Abstract
Brief description of the project The ALMADIA research project explores street-level bureaucracy (SLB), a concept introduced by Michael Lipsky (1980) that examines how frontline public service workers influence policy outcomes through their discretionary decisions. The study focuses on Active Labour Market Policies (ALMPs) within Public Employment Services (PES) in Italy. Objectives and results that the project aims to achieve The project aims at unpacking the black box of the complex process of policy implementation, taking seriously the role of SLBs and their use of discretion with a bottom-up approach. This is a policy-oriented and policy relevant project. It investigates how the discretionary space is activated, valued or denied by both organizations and workers operating at the street level in Public Employment Services (PES), adopting a multi-level perspective. In order to achieve the aim of unpacking the policy implementation process, the project has three main goals and results: Describe SLB Discretion: Through an online survey (CAWI) targeting a representative sample of Italian PES, the project identifies and categorizes how frontline workers use discretion. It develops a set of indicators to quantify these practices and enable generalizable insights across contexts. Analyze Work Conditions and Practices: The survey data will form a database to examine the daily tasks, working conditions, and user interactions of PES workers, focusing on how they adapt formal rules to real-life situations. Develop a Comparative Research Model: In collaboration with an International Advisory Committee, the project will co-design a replicable model for international research. This includes refining the indicators and tools for use in different countries, laying the groundwork for a broader European research initiative. Results Achieved The project has advanced the analysis of the implementation of active labor market policies in Italy, with particular attention to the Workers' Employability Guarantee Program (Garanzia di Occupabilità dei Lavoratori – GOL), adopting a street-level bureaucracy perspective. The research examined the role of frontline workers in Public Employment Services (PES), highlighting how the implementation of labor market policies depends not only on formal regulations and guidelines but, above all, on the discretionary decisions made by frontline staff in their daily interactions with jobseekers and employers. One of the project's main achievements is the development of an innovative mixed-methods research design that combines qualitative and quantitative approaches to investigate the implementation of labor market policies. The qualitative component consisted of an ethnographic study conducted in Public Employment Services in Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy, and Campania, combining direct observation of frontline workers' activities with in-depth interviews. This research enabled analysis of how the GOL program is implemented in practice across different organizational and territorial contexts, highlighting the role of professional practices and the diverse governance arrangements adopted by regional Public Employment Services. The quantitative component consisted of a nationwide survey of frontline workers employed in Public Employment Services. For the first time in this field of research in Italy, the questionnaire incorporated vignette experiments to investigate and operationalize frontline discretion. This approach made it possible to systematically observe decision-making processes in comparable professional contexts and to assess the influence of individual, organizational, and territorial factors on the implementation of the GOL program. The project has also led to the development of a theoretical and analytical framework that links national labor market policies, the different institutional configurations of regional Public Employment Service systems, and the everyday practices of frontline workers. In doing so, it contributes to the international debate on street-level bureaucracy, administrative discretion, and the governance of active labor market policies. The evidence produced by the project forms the scientific basis of an open-access monograph on the implementation of the GOL program, currently being completed for the Italian publisher Egea – Bocconi University Press. It has also provided the foundation for an international book proposal, for which Routledge has invited a full proposal focusing on a comparative analysis of the implementation of the GOL program across Italian regional Public Employment Services. In addition, the project has already resulted in several articles published in national and international peer-reviewed journals, with further manuscripts currently under preparation. The research findings were presented at the 2026 Conference of the Italian Society of Economic Sociology (SISEC) in a dedicated panel. More broadly, the project provides valuable evidence to improve the organization of Public Employment Services and enhance the effectiveness of active labor market policies, thereby fostering dialogue between academic research and public policymakers. The close collaboration established with regional employment agencies throughout both the qualitative and quantitative phases of the research, together with invitations to present and discuss the findings, further confirms the project's relevance for knowledge transfer and engagement with policy stakeholders
Dettagli del progetto
Responsabile scientifico: Roberto Rizza
Strutture Unibo coinvolte:
Dipartimento di Scienze Politiche e Sociali
Coordinatore:
ALMA MATER STUDIORUM - Università di Bologna(Italy)
Contributo totale di progetto: Euro (EUR) 197.188,00
Contributo totale Unibo: Euro (EUR) 80.948,00
Durata del progetto in mesi: 24
Data di inizio
15/10/2023
Data di fine:
28/02/2026
