The latest news comes from the conversion of the “infrastructures” decree law, which opens up the possibility for the National School of Administration to offer “higher education and post-graduate specialization courses”, ie masters, and a doctorate in Public Administration Sciences. , also with professors involved through agreements with the universities to which they belong. But this is, in fact, only the last stage of a process of reform and strengthening of the Sna that has covered all the rich legislative production on the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, from the initial measures of spring 2021 to the “Pnrr-2” decree. converted at the end of last May.
Race to implementation
With a rush to implementation that has characterized the entire large chapter of the PNRR in the field of the Minister for Pa Renato Brunetta, and which in the case of the School now led by Paola Severino aims to make it the pivot around which everything revolves training for the public administration: a theme that the Pnrr itself places at the center of that “administrative strengthening” also made up of the contingents of new employees and technical collaborators for the central and local PA. Sna also strengthened, with 108 new people planned to take on a largely unprecedented task.
Synergy between universities and businesses
For many years there has been complaints about the absence in Italy of a training center for the ruling class comparable to that of the French ENA. But now even that model has entered into crisis, to the point of pushing President Macron to reform to create a school “less disconnected from reality” (his words). And in Italy a different path has been chosen, which is based precisely on the alliance with the various “realities” interested in various capacities in public training, from universities to local authorities to the world of private companies.
Change the method of selection of public managers
The ambitious heart of the project is to change the method of selection of public managers, to base it not only on “knowledge” (primarily legal-economic) but also on managerial skills, as regards both recruitment and career development. . The goal is not new. But this time, thanks to the emphasis (and funding) of the NRP, it attempts a wide range of operational solutions: an annual course-competition for the new managers of the central PA, new comparative procedures to choose the “promoted” from official to manager and the dissemination of this approach also to local administrations.
Territorial poles in all regions
The idea of bringing Sna’s business out of Rome to develop it also in the territories is the other key choice of the strategy. Here too the explanation is in the NRP, which for about 80 billion is in the hands of Regions and local authorities. The new Sna aims to open territorial poles in all Regions (the Piedmontese one will be inaugurated on 20 September, and Abruzzo will start within the year), but to reach a wider audience possible, the use of digital technology will be massive with the Mooc (Massive Online Open Courses) system especially for newly hired executives and officials.