The Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan and Administrative Capacity: A Real Game Changer?

The National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), in close alignment with the 2021-2027 Cohesion policy framework and Council recommendations, represents an unprec-edented opportunity to strengthen the capacity of the Italian public administration in a systematic fashion. However, are the measures foreseen adequate to deliver the antici-pated objectives? Will the short timeframe of the plan be sufficient to attain a lasting strengthening of the Italian public administration? Will a synergy be created with the parallel investments realised under the EU’s cohesion policy? In answering these ques-tions, we highlight some shortcomings of the plan that might hamper the reforms. We conclude by wondering whether the strategy pursued by the NRRP marks a return to a New Public Management model that is now considered by many as obsolete.