on the basis of the experience gained. The running of such a complex policy requires a management method that can finalize the efforts put in place, allow all the components of the public ad­ministration involved to recognize themselves in a unitary management environ­ ment, give an account of the results obtained, highlight an unambiguous balanceof the limits and the obstacles encountered. Some recent trials have been activated to verify the effectiveness and efficiency of different forms of management of this policy. The story of some of them and the analysis of the tools used can help explain the strengths and weaknesses that territorial cohesion policies have shown and allow to capitalize the learning ac­quired by the many public offices involved. As in all public policies, the constant effort to reduce the gap between the objectives and the results obtained is an im­portant ingredient to feed knowledge of what you are doing – in the writer’s belief that what is possible becomes real if you try even what it seems impossible.