After years of analysis and debate, the issue of co-governance and co-production in the sector of public personal services requires today the definition of new organizational and managerial models which concerns not merely relationships between existing firms but also the features of new types of enterprises. In a period when the definition of and the components of the concept of “social enterprise” are still under investigation, it is important to question the issue and consider if this form of entrepreneurship could be the best answer ever to the requirements of co-production and co-governance of the system as a whole and/or its most important parts.The need to broaden and articulate the debate about these processes of exchanges and about the actors operating in the sector is also the result of new practices which have developed across Europe (for instance in Italy), as a result of the evolution of public-private partnerships from contracting-out models (agreements, contracts, accreditation…) towards new forms of integrated entrepreneurship.At the same time, thanks to the emphasis on the local dimension and on the dynamics of the community, the boundaries of the analysis overcome the mere practise of “zero sum games”, where stable conditions of balance are achieved.It is possible to highlight the need to: • increase the level of transparency and the quality of interaction among actors; • increase the level of involvement and participation of organizations and individuals; • increase the qualitative and quantitative level of responses to the needs of the community, when the same amount of resources is available. On the contrary, in the case of a lesser amount of resources available, it would necessary to keep the level of such responses as constant;• increase the propensity to public actors’ long term strategic planning; • acknowledge and codify the governance role of non- profit sectors and actors;• improve individuals’ predisposition and ability to work in an integrated environment towards long-term relationships;• activate all community resources in order to support shared goals. As a consequence of all this, the characteristics of mixed enterprises can be briefly defined as follows: 1. the mixed enterprise is an integral part of the social and economic “system” of the community;2. it can play the role of a coordination mechanism in order to overcome the inefficiencies of the sector and to ensure that answers are efficiently provided by making relations amongst actors involved more fluid while improving processes of exchange;3. it can act as a mechanism of managerial experimentation; 4. it is characterised by a strategic alliance meant to reduce uncertainty and facilitate access to resources;5. it is characterised by a strategic alliance that allows partners to pursue new organizational models and new managerial strategies;6. it is an organization with governance and control mechanisms defined on the basis of: - a statutory agreements (level of participation, nomination of Board’ members and directors, etc…)- organizational processes (reporting, planning and controlling process, certification of quality, social balance/budgeting, analysis of stakeholders’ satisfaction, etc…)- strategic management of human resources (mechanisms of recruiting, training, informing, rewarding; balance of competences etc…)- informal mechanisms (social control);7. it provides citizen – consumers with a warrant mechanism.This article, therefore, aims at assessing the characteristics of (and the opportunities offered by) an entrepreneurial model that overcomes the intrinsic limits of collaborative relationships based either on lobbying relations or on the usual exchange between client and supplier.
Il tema della co-produzione e della co-governance nel settore dei servizi alla persona richiede oggi, dopo anni di dibattito e di riflessione, la definizione di nuovi modelli organizzativi e gestionali, che non coinvolgano più solo le relazioni tra le aziende esistenti, ma anche le caratteristiche di nuove tipologie di soggetti aziendali.Nel momento in cui ancora si ricerca la definizione e le componenti del concetto di impresa sociale, si deve forse porre la questione se tale forma di imprenditoria non profit sia sempre e comunque la migliore risposta alle esigenze di co-produzione e co-governance del sistema nella sua totalità o in sue importanti parti.Questa necessità di ampliare ed articolare il dibattito sui processi di scambio e sugli attori che operano nel settore è anche conseguente alle nuove esperienze che sono maturate in Europa e nel nostro Paese, esperienze che vedono l’evoluzione delle partnership pubblico-privato non profit dai modelli di esternalizzazione (convenzione, appalto, accreditamento, …) alle nuove forme di imprenditorialità integrata.Al contempo, l’enfasi posta sulla dimensione locale e sulle dinamiche di tipo comunitario spinge i confini dell’analisi oltre la semplice ricerca di “giochi a somma zero”, dove si raggiungono condizioni di equilibrio sufficientemente stabile.Le nuove esigenze possono essere così definite:• aumentare il livello di trasparenza e la qualità degli scambi tra gli attori• aumentare il livello di coinvolgimento e partecipazione comunitaria delle organizzazioni e degli individui• aumentare il livello quali-quantitativo delle risposte ai bisogni della comunità a parità di risorse disponibili, oppure mantenere costante il livello di tali risposte in presenza di una contrazione delle risorse disponibili• aumentare la capacità di pianificazione strategica di lungo periodo degli attori pubblici• riconoscere e codificare il ruolo di governance del settore e degli attori non profit• aumentare la predisposizione e la capacità dei soggetti di lavorare in modo integrato e duraturo• attivare tutte le risorse comunitarie verso obiettivi condivisi.Come conseguenza di questo, le caratteristiche dell’impresa mista possono essere, in prima approssimazione, così definite:• parte integrante del sistema sociale ed economico della comunità• meccanismo di coordinamento per superare le inefficienze del settore e garantire l’efficacia delle risposte fluidificando le relazioni e quindi migliorando i processi di scambio• meccanismo di sperimentazione manageriale• alleanza strategica per ridurre l’incertezza e favorire l’accesso alle risorse• alleanza strategica che permette ai partner di perseguire nuovi modelli organizzativi e strategie gestionali• organizzazione con meccanismi di governance e controllo definiti mediante:- accordi statutari (livello della partecipazione, nomina degli amministratori, …)- processi organizzativi (reporting, processi di pianificazione e controllo, certificazione della qualità, bilancio sociale, strumenti di analisi della stakeholder satisfaction, …)- gestione strategica delle risorse umane (meccanismi di assunzione, formazione, aggiornamento, remunerazione, bilancio delle competenze …)- meccanismi informali (controllo sociale)• meccanismo di garanzia per i cittadini-utentiQuesto articolo si pone quindi l’obiettivo di valutare l’opportunità e le caratteristiche di un modello di azienda che superi i limiti intrinseci dei rapporti collaborativi basati su relazioni di lobbying o sugli scambi classici cliente-fornitore.
"Co-governance and co-production: from the social enterprise towards the public-private co-enterprise"
Francesco Manfredi
;
2007-01-01
Abstract
After years of analysis and debate, the issue of co-governance and co-production in the sector of public personal services requires today the definition of new organizational and managerial models which concerns not merely relationships between existing firms but also the features of new types of enterprises. In a period when the definition of and the components of the concept of “social enterprise” are still under investigation, it is important to question the issue and consider if this form of entrepreneurship could be the best answer ever to the requirements of co-production and co-governance of the system as a whole and/or its most important parts.The need to broaden and articulate the debate about these processes of exchanges and about the actors operating in the sector is also the result of new practices which have developed across Europe (for instance in Italy), as a result of the evolution of public-private partnerships from contracting-out models (agreements, contracts, accreditation…) towards new forms of integrated entrepreneurship.At the same time, thanks to the emphasis on the local dimension and on the dynamics of the community, the boundaries of the analysis overcome the mere practise of “zero sum games”, where stable conditions of balance are achieved.It is possible to highlight the need to: • increase the level of transparency and the quality of interaction among actors; • increase the level of involvement and participation of organizations and individuals; • increase the qualitative and quantitative level of responses to the needs of the community, when the same amount of resources is available. On the contrary, in the case of a lesser amount of resources available, it would necessary to keep the level of such responses as constant;• increase the propensity to public actors’ long term strategic planning; • acknowledge and codify the governance role of non- profit sectors and actors;• improve individuals’ predisposition and ability to work in an integrated environment towards long-term relationships;• activate all community resources in order to support shared goals. As a consequence of all this, the characteristics of mixed enterprises can be briefly defined as follows: 1. the mixed enterprise is an integral part of the social and economic “system” of the community;2. it can play the role of a coordination mechanism in order to overcome the inefficiencies of the sector and to ensure that answers are efficiently provided by making relations amongst actors involved more fluid while improving processes of exchange;3. it can act as a mechanism of managerial experimentation; 4. it is characterised by a strategic alliance meant to reduce uncertainty and facilitate access to resources;5. it is characterised by a strategic alliance that allows partners to pursue new organizational models and new managerial strategies;6. it is an organization with governance and control mechanisms defined on the basis of: - a statutory agreements (level of participation, nomination of Board’ members and directors, etc…)- organizational processes (reporting, planning and controlling process, certification of quality, social balance/budgeting, analysis of stakeholders’ satisfaction, etc…)- strategic management of human resources (mechanisms of recruiting, training, informing, rewarding; balance of competences etc…)- informal mechanisms (social control);7. it provides citizen – consumers with a warrant mechanism.This article, therefore, aims at assessing the characteristics of (and the opportunities offered by) an entrepreneurial model that overcomes the intrinsic limits of collaborative relationships based either on lobbying relations or on the usual exchange between client and supplier.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
