Dossier n. 192/2010 [Abstract] The governance of policies for health and social wellbeing in Emilia-Romagna. Opportunities for developments and improvements

The Italian regional patterns of welfare present significant differences, that have increased after the 2001 constitutional reform. However, this is not always clear or readily apparent. Sometimes communication in regional welfare systems can confuse analysts and stakeholders as the same terms are used for very different meanings or, at the same time, the opposite can happen. The issue becomes particularly important when dealing with a complicate theme as that of governance, by itself very elusive as literature demonstrates.

The Dossier is aimed at facing some of these criticalities.

It is first of all meant for those actors that in various ways participate in decision-making processes in the Emilia-Romagna integrated health-social welfare system. The volume is an instrument of reconstruction and highlighting of governance purposes for policy makers, representatives of social partners, managers and specialists, representatives of citizen participation, who contribute “to integration building”. The aim is to inform all stakeholders on the complexity of the system in which they participate, to increase their leading role in pursuing the goals that Region Emilia-Romagna was given on health and wellness, in particular regarding “mobile” borders that separate and link social and health systems. Secondly, the Dossier provides the basis for any possible comparison with other regional models.

The Dossier is designed as a research reports.

The volume presents the architecture of governance and social-health system of Emilia-Romagna defined by many legislative and administrative actions (see Appendix) concerning both the regional and local levels; it also includes a first evaluation of the impact of this architecture implementation, highlighting the achievements and also the problems not yet resolved.

The aim of this paper is also to explain how social and social-health governance can no longer be considered separate from the health governance and, more generally, from the administrative reform process pursued by the Region, with particular reference to promoting joint management forms of municipal functions and cooperation between Local authorities and Health agencies.

In the Appendix, legislation and bibliography are presented, as well as an essential glossary on the key ideas of the Dossier: governance, integration and planning. Probably, the way Regions understand these terms characterizes their systems of governance, that can become a true model like that of Emilia-Romagna.