Esecutivo regionale e management: il caso di Regione Lombardia

This article deals with the public management reform undertaken by the Regional Government in Lombardy during the last two decades and examines how the adoption of the performance-oriented management system is influenced by the reorganization of the government. After focusing on the political and institutional context in which the reform has occurred, it outlines the main changes introduced in the regional government arena in the transition from the “first republic” to the “second republic” in the middle of 1990s. In spite of the fact that legacy and administrative culture are usually considered a factor of continuity in the Italian administrative system, Lombardy represents a case of successful change management. An emerging strong political and bureaucratic leadership allowed regional government to modernize public management (its mobility, evaluation and performance related pay). The article concludes that aside from changes to the political institution of government in the next future, the crucial challenge will be the change management inside the executive arena and the relationship patterns between public managers and politicians.