Building Social Policies with civil society actors. Area Plans and Participation in Milan

This chapter aims to give an empirical account of the functioning of the introduciont of social policies Area Plans in Italy, by analyzing different ways in which Area Plans were implemented in the province of Milan. My research analyzes some of the planning models that are emerging through the experiences of Area Plans, how they can affect policy innovation and what their possible impact on the relationships between civil society and public administrations may be. In the first part I highlight some problematic issues connected with the ambiguity of the Area Plans’ governance arena and the challenges faced by local administrations while organizing them. Secondly, I describe the approach I used in the development of my analysis. I then present the main findings of the two parts of the research. I conclude with some comments on what we can learn from these experiences.