Managing services and voicing public values: the water sector in Italy

This chapter analyzes water management policy in Italy over the past 20 years and reviews its evolution in light of the recommendations provided by strategic foresight literature and public value theory. Both advocate a decision-making model that is: • pragmatic and evidence-based rather than ideological. This shift is well described by the public governance paradigm – of which public value is a part – which replaced new public management. • oriented to the long term. Capacity and sustainability take priority over a limited focus on immediate cost savings. • participatory and network-based, as public value is not created solely by the public sector but is the result of complex interactions among several public, private, and non-profit actors.