Proposal for 'bando-corso' to reform public procurement in cultural services

Fabio Severino, an economist and sociologist with an MBA and PhD, proposes transforming public tenders into 'bando-corso' (course-tenders) to address systemic failures in Italian public procurement, especially in cultural services. He argues that current procedures prioritize formal compliance over quality, leading to mediocre outcomes. Severino identifies two types of candidates: those skilled at writing proposals but unable to deliver, and those capable of excellent work but unable to navigate bureaucratic requirements. He criticizes the administrative relationship between public finance and private contractors for focusing on procedural robustness while neglecting content quality. As an example, he cites poor restaurant services in public venues like museums and schools, despite Italy's culinary excellence. His solution involves selecting candidates based on technical and entrepreneurial capacity, then guiding them to develop profitable, reassuring, and user-satisfying projects. The article was published in Artribune Magazine #61.