Managing a public sector project: the case of the Italian Treasury Ministry

Abstract

Project management strategy in the public sector has attracted the interest of many scholars since the late 1980s, following the growing pressure on governments to abandon bureaucratic organisations in favour of leaner structures. Though Italy is considered a late developer in this movement, its scope, speed and consistency of reforms is considered remarkable [OECD, (2001), Reviews of Regulatory Reform in Italy]. Within this context many projects have been undertaken trying to implement the ideas of New Public Management (NPM) [Public Administration (1991) 69:3; Accounting, Organizations and Society (1995) 20:93]. This paper reports on a reengineering project carried out at the Italian Ministry of Treasury which tested a methodology drawn from the literature of process engineering. Multiple dimensions and actions proved to be crucial in managing the project: the paper discusses them and their relative importance over the life of the reengineering project.