Identity and pluralism: studying the experience of a public network aimed at redesigning social services

Nowadays the provision of social services represents one of the most relevant challenges for a Municipality, due to the growing needs of people asking for more care and to the reduction of available resources. The present research analyzes in-depth the experience of a public network created among a group of small Municipalities in Veneto Region, in North-East of Italy, to redesign these services, with attention to both effectiveness and efficiency. It started in 2012 and it is still ongoing towards its complete definition. Specifically, the study focuses on the role of the different identities involved into the whole process, from the first stage aiming to define the conditions of a new pluralistic configuration for social services based to the development of a strategic and operative alliance. The case study is an interesting example for public institutions engaged in winning the challenge for a better government in time of resource constraints and institutional pressure towards such kind of initiatives.