Cooperation between Local Actors in Infrastructure Projects. Evidence from Italian Utilities.

The process of reforming ownership and regulatiory processes in the utility sector has often underestimated the importance of infrastructures, which are necessary for the high-quality, affordable and continuous supply of public utilities. In recent decades, investments in local infrastructures (LA) have encountered problems with planning, finance and public acceptance, which has had a negative effect on service operation, maintenance and supply. This paper aims to identify the institutional arrangement that fosters investment in local infrastructures. A solution, proposed by some authors, is to stimulate collaboration between local actors in investment projects (CLAIP). The benefits and costs of CLAIP related to the realization of the LA have been tested in this paper, namely the channels through which CLAIP can affect the extension and modernization of facilities and the structure and organization that would make it more effective. The empirical analysis illustrated in this paper is mainly exploratory and the main problems addressed are the following: firstly, is CLAIP recognized in the utility industry as an effective means for supporting infrastructure investment? secondly, through which channels is CLAIP seen as improving the effectiveness of infrastructure design and construction? thirdly, which structural and organizational features are considered to enhance the value of bottom-up infrastructure investment solutions? lastly, can it be argued that CLAIP plays different roles in different contexts, e.g. is it more effective when the infrastructure is developed by larger public utilities than by small private utilities?