A lack of smart governance in the public sector: the Italian case study

Part of the international literature highlights the need of the public sector to change its managerial approach towards choices oriented to the so-called “Smart governance” [1] or “an abbreviation for the ensemble of principles, factors, and capacities that constitute a form of governance able to cope with the conditions and exigencies of the knowledge society”. This work will focus on the analysis of the digitization process of the public sector in Italy through the “digital administration codex” (CAD), highlighting the effects produced in terms of the introduction of the so-called new technologies to optimize investments in the area and attract them with innovative financing instruments. The analysis has been also considering the effects of the “Pandemic lock-down” showing that, despite the efforts made by the central government, the Italian public sector should not be considered as an exemple of “Smart Governance” as it seems to be still committed with “New Public Management Paradigm” [2, 3].