5 questions to...
Natale Di Giovanna
Interview with the Commercial Director of Municipia.
Natale Di Giovanna is the Commercial Director of Municipia, the company within the Engineering Group that supports municipalities of all sizes in their digital transformation journey.
An engineer with a passion for technology, he has over 20 years of solid experience in the IT market for Public Administration.
In the past, he also served as CEO of a joint venture dedicated to innovation management for the Sicilian region.
1. THE NRRP HAS DRIVEN THE DIGITALIZATION OF LOCAL PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION. WHAT HAVE BEEN, AND STILL ARE, THE PRIORITY AREAS OF INTERVENTION FOR ITALIAN MUNICIPALITIES?
The NRRP has undoubtedly accelerated the digitalization of Italian municipalities, providing an extraordinary opportunity that many administrations have effectively seized.
However, there are still many areas that require intervention: improving online services to simplify access and reduce bureaucracy, further developing digital interaction with citizens, and ensuring data protection in compliance with European regulations. These are fundamental objectives.
Additionally, the promotion of smart cities, with green technologies for monitoring public services and urban sustainability, represents another major challenge. Municipalities will need to focus on efficiency, security, and innovation, creating more inclusive and intelligent cities.
Another crucial aspect is cybersecurity: the increasing use of online services and interoperability between administrations heightens the risks to data protection. It is essential to strengthen security measures to prevent attacks that could compromise privacy and service efficiency. This requires investments in advanced technologies and continuous staff training, especially in medium and small municipalities, where there is still much work to be done.
2. IF YOU COULD SUGGEST AN IMMEDIATE ACTION TO ACCELERATE THE DIGITALIZATION OF MUNICIPALITIES AND BRIDGE THE EXISTING GAP BETWEEN DIFFERENT AREAS OF THE COUNTRY, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
This is a crucial issue. Article 3 of the Constitution states that all citizens have equal social dignity, without distinction based on personal or social conditions, and establishes that the Republic must remove economic and social obstacles that hinder individual development and participation in the life of the country.
In this context, municipalities play a vital role. A significant part of removing these obstacles depends on them. However, the gap between the North and South, as well as between large and small municipalities, remains wide, with significant disparities in access to services.
In my opinion, the priorities should be: investments in digital training and technical support for smaller municipalities and those in rural areas.
This should include training programs for municipal employees and citizens, direct technical support for municipalities with limited resources (such as regional or online low-cost consulting centers), access to stable and fast internet connectivity for peripheral municipalities, and the creation of collaboration networks among municipalities to share best practices and resources, facilitating digitalization even for the less advanced ones.
Focusing on training, technical support, and infrastructure will help rapidly reduce digital inequalities and accelerate the transition toward a more homogeneous and inclusive digital public administration.
Additionally, the growing digital needs of small and medium-sized municipalities could create new market opportunities for private operators.
3. SMART LANDS AND THE ABILITY OF SMALL MUNICIPALITIES TO NETWORK DEMONSTRATE HOW DIGITALIZATION CAN ALSO BE A DRIVER FOR THE LOCAL ECONOMY AND A VALUABLE INITIATIVE TO COMBAT DEPOPULATION. WHAT FACTORS DETERMINE THE SUCCESS OF THESE PROJECTS, AND WHAT STRATEGIES CAN FURTHER INCENTIVIZE THE SYNERGY BETWEEN DIGITAL INNOVATION AND TERRITORIAL DEVELOPMENT?
The key to success lies in the ability of local administrators to move beyond parochialism, recognizing that their territories share common needs and opportunities that can be explored together with neighboring municipalities. This requires awareness and a culture of cooperation among administrators. Success depends on "collaboration" - between neighboring administrations, but also with businesses, universities, and citizens.
Creating a collaborative network allows for the pooling of resources, expertise, and ideas to address local challenges. Collaboration is essential to overcome budget and skill limitations typical of small municipalities. It is also crucial to personalize services to meet local needs, such as sustainable resource management, tourism, agriculture, and the optimization of public services.
At the level of higher public administrations, it would be beneficial to offer tax incentives and funding to small and medium-sized enterprises operating in the most disadvantaged areas. Additionally, creating local technology hubs or innovation incubators could help counteract depopulation by investing in digital tourism projects and cultural heritage enhancement. Digital platforms for tourism, such as apps or virtual tours, could attract visitors and generate new revenue sources for small municipalities.
Another important aspect is public-private partnerships: collaborations with companies in the IT, renewable energy, and agritech sectors can bring innovations tailored to local needs, attracting investments and accelerating the adoption of advanced technologies.
Finally, a thought: developing a heavy industry requires substantial investments in infrastructure, such as highways, bridges, and ports. However, creating IT excellence hubs capable of attracting talented and motivated young professionals requires only a good computer and an internet connection—resources that are more easily accessible even to the smallest municipalities, anywhere in Italy. But policies that reward municipalities willing to embrace this challenge are needed.
4. HOW CAN MUNICIPALITIES BENEFIT FROM DIGITALIZATION WITHOUT PLACING A HEAVY BURDEN ON THEIR BUDGETS? HOW CAN THIS CHALLENGE BE ADDRESSED WITH THE SUPPORT OF PRIVATE ENTITIES?
The solution lies in integrating cutting-edge technological solutions with public-private collaboration models— a strategic approach that reduces direct costs while simultaneously improving the effectiveness and efficiency of local administrations.
Our experience confirms that municipalities increasingly recognize the necessity of following this path. Specifically, regarding the core services of municipal administrations, such as revenue management, the urgency of an efficient and technologically advanced system is perceived as an essential priority.
We are very optimistic that collaboration between municipalities and private entities will increasingly become the key to more streamlined and efficient management, allowing municipalities to delegate operational service management to private companies while maintaining strategic decision-making control and process supervision.
Modernizing municipalities and improving their efficiency without excessively straining budgets is indeed possible. Greater awareness and creativity are needed in utilizing the public-private collaboration models already provided by the current regulatory framework, creating a more sustainable, innovative system that serves the community.
5. WHAT TRENDS AND TECHNOLOGIES WILL HAVE THE GREATEST IMPACT ON ITALIAN CITIES OF ALL SIZES IN THE NEXT THREE YEARS?
Everything that contributes to making cities more sustainable, efficient, and digitally advanced will undoubtedly experience significant development in the coming years, profoundly transforming how we live and interact with the urban environment.
Artificial Intelligence, currently at the center of numerous debates, will become pervasive in all social and urban functions, and Italian municipalities will not be exempt from this. Its applications in urban contexts will revolutionize how services are delivered and managed, bringing unprecedented efficiency.
We are not merely witnessing technological progress but a true new revolution. As history books have taught us, the first and second industrial revolutions transformed the 18th and 19th centuries into eras of transition, marking a clear "before and after" that redefined how people lived, worked, and organized society.
Today, AI represents a new form of revolution, but with a significant difference: change will not take centuries - it will take only a few years. Those who fail to seize this opportunity - whether citizens, businesses, or public administrations—will find themselves left behind, condemned to remain "slow, expensive, and inefficient" compared to those who embrace this innovation.
AI, combined with big data analysis, will offer cities the ability to make more informed decisions in resource management and urban planning. By using advanced algorithms to analyze real-time data, such as traffic, waste management, and public security, services can be optimized, reducing operational costs and increasing efficiency.
Additionally, AI will be crucial in improving administrative efficiency, reducing the need for human operators for low-value-added tasks. This will free up financial resources for new services, enhancing public service quality and making cities more attractive to residents and visitors.
Another expanding aspect in Italian cities is the IoT, which will lead to increasingly intelligent infrastructures for urban service management—such as public lighting, traffic management, waste disposal, and more. IoT, combined with AI-driven data analysis, will enable greater interconnection between urban systems, improving quality of life and optimizing resources.
The adoption of advanced technological solutions, such as AI and IoT, will therefore be essential in making municipalities more livable, sustainable, competitive, and attractive - meeting citizens' needs and enhancing their daily well-being. Only in this way can Italian cities keep pace with the future and remain dynamic and prosperous places.
An important aspect is the public-private partnership: collaborations with companies in the IT sector can bring innovations that meet specific local needs, attract investments, and accelerate the adoption of advanced technologies.
Natale Di Giovanna
Commercial Director of Municipia
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