This research area aims to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the national public sector by providing updated studies, analyses, and data. It focuses on the quality of healthcare systems and local public organizations, while also exploring ways to strengthen the capacity, reliability, and transparency of public administration. The ultimate goal is to enhance policy design and evaluation and to bring citizens closer to institutions.

An effective public sector is crucial for economic and social development. The UN World Public Sector Report 2023 stressed how shocks such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine revealed the urgency of optimizing public institutions—by fostering transparency, accountability, and citizen participation, and by building resilient, future-oriented governance. International bodies such as the IMF and OECD echo this perspective.

For Italy, the challenge is particularly pressing: high public spending and debt, the need to maximize the impact of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, weak international performance indicators, and widespread citizen distrust in institutions.

This thematic area addresses these issues by generating new data and analyses on healthcare, local administrations, and public procurement. It emphasizes both ex ante policy design and ex post evaluation, with the broader aim of strengthening the social contract between citizens and public institutions.