B0062 - Governance of Innovation in Public Administration

Learning outcomes

The course offers theoretical and practical knowledge on the relationship between governance, public administration structures (PA) and digitization processes.

At the end of the first part of the course students know the political science approach to the study of PA and the organizational elements of the main PA units.

At the end of the second part of the course students are able to deal with cases study analysis and recognize examples of innovation processes through digital tools with reference to some specific domains of the public sector

Course contents

The course deals with the relationship between governance, public administration structures (PA) and digitization processes.

The first part of the course presents the political science approach to the study of PA and the organizational elements of the main PA units. This first part deals with the fundamental theoretical contributions for the study of bureaucracies and public organizations and the main philosophies of administrative reform that have affected the countries of Western Europe in the last twenty years. At the end of this part, selected focuses will be offered on specific sectors of the PA (local government, healthcare, justice).

The second part of the course is organized with seminars and workshops devoted to cases study analysis and to present examples of innovation processes through digital tools with reference to some specific domains of the public sector.

Readings/Bibliography

CIBORRA, C., E LANZARA, G. F. (1999). Comprendere l’innovazione. Artefatti, processi e contesti formativi in “Labirinti dell’innovazione. Tecnologia organizzazione ed apprendimento”, pp. 1-12 (Introduzione)

A. LIPPI (2022) Modelli di amministrazioni pubbliche, Il Mulino, Bologna. Introduzione + capitoli 1-4

DI MASCIO F. e NATALINI A. (2022), Pubbliche amministrazioni, Il Mulino, Bologna. Capitoli 1 (pp. 21-63), 2, 5.

MELLONI E. (2025), Strategie di implementazione. Affrontare l'incertezza delle politiche con la valutazione, Mondadori, Milano (Cap 2).

DALLARA C. e VERZELLONI L. (2025), Il sistema giustizia. Innovazione, complessità e tensioni con la politica, Mondadori, Milano (Cap 1).

BUONGIORNO SOTTORIVA, C., & NASI, G. (2024). La gestione dell'innovazione e del cambiamento nelle istituzioni pubbliche. In “Management pubblico”, pp. 239-252, Egea (Capitolo 14).

PLESNER, U. E HUSTED, E. (2020). La tecnologia come tematica negli studi organizzativi in “L’organizzazione digitale”, il Mulino, pp. 55-65 (Capitolo 1).

SCHEIN E. (2021). Il cambiamento culturale in un’azienda matura. Alpha power in “Culture d’impresa. Come affrontare con successo le transizioni e i cambiamenti organizzativi”, pp. 129-150.

SCHEIN E. (2021). Beta corporation. Una storia di cambiamento pianificato e alcune conseguenze culturali non intenzionali in “Culture d’impresa. Come affrontare con successo le transizioni e i cambiamenti organizzativi”, pp. 151-163.

DALLARA, C., MICHETTI, G., & DI SIVO, M. (2022). L’organizzazione della giustizia alla prova dell’emergenza COVID-19. Il ruolo dei presidenti di tribunale nella definizione delle strategie organizzative. Rivista Italiana di Politiche Pubbliche, 17(1), 93-127.

DI GIULIO M. & VECCHI G. 2025. Policy Making and the Digitalization of the Public Sector. Actors and Strategies in Italy. Cham: Palgrave MacMillan.

RULLO G. (2024), Paths of Digital twins in the public sector. A systematic review of the social sciences literature (doi: 10.53227/116592) Rivista di Digital Politics (ISSN 2785-0072)

G. VECCHI (2025), Intelligenza artificiale e miglioramento di alcun e attività del giudice. Competenze necessari e il problema della governance delle innovazioni. Riflessioni a margine di un progetto esplorativo. Rivista Nuova di Diritto del Lavoro.

+ altri estratti e materiali caricati dalla docente su Virtuale

Teaching methods

Slides and class material uploaded on virtuale.unibo.it

Assessment methods

Students who regularly attend classes

§ Final in-class exam

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§ Class presentation and participation

Students who DO NOT regularly attend classes will be assessed through a final written exam. The exam will be composed by 3 questions

Criteria for evaluation of the written exam:

• discussion of the concepts and theories, with reference to debate in the readings.
• empirical examples coherent with the arguments presented
• well-structured text, composed by an introduction providing a brief overview of the topic, and descriptions of how the essay will unfold; a main body of the paper: based on a structured discussion of the phenomena and related concepts and a a short conclusion summing up the paper

Grading Policy

The final overall grade will be in the range 18-30:

• 30 cum laude (outstanding, sure grasp of all the material and many interesting insights)
• 28-30 (excellent, sure grasp of all the material and some interesting insights)
• 26-27 (very good, competent grasp of all the material)
• 24-25 (good, competent grasp of some the material)
• 21-23 (satisfactory, partial grasp of the material)
• 18-20 (pass, barely sufficient grasp of the material)
• 17 or below (fail, insufficient grasp of the material)

Teaching tools

Slides and class material uploaded on virtuale.unibo.it

Office hours

See the website of Cristina Dallara