The lack of clear and timely information on the national recovery and resilience plan (Pnrr) is a critical issue that we have been denouncing since 2021. In this rather complicated context, local authorities, which play an important role in the implementation of the Pnrr, can also do a lot to provide information to citizens, compensating at least in part for the shortcomings of central administrations. In a previous in-depth analysis we saw what data is made available by the regions, now we will focus on metropolitan cities and some of the most populous municipalities in the country. But what information do municipalities and metropolitan cities share about the Pnrr?
What emerges from the analysis is a rather uneven picture between the territories. In fact, we move from situations close to excellence to others where access to information for citizens is more complicated. In general, the most critical aspects concern the data on expenditure incurred, which is almost never present, and the availability of files in open format. Fundamental elements for conducting analyzes and comparisons.
The lack of clear and timely information on national recovery and resilience plan (Pnrr) is a critical issue that we have been denouncing since 2021. The situation in this sense worsened following the approval of the proposal to revise the Italian plan by the European institutions last December. Only recently, with the publication of the Pnrr quater decree and the fourth report for parliament, have the clouds cleared somewhat. Despite these updates, however, the picture is far from exhaustive.
In this rather complicated context also the territorial bodies, which play an important role in the implementation of the PNRR, can do a lot to provide information to citizens. At least partially compensating for the shortcomings of central administrations. In a previous in-depth analysis we saw what data was made available by the regions, now we will focus on the data metropolitan cities and on some of the common most populous in the country.
13 out of 15 municipalities that receive the most Pnrr funds have set up a site or a section dedicated to the projects they will carry out.
What emerges from the analysis is a rather uneven picture between the territories. In fact, we move from situations close to excellence to others where access to information for citizens is very complicated. In general the most critical aspects concern i data on expenditure incurredwhich are almost never present, and the availability of open format file. Fundamental elements for conducting analyzes and comparisons.
Before reviewing the data shared by municipalities and metropolitan cities, some premises are important. First, it is worth pointing out that the Pnrr itself identifies the government as the body responsible for publishing information regarding the financed projects.
The government is responsible for publishing data on the PNRR.
Despite this, in a recent press conference the minister Raffaele Fitto has placed the responsibility for the lack of updated information on the Pnrr on the local authorities. In fact, according to the minister, many local administrations are not particularly diligent in uploading the data on Regis, the platform created specifically for plan reporting.
In the law decree we will insert elements that will speed up data entry.
Returning to the public sharing of information by local authorities, we have identified 8 criteria for our analysis:
- presence of a site dedicated to the Pnrr or of a specific section within the institution’s institutional portal;
- availability of data in open format;
- presence of graphs and maps that help citizens understand the actual impact of the Pnrr on the territory;
- possibility of easily retrieving the published Pnrr notices and knowing the results;
- presence of a detailed list of funded projects;
- availability of information on the progress of the interventions;
- information on expenses already incurred;
- localization of projects in the territory.
Another transversal factor that we took into account is the ease with which this information is available even for non-experts. An important element that should not be underestimated.
The situation of the municipalities
Obviously it is impossible to review the institutional portals of all the over 8 thousand Italian municipalities. So in this article we have chosen to deepen the analysis of 15 entities.
Municipalities publish data on projects under their direct responsibility.
The first fact that emerges is that in 13 cases of the 15 analyzed, ad hoc sites or in any case dedicated sections were set up within institutional portals. In 11 cases, however, it is possible to find a list with sufficiently detailed information on the projects managed by the municipalities.
The information made available to their citizens by municipalities
The most “critical” items among those identified are those relating to availability of data in open formatpresent in some limited aspects only on the website of the municipality of Cagliari. The other data that is more difficult to find is that relating to the expenditure incurred. Information provided only by Cagliari And Palermo.
More generally, the two bodies just mentioned are those that provide the most information. Good results too Bologna, Florence, Padua, Rome And Turin.
Information from the municipalities in detail
As we have just seen, the quantity and quality of the information made available also varies greatly from territory to territory. Going into more detail, we can observe that regarding the the municipality of Naples the section dedicated to the Pnrr consists of a collection of published notices.
7 out of 15 municipalities also publish information on the progress of projects.
In the case of municipality of Barion the site it is possible to find a general description of the Pnrr and information on 2 specific projects, one of which financed by complementary fund. Furthermore, through the search engine it is possible to find various contents, mainly press releases. Similar situation also regarding Venice although in this case there are some very detailed press releases.
In the case of Genoa, there is a part dedicated to the Pnrr within the “transparent administration” section of the municipal website which refers to the procurement portal. TO Taranto instead, a list of funded projects is available.
The analysis of the information provided by the websites of some Italian municipalities.
Even in the most virtuous realities from the point of view of the information provided there are some elements that could be improved. On the website of the municipality of Palermo for example, there is a map where, however, it does not seem possible to identify the location of the projects. With regard to Cagliari however, there is no summary table with the details of all the funded projects. You need to navigate the various sections of the site, size by size. With regard to Bologna It is not very easy to track down the tenders or the winning companies of the contracts. It must be said, however, that many projects still have to start.
Obviously, for this specific aspect, many institutions refer to the notices and transparent administration sections of their sites. However, in this way it is not easy to find information on tenders regarding projects financed by the Pnrr.
The situation of metropolitan cities
After having analyzed the information published by the municipalities, we move on to observe another subject involved in the implementation of the plan’s projects: the metropolitan cities. Here the situation is a little different. In fact, we are talking about particular administrations, made up of the union of several municipalities and without direct elective bodies. They are also involved in the implementation of the Pnrr to a more limited extent than other local authorities. In general, the availability and quality of information is more limited than that of municipalities.
I am 11 out of 14 metropolitan cities have created an ad hoc site or a section within the institutional portal to inform citizens about projects financed with Pnrr funds. The metropolitan city of Genoa it is the one that provides the greatest amount of information even if it lacks an easily consultable section relating to Pnrr tenders and one concerning the resources already spent. In general, 8 metropolitan cities provide a detailed list of funded projects and in 4 cases information is provided on their state of progress (Bologna, Florence, Genoa and Turin).
The amount of information on the Pnrr made available to citizens by metropolitan cities.
We then find 6 institutional sites that provide a localization of interventions easily identifiable for citizens (Bologna, Florence, Genoa, Milan, Turin and Bari). The items for which it is most difficult to find material are, also in this case, the availability of open data dedicated to the Pnrr which are published only by the metropolitan cities of Genoa And Naples. Alone Reggio Calabria instead it provides information on funds already committed.
Information about metropolitan cities in detail
Going into more detail, it is interesting to note that the site dedicated to the Pnrr of the metropolitan city of Bologna is shared with the municipality. This is the only case of this type. Another element worthy of note concerns the fact that the metropolitan cities of Genoa and of Turin they report not only the projects of which they are implementers but also those for which they play a coordination role.
In many cases there is no complete list of all funded projects.
Even in the areas that provide more information, however, there are situations that could be improved. For example, in the case of metropolitan city of Milan data on projects and amounts are not very easy to find despite the presence of a map which should help to identify the location of the interventions in the area.
The analysis of the information provided by the sites of metropolitan cities.
Moving to other territories, we can observe that with regards to metropolitan city of Catania the section dedicated to the Pnrr is essentially a collector of public notices. While in the case of metropolitan city of Rome the measures and projects financed are indicated, in some cases there are also maps but it is not possible to consult a complete list of all the works with the exact location. Similar situation also for metropolitan city of Venice.
