(by Davide D'Amico) The new PNRR of the Draghi government has finally been presented to the Chambers and will be formally sent to Brussels by 30 April. After a hard work, however, in a very short time, there was also the square around the strategy, the new narrative and the implementation methods (Objectives, milestones, targets, etc.). It is an ambitious investment plan that Italy is preparing to send to Europe. But not only. Parallel to this are numerous reforms, without which investments risk not bearing fruit in the medium to long term. It is an instrument that puts in place huge financial resources aimed at accelerating the economic recovery, responding in a way, we hope effectively, to the pandemic crisis caused by Covid-19.
The Italian PNRR is part of the Next Generation EU (NGEU) program, which provides for a total of 750 billion euros for all countries.
Italy is entitled to 191,5 billion euros, financed through the key instrument of the NGEU: the Device for Recovery and Resilience.
To these must be added a further 30,6 billion which are part of a complementary fund, financed through the multi-year budget variance that was approved in the Council of Ministers on 15 April last.
We therefore have 222,1 billion euros at our disposal.
We have never had the availability of so many financial resources to spend in such a short time (2021-2026) and with "grounding" (implementation) methods that must follow precise indications that we ourselves, as a country, have written "black on white ”and delivered to Europe in the planning and discussion phase. In fact, if on the one hand the overall plan offers a summary, strategic and narrative vision of what you want to do, of the "how" and "when" (the maximum times for carrying out the interventions), it must also be considered that the " back office of the plan "provides detailed actions for each phase and for each project, be it investment or reform, with a very rigorous timing and very strict in relation to the" deliverables "(products) that must be achieved.
Therefore, one cannot disagree with Draghi when he says that one must have “a taste for the future” when talking about PNRR. These are words that have an intense meaning, which aim to shake the entire country: on the one hand the public administrations and public employees who will have to "enable" and implement the actions envisaged by the Plan, on the other the entrepreneurial fabric, which in many cases and on different lines of action, it will have to ensure the implementation of projects, many of which are highly complex. In this sense, "the taste for the future" is almost a desire to make each of us reflect to rediscover that sense of belonging to our country, which goes far beyond political ideologies and which aims to unite, rather than divide, reinforcing that concept of social cohesion and favoring those projects with a "structural" impact, which can be multipliers of economic value over time, also by adopting different paradigms of enhanced public-private partnerships, while reducing corruption and all its negative effects on growth , innovation, quality and skills.
Precisely because the plan is intended to have a "structural character", it includes a substantial number of reforms, certainly almost obvious for insiders, but which instead represent the need to build solid foundations on which to base all investments.
These are reforms to be adopted in the areas of:
- public administration (favoring generational turnover, enhancing human and professional capital, implementing digitalisation, creating the single recruitment platform, providing training courses for staff and strengthening and monitoring administrative capacity);
- justice (reducing the duration of trials and the weight of judicial arrears, reviewing the regulatory and procedural framework by increasing the use of mediation procedures and simplification measures on the various levels of the process);
- regulatory simplification (simplify the granting of permits and authorizations, guarantee implementation and maximum impact of investments through interventions on the procurement code);
- competition (strengthening social cohesion and developing economic growth).
It is a Plan whose main beneficiaries are women, young people and the SOUTH and aims to help promote social inclusion and reduce the gaps between territories.
Digital absorbs 27% of resources while 40% is dedicated to investments to combat climate change and therefore in favor of the ecological transition, more than 10% are directed towards an extremely important issue at this time of economic crisis: cohesion social.
In a nutshell, the Plan is articulated along the following six missions:
1. “Digitization, Innovation, Competitiveness, Culture” (49,2 billion - of which 40,7 billion from the Recovery and Resilience Device and 8,5 billion from the Fund). Its objectives are to promote the digital transformation of the country, to support the innovation of the production system, and to invest in two key sectors for Italy, tourism and culture.
2. "Green Revolution and Ecological Transition", (68,6 billion - of which 59,3 billion from the Recovery and Resilience Facility and 9,3 billion from the Fund). Its objectives are to improve the sustainability and resilience of the economic system and ensure a fair and inclusive environmental transition.
3. “Infrastructures for Sustainable Mobility” (31,4 billion - of which 25,1 billion from the Recovery and Resilience Device and 6,3 billion from the Fund).
Its main objective is the rational development of a modern, sustainable transport infrastructure extended to all areas of the country (High speed, upgrading regional railway lines, port system and digitalization of the logistics chain.
4. “Education and Research” (€ 31,9 billion - of which € 30,9 billion from the Recovery and Resilience Facility and € 1 billion from the Fund).
Its goal is to strengthen the education system (Nurseries, kindergartens, childcare education and care services, school building), STEM digital skills, research and technology transfer.
In addition, a reform of guidance, doctoral programs and degree courses is planned.
The focus is on post-diploma professionalization paths of higher technical institutes (not to be confused with technical and professional institutes) and the research and technology transfer chain is strengthened.
5. “Inclusion and Cohesion” (22,4 billion - of which 19,8 billion from the Recovery and Resilience Device and 2,6 billion from the Fund).
Its goal is to facilitate participation in the labor market, including through training, strengthen active labor policies and promote social inclusion (employment centers, female entrepreneurship, social services and interventions for vulnerabilities, etc. ).
6. Health ”(18,5 billion, of which 15,6 billion from the Recovery and Resilience Device and 2,9 billion from the Fund).
Its goal is to strengthen prevention and health services in the area, modernize and digitize the health system and guarantee equity of access to care (local assistance spread across the territory, community homes and hospitals, increase in home care, telemedicine and remote assistance, equipment new for diagnosis and treatment, etc).
The Plan strengthens the technological infrastructure for the collection, processing and analysis of data, including the dissemination of the Electronic Health Record.
With regard to governance, the ministries and local administrations are directly responsible for carrying out investments and reforms according to the deadlines set, while the Ministry of Economy and Finance, through a specific system, will have the task of monitoring and constantly monitor the implementation of reforms and investments and acts as a single point of contact with the European Commission.
The conditions for doing well are all there, at this point we need to wish ourselves good luck and that "the taste for the future" enables collective enthusiasm and intelligence in order to ensure full implementation of the many and important projects which, not without effort and sought consensus, have been programmed.
Davide D'Amico is a PA Manager and Aidr Director