Policy and Complex Systems
The impact of the broadband program on the whole regional fabric was noticeable but varied considerably across the various organizations .
Large size enterprises , which traditionally are technology frontrunners , were the first to benefit from broadband services . Notwithstanding they account for the larger share of the regional production basis . Medium and small size firms had more difficulties in exploiting these services , because of organizational impediments , sector specializations , and / or sociocultural constraints .
Citizens ’ familiarity with broadband and Internet usages increased sharply only when broadband roll up was completed , e-Government services became widespread , and new ICT tools , such as wireless and mobile applications , were fully marketable .
Although the development of e-Government services was a main goal of the regional broadband program , it occurred with boosts and straps , according to the evolution of the national agenda and Italian public administration laws 5 .
As for the latter , what PICTO reports contributed to make it explicit was that , in most cases , ICT government initiatives had been too narrowly defined as a means to enhance the efficiency of transactions . Studies also pointed out that a large majority of government organizations , and notably local authorities ( municipalities ), were unable to exploit , or at least to properly handle , the cascade of changes produced by ICT applications .
To help sharpen the questions two applications of social network analysis were carried out , on the assumption that a system oriented approach meant to investigate the patterns in the relationships among ICT services and among the organizations entitled to their delivery can provide further insights .
Attention is focused on municipalities as these local authorities have a main responsibility in managing ICT services . Furthermore , in Piedmont , there are 1206 municipalities , consisting of a few larger cities ( the province head cities ) and a majority of small and very small municipalities ( 80 % has less than 5000 inhabitants ). Improving the coordination between local authorities , therefore , turns out to be worthwhile for delivering appropriate service levels to the resident population .
2.2 A social network analysis of ICT ( based ) services by Piedmont municipalities
As mentioned above two applications of social network analysis were carried out . The first ( CASE A ) aims to investigate the patterns in the relationships among ICT services . In order to make progress in service delivery , in fact , attention should be paid at better tuning the ICT-supported changes introduced in the back office operations with those carried out in the front office as these are likely to be more sensi-
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To date , almost all municipalities and government offices in the region are equipped with the basic ICT infrastructures and services ( broadband , certified email , digital signature , and institutional websites ). The interactivity level of online services however is still under developed and limited to the provision of fillin forms to prompt administrative procedures . The most widespread online service is population registry self-certification , followed by property tax payment , which is also the most widely available one among the transactional services . ICT is highest in core administrative back office services , such as taxes , demographics , and financial services . These services are often managed inside the administration . For a large number of municipalities ICT equipments are perceived as expensive as they need investments which can be afforded only by the larger administrations .
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