Is there a relationship between sustainability strategies and the financial efforts for their realization? This is a particularly complex question considering that sustainability has generated an intense academic and political debate. In order to contribute to the debate, the authors investigate the existence of the relationship between the strategies of local authorities in terms of sustainability and their translation into financial commitments. To this end, firstly, the paper shows the results of research that explores the sustainability strategies of a sample of the 20 Italian regional capital cities, through the content analysis of their Performance Plans. Secondly, the authors present their elaboration of financial data related to the main dimensions of sustainability (environment and territory management, welfare area, and economic development). Finally, they discuss the relationship between the two aspects surveyed (strategies and expenditures committed to sustainability) highlighting critical perspectives also for future research. Briefly, the conclusions underline: a) great autonomy in formulating strategies, highlighted by the different programming documents analyzed; b) the main terms related to sustainability are rarely used; c) particular importance, from a financial point of view, was given to the environmental and welfare sustainability dimensions both in relation to the total current expenditure committed, and in terms of financial implementation. The expenditure impact for economic development is much lower, while the average level of financial implementation of the same is higher; and d) a discrepancy between the limited strategic consideration of the sustainability dimensions and the considerable amount of financial commitments related to sustainability.
The scope of the Deliverable 6.3 is to provide a concrete analysis of the behaviour of the System Dynamics (SD) model on the European Cohesion Policy (CP) system, as a part of the Working Package 6 in the context of the PERCEIVE project. The model was already presented in the Deliverables 6.1 (qualitative model) and 6.2 (quantitative model). Focusing on the two subsystems under study, namely the funds' absorption and general public awareness, the behavioural analysis includes both: (i) quantitative sensitivity analyses of the model's parameters on the simulation results, (ii) and qualitative insights based on real data, the model's structure and the outcomes of the quantitative analysis. More specifically, we articulated this study in two parts according to the model's subsystems. In the funds' absorption subsystem, as a reminder of the problem under study, we first report a concise analysis of EU and regional evidence on absorption rates. Then, the absorption model is presented in brief, followed by an extensive sensitivity analyses of the model's parameters. The analysis provides the major simulation findings, along with indicative policy recommendations. Finally, a comprehensive discussion of the modelling approach, based on real data and the modelling results, is presented. In the general awareness subsystem, initially the available awareness data of the related Eurobarometer's reports are presented for the contextualization of the problem. Thereafter, the awareness model is briefly discussed, while the main sensitivity analyses results are presented along with the related recommendations. Lastly, the model's building process and the quantitative outcomes are discussed. Overall, this final Deliverable 6.3 contributes towards: (i) identifying the major factors of the CP system that affect the local managing authorities' (LMAs') performance in terms of funds' absorption, as well as the citizens' awareness about the EU role on regional development, (ii) in order to offer meaningful managerial insights for fostering the LMA administrative capacity and increasing the general public awareness about regional CP funding benefits. The analysis of the influencing factors, along with the adoption of efficient policies, is anticipated to improve the state of the CP system and support the regional sustainability of the local communities.
Together with researchers in six other European countries1, we launched an EU-wide survey to investigate how citizens' feel about cohesion policy in which 17,200 citizens in 15 Eureopan countries were interviewed2. In addition, people were asked a set of questions having to do with knowledge and experience with the EU's regional policy, along with how much and how one identifies with Europe, political attitudes and perceptions of institution and the economy. We found that less than one-half of all citizens (roughly 45%) have even heard of the policy itself, while roughly one-third claim they have 'benefitted from some EU project in their area'.
The scope of the Deliverable 6.1 is to introduce the causal qualitative model developed in the context of the PERCEIVE project, as a part of the Working Package 6. The report begins with a short introduction that highlights the necessity of developing a model for simulating: (i) the manner in which the European Cohesion Policy funds are distributed among the regions under study and the factors that affect the related absorption, along with the (ii) the diverse streams of communication of the European Cohesion Policy projects and outcomes that influence the citizens awareness. The analysis of the system is focused on the EU structural funds, namely the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF) during the two previous programming periods (i.e. 2000-2006, 2007-2013). In fact, the multilevel nature of the system (i.e. EU, regions, beneficiaries), the dynamic behaviour over the programming periods, as well as the complexity reflected through the multiple intertwined feedback loops render the System Dynamics methodology as the appropriate approach to map and model the system under study. Thus, we briefly present the basic elements and procedures of System Dynamics technique.
Moving back to the land is, from different perspectives, a fascinating topic that has been on stage since the sixties. Since then, new forms of rurality have become an upcoming phenomenon on the media, still today we often hear of unexpected success of rural entrepreneurs who reinvented their life, they represent their triumph as reaction to market failure and city-life depression. From a sociological point of view, it is an exciting counter-cultural subject. How to study neo-rurality nowadays? Speaking in contemporary terms, we can talk about changes in rurality, taking Rural Social Innovation as our approach. As we'll see, social innovation is as appropriate as ambiguous when it comes to the research implementation, lacking in the specificity of the definition. Therefore, I decided to integrate the conceptual framework with two more solid theoretical approaches: social capital and moral market, which may analytically help understand and investigate the topic. From that, a research question rises, followed by an intense fieldwork. Let's go step by step, starting by introducing the study. a) The topic: Neo-rurality In the first chapter I explain the topic. Rurality studies connect different disciplines: sociology (marginality, mobility, market dynamics); geography (distance and periphery); policies and normative discourse (inner areas and rurality). 'Back-to-the-land' generally refers to the adoption of agriculture as a full-time vocation by people who have come from non-agricultural lifestyles or education. Originated in the 1960s, it situates back-to-the-landers as part of broader counterculture practices (Belasco, 2006). The back-to-the-land movement of the 1960s and 70s is often framed in relation to general cultural currents that encouraged "dropping out" of mainstream society in search of alternatives. "Multiplying fivefold between 1965 and 1970" writes Belasco (1989: 76) of communal back-to-the-land projects, "3,500 or so country communes put the counterculture into group practice". During the 1970s, the "protestant neo-ruralism" (neoruralismo protestatario, Merlo, 2006) conceives rural areas as the place where an alternative way of life can be experienced through the creation of an alternative agricultural production process. That approach refuses completely the Green Revolution (GR) paradigm (Shiva, 2016). Later, the development of alternative agricultural production was embedded in the agro-ecological paradigm, then absorbed by the global industrial system through the creation of organic certifications. Such a process of integration has developed a new critical reflection on food production and market relations. Neo-rurality is the frame that collects different approaches which are changing rural areas on different levels. It calls for attention to the relation between environmental issues, rural crisis and territorial issues (Ferraresi, 2013). Neo-rural farmers try a new model that is economically, socially and environmentally sustainable, protects biodiversity and promotes local quality food. In fact, production of quality food is key for the activation of practices and community relationships within the horizon of agro-ecological values. In Italy, pioneers of the alternative movements came from different backgrounds: the radical left, the ecologist movement and the anti-conformist or alternative movements. Also, a pioneering phase was characterized by a multiplicity of regional-level and often unconnected initiatives (Fonte, Cucchi, 2015). Ferraresi (2013) describes 'Neo-rurality' as a new, social and complex economy. Born partly in response to expansion of industrial food and partly due to the survival of some systems that resisted to conversion, we see emerging new or resurgent forms of production, trade and consumption, latterly conceptualised by academics as 'Alternative Agro-Food Networks' (AAFNs) or 'Alternative Food Networks' (AFNs). Movements become key players in the definition of new market places (Friedmann, 2005). Food movements act as an engine of awareness in consumption, and address issues that are core for social and media consensus, for instance health, environment, quality of life (Goodman, 1999), and also social justice and fair trade (Elzen et al., 2010). A second important effect of AAFNs is the empowerment of consumers, a leverage on citizenship action for the transformation of consumption behaviours into political action (Goodman, DuPuis, 2002). Exponents of neo-rural economy, as part of AAFNs, have promoted participation in alternative infrastructures contrasting the conventional market system, developing specific organisational forms, negotiating new forms of collaborative economy (Kostakis, Bauwens, 2014). They thus blur the distinction between public sphere and private sphere (Tormey, 2007). The AAFNs, as shown in the article by Murano and Forno (2017), has three main drivers shaping the form of development of this type of collective action: 1. Greater citizen awareness around economic, social and environmental sustainability issues; 2. The loss of purchasing power within important portions of the middle class, due to the increasing unemployment rates following the recession which started in 2007-2008; 3. General loss of meaning, due to the consumerism and the depletion of social relations, along with the decoupling of GDP growth and happiness (as suggested by the paradox Easterlin, 1974), people's search for a meaning in their life (Castells, Caraça, Cardoso, 2012) which seems to have been lost in a consumer society threatened by an economic, environmental and social crisis (D'Alisa et al., 2015). Tradition of local governance studies focuses on central areas, hi-tech districts, city-regions, overlooking the role of less industrialized areas, that actually represent two thirds of Italy. Northern Italy has been considered as a cluster of industrial development. Given current globalization forces, taking for granted recent government interest in undeveloped areas, inner areas have a stake in getting involved in wider market dynamics and renewed resources. An important contribution to the EU debate on territorial marginalisation has been provided by the Italian government's innovative approach to 'Inner Areas' (DPS, 2014). The government mapped all municipalities and categorized them according to their degree of remoteness from services, consistently with criteria that the debate on Foundational Economy indicates as key factors of spatial (in)justice. The emerging picture offers a polycentric connotation of the Italian territory. The geography of the inner peripheries includes mountain and coastal areas, as well as hilly and lowland areas, but provides no conclusive evidence to establish correlations between morphological conditions and degree of remoteness. The second chapter is dedicated to theoretical approaches: Rural Social Innovation, Social Capital and Sociology of Markets. b) Rural Social Innovation The neo-rurality phenomenon is strictly connected to Rural Social Innovation. Social innovation is a term on everyone's lips, indicating change and development, including social effects. Social Innovation is not specifically mentioned in literature on regional development, but in the more nuanced models we find that most important features are trust among actors, informal ties and untraded interdependencies between actors, which are key factors determining positive differentials in economic performance. Rural Social Innovation is helpfully used in many studies (Bock, 2012). Still, even though it is currently a very relevant phenomenon, Social Innovation itself is a critic concept, it is both one of the most common and ant the most unclear concepts nowadays. Because of its credits to local development, social networks and economic outcomes, I decided to use two more analytical sociological concepts to understand the phenomenon: social capital and sociology of markets. c) Social Capital Individuals generally pursue major life events—marriage, occupational choice—as part of a social network or group. As an exemplum, engaging in the creation of a new firm is generally done in a network of social relationships (Aldrich, 2005; Reynolds, 1991; Thornton, 1999); in that sense entrepreneurship can be considered a social phenomenon, rather than solely one of individual career choice. Social capital is a conscious use of embeddedness, the use of relations and resources for a purpose. According to Coleman (1988), social capital is defined by its function. It is not a single entity but a variety of different entities, with two elements in common: they all consist of some aspects of social structures, and they facilitate certain actions of actors within the structure. Coleman refers to the social structure that enables access to resources. Additionally, we can also recall Bourdieu, who sees social capital as the aggregate of actual or potential resources which are linked to possession of a durable network of more or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance or recognition. And Putnam pointing at three components: moral obligation and norms; social values (trust); and social networks (voluntary association). d) Sociology of Markets The structure of markets can be reduced to its minimal components, that are a buyer and two sellers which compete according to some defined rules (Aspers, 2006b). Relations among actors can be of exchange, as between buyers and sellers, or of competition, as between producers. In the structure of markets, people also mobilize beliefs, ethics, values and views of the common good to talk about the effects of market processes (Boltanski, Thevenot, 2006). As pointed in the recent book published by Granovetter "Society and Economy" (2017:28) The fact that people seek simultaneously economic and non-economic goals is an unprecedented challenge for that economic analysis that focuses only on one of the two horns, as for sociology that focuses only on the other. Current theories of action in social sciences offer little knowledge of how individuals mix these goals. We can therefore recall Zelizer (2007) highlighting that economists and sociologists face a common presumption: the twinned stories of separate spheres and hostile worlds. Separate spheres indicate a distinction between two arenas, one for rational economic activity, a sphere of calculation and efficiency, and one for personal relations, a sphere of sentiment and solidarity. The companion doctrine of hostile worlds affirms that contact between the spheres generates contamination and disorder: economic rationality degrades intimacy, and close relationships obstruct efficiency. Moral economy is based on this attack on the common presumption. According to these considerations on ways that shape relationships and market, the main question that rises is: "Are values and social relationship separate from the market?". e) The Research During my PhD studies I worked on an answer to this question. In the third chapter I present the case of alternative agro-food movements and neo-rurality in urban and inner areas in the region of Campania (southern Italy). The study is based on qualitative research design, composed of fieldwork and interviews, undertaken in Campania during 2014-2016, where inner and central areas are the scenery of innovative development processes, founded on structural and territorial resources, as well as on individual and social capitals. Here I present you with a quote from an Italian journalist, Alessandro Leogrande, recalling the most important anthropologist of southern Italy, Ernesto Demartino: In a complex society, old elements and new elements continue to coexist, traits of modernity and traits of archaisms, pre-Christian segments and post-Christian segments, or entirely de-Christianised ones. It seems to me that the [Italian] South of these years, precisely in the light of a Demartino's analysis, fully returns the overlapping of these various layers. (Leogrande, 2016) I wish you a pleasant journey throughout my pages, at the discovery of neo-rural dynamics in southern Italy, a special place for meeting contradictions, traces of ancient and futuristic art, holy and desacralized behaviours, traditional and innovative practices.
If we consider business forms from the point of view of satisfying needs, public companies are consumer companies that satisfy collective needs with the aim of redistributing income. They differ from production companies in that they do not have direct access to the market, so that the sources of financing derive from the taxes imposed by law, while the uses concern management costs, capital investments and debt repayments. Maintaining this interpretation, another category belonging to consumer companies is that of non-profit companies, which can be equated partially to public companies precisely because of the absence of a real market of reference and the finding of sources of funding for the performance of the activity mainly from external contributions without consideration. The only difference is inherent in the fact that such contributions cannot be imposed by law and are aimed at assisting and providing services and benefits to the community of reference, in the absence of profit and capital distribution. Therefore, if in the public sector performance is mainly and historically linked to the management of financial resources and public debt, in the field of nonprofit there is a different literature focused more on the control of economic aspects (and in particular the costs of the activity) as performance indicators of the company's activity. At the international level, and in particular in the United States, the use of the incidence of overheads is an element of examination to assess the performance of the non-profit sector. In this article, the subject of analysis is the possibility of using the overhead level to assess the performance of a public body. The analysis is carried out by comparing the incidence of overheads on the revenues of Italian municipalities in the years 2015-2017 with the performance indicators given by the deficit parameters established by current administrative legislation. From this analysis, it is possible to identify the presence of a correlation between the performance indicators and the incidence of overheads, in which the likelihood of the presence of "good", "excellent" or "excellent" indicators is given by levels of overhead in the region of 10% of the total revenue assessed, with a margin of tolerance of 3% in positive for smaller entities (up to 5,000 inhabitants), and 3% in negative for larger entities.
Considering the indisputable cultural vocation of the Italian context and, in general, given the prominence of the cultural aspect as a factor of influence on many other elements that interact with human actions, this paper considers a fourth pillar joining the three traditional sustainability dimensions (environment, economic, social): cultural sustainability. Local governments have a specific role in implementing sustainability (as highlighted in the Local Agenda 21) and the expense represents an important financial indicator to understand public commitment to sustainability. These elements (the financial role of local government and cultural sustainability) are the starting point for this paper that analyzes the financial commitment of Italian local governments in the cultural sector. The models used shows that cultural expenses are related to the average income of the residents, while they are not related to the cultural heritage of the municipality territory. The empirical results allow the Author to draw some conclusions and to identify some aspects that form the basis for further research.
Every type of organization is driven by the needs of the stakeholders and of the social environment that surrounds them. In particular, organizations need to satisfy requirements deriving both from internal stakeholders. In addition, every activity generates different kind of outcomes, positive or negative, intended or unintended, financial and non-financial: Social Impact can define the sum of all these outcomes, net of the effect of synergies and of what would have happened even in the absence of the activity of the organization. In this framework, on the one hand any organization needs guidelines to maximize this social impact and instruments to assess and evaluate it, in order to embed it in a Rational Management system. On the other hand, governments and local policy makers need to know which kind of impacts, and to what extent, organizations generate, in order to produce regulations, policies and facilitations to promote, foster and reward who produce better for the Society, and vice versa discourage who affects it negatively. Both the researchers and the practitioners have lately produced a vastness of instruments with this purpose, whose usage extension is often limited to single local communities or organizations. This contribution aims to recap all the present reviews made in the scientific literature that tried to classify, cluster and reduce to common factors all the instruments, methodologies and measures, through a meta-review of the existing literature
In the last twenty years many OECD governments have launched challenges aiming to introduce performance tools. Among these, performance-based planning and programming (PBPP) refers to the application of performance management principles within the planning and programming processes. This substantially means that performance is once more a key subject of the reforms in the public sector and it's well recognized the narrow link between the planning process and its effects on the performance of both individuals and organizations. In Italy, in 2009 a reform went through for the implementation of the "performance cycle" in public administration, according to an encoded pattern that is now the main source of change. This model is supported by the planning programming tools already in use and has been differently incorporated at the various levels of the public sector (central, regional and local ). In the case of the local government, the performance cycle fits in a structured system aimed above all at financial planning and has to be linked to a series of operational programs that are designed to respond to different needs. The matter is "which aspects of performance are affected by performance planning in a strategic perspective and how is the link with the financial process?" The methodological approach is both theoretical and empirical. Firstly, we proceed by a theoretical review of the impact of strategic planning on the performance of public organizations. Secondly, by using two case studies, from a national initiative involving ten Italian municipalities (metropolitan areas), we formulate a comparison on how their government re-adressed strategic planning to the new performance perspective and what is the impact on financial planning and programming. Results show that public organizations risk of losing sight of the outcome as a key component of the performance system, so privileging, internal processes and individual variables without relevant external effects.
Questo articolo si divide in due parti. Nella prima viene affrontata la questione dell'influenza politica e del suo rapporto con la stabilità occupazionale nel pubbli-co impiego. A conclusione di questa prima parte vengono proposte alcune tesi sulle cause politiche, burocratiche, economiche e organizzative che spiegano il fenome-no dell'instabilità nel settore pubblico. Nella seconda parte viene illustrata la situa-zione occupazionale dell'amministrazione pubblica albanese che viene analizzata e interpretata alla luce delle tesi proposte. Ciò che emerge da questo studio è che i politici albanesi tendono a usare la stabilità del personale per orientare l'azione amministrativa, regolare le prestazioni burocratiche e gestire il consenso elettorale. Meno influenti sembrano essere, invece, le cause di instabilità di origine economi-ca e organizzativa. L'autore conclude lo studio proponendo una via di uscita dal problema dell'instabilità occupazionale in una prospettiva di modernizzazione dell'amministrazione albanese.
Il presente contributo nasce dall'analisi di alcune esperienze di destination management avviate da un campione di urban destination europee. L'articolo intende cogliere alcune best practices che tali modelli suggeriscono, qui proposte come vere e proprie sfide per realizzare un'effettiva gestione sovraordinata (destination management). La riflessione è declinata per le urban destination, ma di per sé può trovare applicazione anche per altri tipi di località. L'utilità della riflessione è principalmente da mettere in relazione con le difficoltà che le destinazioni italiane spesso mostrano nell'avviare un'effettiva gestione sovraordinata. Si tratta di un grave limite, poiché è principalmente questo livello di management che può farsi carico dello sviluppo di nuovi prodotti, della gestione delle stagionalità, del riposizionamento sul mercato. La riflessione si basa su tre casi, rappresentati dalle città di Barcellona, Berlino e Vienna, letti alla luce del modello dinamico di destination management (Sainaghi, 2006). Le best practice sono identificate lungo la dimensione dell'assetto istituzionalesovraordinato, cioè della struttura di corporate governance della Destination Management Organisation (DMO). Su questo fronte si riportano alcune "provocazioni" che tali modelli suggeriscono, soprattutto circa la struttura finanziaria, i meccanismi di raccolta dei contributi monetari, il rapporto tra politica e gestione, l'ampiezza degli stakeholder da coinvolgere. Una seconda area di riflessione è rappresentata dai processi di metamanagement, cioè dalle attività che la DMO mette in campo. Su questo fronte, i casi europei suggeriscono alcuni chiari orientamenti sulla definizione degli obiettivi, sull'orizzonte temporale, su alcuni accenti che devono caratterizzare i processi operativi e di supporto.
Today, the even more compelling need to limit carbon dioxide emissions from energy generation – to address the ongoing global warming – implies the recourse to renewable energy sources (RESs). Indeed, these latter are able to meet energy demand into a more sustainable way. Considering the EU targets for the year 2020 in the matter of climate and energy, public organizations are expected to take an active role e.g. by adopting and promoting RESs. In Italy, over the last decade, among the various technologies based on RESs, solar PV technology witnessed a remarkable growth thanks to the support of a government incentive scheme, which ceased to be applied in 2013. Since then, the PV power installed in the Italian public sector has started slowing down, thus determining changes in clean energy production from PVs. Based on this, the research study aims at enhancing the design, adoption, and evaluation of public policies for PVs in order to foster the achievement of a sustainable development in terms of clean energy. To this end, a "Dynamic Performance Management" (DPM) approach – resulting from the combination of System Dynamic methodology with the traditional Performance Management (PM) systems – is suggested. The need for adopting such an approach comes from the limitations of the traditional PM systems, which are not able to deal with the dynamic complexity that characterizes the systems in which public decision-makers operate. The DPM approach is applied to a case study based on the PV sector of the Municipality of Palermo (Italy). Empirical evidences, emerging from the development of a simulation model, reveal how the design and application of a DPM approach to the PV sector may effectively support public decision-makers in outlining sustainable policies aimed at fostering clean energy production.
2009/2010 ; Questo lavoro, che ha preso avvio dall'idea di approfondire il tema del fundraising, successivamente è confluito in un ambito di studio più vasto: quello della produzione di cultura che testimonia l'interesse della società nel suo complesso a costruire un assetto di rapporti che assicuri e diffonda un benessere generale. Ci si è resi conto che il valore economico è sempre più sottoposto ad un giudizio da parte della società civile, la quale ormai pretende che le produzioni accrescano la qualità dell'esistenza e la coesione sociale. Tutto ciò esalta il ruolo della cultura prodotta direttamente o indirettamente, e mostra come questa – sviluppata in tutte le sue forme – alimenti il valore economico e l'utilità presente nella polis di cui siamo parte. Si tratta di una problematica generale che però assume speciale rilevanza per i soggetti che producono professionalmente cultura e cioè per le cosiddette industrie culturali. Di certo il decremento della spesa pubblica per la cultura perpetratosi negli ultimi vent'anni ha spinto chi opera nel settore a ricorrere a nuove modalità di finanziamento per sostenere le proprie attività istituzionali. Ecco, quindi, il fiorire di tutta una serie di innovative strategie di raccolta fondi per la cultura. Alcune di queste, vengono mutuate direttamente dalle tecniche di fundraising tradizionalmente utilizzate dalle organizzazioni non profit per il sostegno delle più svariate cause sociali. Altre, invece, affondano le loro radici nelle politiche si sviluppo territoriali e vanno di pari passo con percorsi di partnership pubblico-privato (PPP) avviati allo scopo di rendere più competitivi determinati territori. Nel primo capitolo di questo lavoro abbiamo classificato i beni artistici e culturali ed abbiamo elencato i tradizionali finanziatori del settore in Italia. Abbiamo descritto, in particolar modo, il ruolo dei privati, delle imprese e delle Fondazioni di origine bancaria nel sostegno alla cultura. Si è poi analizzato il quadro normativo entro cui si inseriscono le sponsorizzazioni e le erogazioni liberali, ponendo particolare attenzione agli incentivi fiscali all'investimento privato in cultura. Nel secondo capitolo abbiamo invece descritto le principali tecniche del "fundraising", la "scienza della sostenibilità finanziaria di una causa sociale". Il fundraising non coincide solo con il momento della raccolta di fondi, ma va inteso anche come processo di sviluppo dei fondi. Abbiamo cercato quindi di fornire dei criteri per la stima del tasso di rendimento del fundraising, tramite il calcolo dell'indice FACE (Fundraising, Administration Cost and total Expenditure) e del tasso di rendimento sugli investimenti (ROI), e per l'applicazione di metodologie di valutazione della convenienza di un investimento di fundraising. Nel terzo capitolo abbiamo ampliato la definizione di "fundraising" al nuovo concetto di "fundraising territoriale per la cultura". Le tecniche di raccolta fondi che caratterizzano il fundraising, vengono, infatti, tradizionalmente adottate dalle aziende non profit per garantire sostenibilità economica a progetti con finalità sociali, inseriti nell'ambito di attività di cooperazione allo sviluppo. Ma le stesse tecniche possono essere vantaggiosamente utilizzate anche dai sistemi territoriali interessati a sostenere determinati progetti culturali in loco. Da qui, siamo passati alla definizione dei concetti di "distretto culturale" e "distretto culturale evoluto". Si tratta di sistemi, territorialmente delimitati, di relazioni che integrano il processo di valorizzazione delle dotazioni culturali, con le infrastrutture e con gli altri settori produttivi che a quel processo sono connesse. La chiave del successo dell'attività di fundraising in un distretto culturale sta nella collaborazione tra le imprese, i privati cittadini e gli Enti Pubblici che lo compongono. In questo modo, si creano rapporti che non si esauriscono nella mera raccolta di danaro, ma che sfociano in una vera e propria partecipazione alle attività ed ai progetti culturali. Una forma di collaborazione efficace, tipica delle politiche dei sistemi territoriali come il Distretto Culturale Evoluto, è la Partnership Pubblico Privata (PPP), dove Enti Pubblici, imprese, privati cittadini ed organizzazioni non profit uniscono le loro forze al fine di valorizzare le caratteristiche strategiche del territorio, tra cui naturalmente le sue eccellenze culturali. Nel quarto capitolo siamo andati a descrivere il valore in senso generale derivante da un investimento in cultura. Tale valore presenta sia un aspetto quantitativo che un aspetto qualitativo: se per il primo si può tentare una valutazione con l'utilizzo delle tecniche proprie della finanza, il secondo si fonda su strumentazioni concettuali assai stilizzate di matrice scientifica più recente. Abbiamo spiegato come l'investimento in cultura sia un'importante componente della corporate social responsability delle imprese che lo sostengono, e come determini un impatto positivo sulla loro performance d'investimento, generando un valore misurabile attraverso i flussi di cassa incrementali derivanti dal progetto: le vendite possono aumentare sia per effetto del miglioramento dell'immagine aziendale, che si traduce in una crescita del giro di affari, sia per effetto della nascita di nuovi punti vendita o della creazione di nuovi mercati, come conseguenza dell'attivazione del progetto. L'attività culturale, inoltre, non si limita a generare flussi incrementali di progetto, ma comporta un vero e proprio aumento del valore di mercato dell'impresa. Il valore di un'impresa che segue detta logica aggiungerà al valore di mercato ottenuto attualizzando il proprio Free Cash Flow secondo i criteri della teoria classica del valore, una componente +/-ΔU che rappresenterà la produzione di utilità sociale. I fatti dimostrano che i valori dell'integrazione cultura/economia possiedono un'utilità sociale per l'impresa, le altre imprese ed il territorio, in quanto sostengono l'occupazione, la legalità, la fiducia, generano l'aiuto verso le realtà sociali svantaggiate o bisognose, ed il mondo dei giovani. In conclusione la cultura genera flussi di ricchezza, crea valore economico ed aggiunge a tutto ciò un'utilità sociale fondata su un'intesa tra i soggetti che appartengono alla polis. Detto questo, abbiamo applicato l'analisi teorica esposta ad alcuni casi pratici. Nel quinto capitolo, si sono analizzate le politiche di fundraising del FAI, il Fondo Ambiente Italiano. Si è descritto l'indice FACE della Fondazione e si è poi passati all'analisi del ROI delle principali modalità di raccolta fondi utilizzate. Proprio sulla base di tale analisi, siamo arrivati ad una interessante conclusione: le modalità di raccolta fondi che, come le corporate membership, non prevedono una vera e profonda partecipazione, emotiva ma anche imprenditoriale, alla causa culturale, possono rivelarsi instabili, insicure, specialmente in periodi di crisi. Tecniche di raccolta fondi che invece prevedono la partecipazione delle imprese nel capitale dell'organizzazione (vedi ad esempio "I 200 del FAI") o il loro coinvolgimento nella gestione dell'attività culturale, saranno destinate a generare ottimi risultati. Le nuove frontiere del fundraising per la cultura, insomma, consistono nella partecipazione attiva di chi finanzia un determinato progetto artistico al capitale della realtà che lo promuove o alla sua gestione e sviluppo. Nell'ultimo capitolo abbiamo trattato l'esperienza del Distretto Culturale della Valle Camonica, che ha intrapreso un investimento in cultura concepito come volano di sviluppo del territorio. Si è ipotizzata, infine, la creazione di un Distretto Culturale in provincia di Trieste, ed abbiamo motivato l'opportunità di realizzare al suo interno un Polo della Musica. Si tratta della proposta ideata dallo studio ARTEMA per il riutilizzo di alcuni magazzini del Porto Vecchio di Trieste a favore di iniziative culturali particolarmente significative e aventi peraltro un'intrinseca capacità di stimolo nei confronti di ulteriori attività, potendo con ciò contribuire all'auspicato processo di rivitalizzazione della realtà locale. Tale studio è stato avviato su incarico di un'aggregazione di dieci soggetti - tra istituzioni, fondazioni e associazioni - operanti a Trieste nel settore musicale (tra di loro spiccano il Conservatorio Giuseppe Tartini ed il teatro lirico Giuseppe Verdi), tutti qualificati da un notevole impegno e dall'alta riconoscibilità nel settore artistico e della formazione. Per l'avvio di questo progetto, abbiamo ideato una proposta di fundraising che coinvolge sì gli Enti pubblici e le Fondazioni bancarie presenti sul territorio, ma si rivolge anche e soprattutto alle imprese ed ai privati cittadini, nell'ottica di un coinvolgimento diretto ed attivo al progetto. ; XXIII Ciclo ; 1979
The continuing decline in the pharmaceutical expenditure deduction, the increasing fees paid by pharmacies in favor of the NHS and the crisis that reduces the spending power of the citizen, triggered a huge drop in the profitability of the Italian pharmacies. However the crisis can also be positive because it forces the companies to deploy all the resources needed to invert the situation, changing certain vicious behaviors in favor of virtuous ones. But if on the one hand, it is the single pharmacist who should implement corrective measures, on the other hand some problems must be solved by the entire distribution system in order to prevent the marginalization of the pharmacy. A good solution might be represented by the emerging tendency of the online sale of OTC pharmaceuticals, already recognized by the market trends and regulated at the European Law level, and almost completely implemented by the Italian legislation . This opportunity might increase the health related products demand whereas an optimal marketing and administrative strategy is executed. Nevertheless, the strategy should be designed to create the prospective for the pharmacy to re-achieve the distribution that has been lost; with a direct distribution the pharmacy loses and the intermediate distribution channel as well, with an higher number of losers than winners, in the end. Hence, the technological solution proposition i.e. the web pharmacy, has to take into consideration this disintermediation problem that should be strengthened instead of weakened, at least to some degrees. It can be already anticipated that the Italian normative alignment with the European directive proposes to solve the problem of the disintermediation naturally related to the e-commerce adoption, with the possibility for the E-pharmacy to exist only if a physical shop already exists behind it.
Corporate Social Responsibility may be seen as an essential element of corporate risk management contributing to a company's survival. The link between CSR and risk management is even deeper in public utilities because they have to be accountable while carrying out activities that potentially impact on the current and future citizenry. The presence of local governments or/and the State as Italian utilities' shareholders may lead those companies to disclose even more information than private ones, although a difference in sustainability disclosure may be found when the closeness of the relationship with the local communities is weaken. Accordingly, this paper investigates the features of the risk disclosure within the sustainability reports of Italian utilities companies listed at the Milan Stock Exchange, while detecting the role played by the local government or State ownership in this issue.
