Mixed Methods: Innovative Social Research in the Service of Public Policy

Recently, in relation to the study of public intervention, the utility of mixed methods has been highlighted. Unlike approaches based solely on secondary data, mixed methods offer the advantage of enriching the understanding of activities related to public spending management by adding elements of knowledge through the questioning of the individuals involved in the processes. The objective of this contribution is to conduct a review of studies that analyze the management of public spending based on the perceptions of beneficiaries and managers of state and community financing. Among these, two investigations promoted by the Territorial Public Accounts System (Sistema dei Conti Pubblici Territoriali) are reported, in which certain categories of subjects involved in the management and use of funds were consulted, such as Responsible Officers for Public Investment Procedure, Managing Authorities of Operational Programmes, and Authorities responsible for Development and Cohesion Plans for territorial cohesion policies. The potential of this approach lies in the opportunity to deduce policy implications that can contribute to the development of Italian regions and the improvement of the effectiveness of public spending.