Italy Launches Public e-Procurement in IT and Digital Public Administration

Italy launched a new Agid three-year Plan with public e-procurement in a key position of Information Technology and digital Public Administration (PA). Among the new measures mentioned in the Plan for innovation of public services, there is the shift towards the adoption of emerging technologies, like artificial intelligence and the Blockchain technology. Nevertheless, to avoid possible negative impacts of innovation, appropriate regulatory framework and training programs have to be created.

The Agid triennial Plan emphasizes on the role of territorial administrations and helps them in the field of innovation, sharing of project monitoring tools, devotion to managerial and digital skills involved in the public administration. 

The Plan also focuses on updating the digital transformation strategy for the development of Italian public information technology, integrating the latest changes brought by the Digital Administration Code (CAD) as well as the recent European directives and regulations on blockchain, cryptocurrency and other related innovations, the development model of the information system of the public administration and other ICT investments. 

Agency for Digital Italy 

According to the Agency for Digital Italy, the Plan aims at increasing the involvement of the administrations operating in the country, citizens and users (final recipients) of the digital change of the PA. 

Italy developed this plan to digitize and transform public administration using innovative technologies such as blockchain, long time age – it wants to ameliorate the transparency and the quality of public services being provided to its nationals. 

Regarding the e-procurement area, it is clearly highlighted that the digitalization of the procurement practices of products and services of PA from the publication of calls to payment is among the drivers of the Italian policies and the answer for the increasing complexity of the administrative procedures could come from the new technological resources. 

Calibrating e-Procurement 

Blockchain and artificial intelligence will be useful in the evaluation phase of the Plan, especially where there is a need for quality assessment and measurement methods which give an assurance of objectivity and reliability. 

Nevertheless, beyond what is contained in the Plan, it seems appropriate to make some considerations. For instance, how the use of tools like artificial intelligence, e-procurement, blockchain technology and smart contract, must be calibrated according to the different phases of public evidence. 

The Plan also focuses on introducing and spreading digital culture in order to reinforce the managerial and digital skills involved in the public administrations by providing awareness-raising and various training initiatives. 

The Significance of Blockchain and Industry 4.0 in Italy 

Consequently, it is very important to structure an appropriate detailed regulatory framework and provide for an "approach path" that envisages the physiological times of "metabolization and absorption" of the innovations and an achievement of satisfactory and updated skills for the accurate use of the new digital tools. 

Generally, Italy seeks to gradually transform the strategy into concrete actions, exploiting the opportunities provided by digitalization to do more and better with smaller, better organized and qualified resources. 

The country is also boosting its innovations including smart contract, Bitcoin, cryptocurrency, distributed ledger technology, internet of things (IoT), using various multiple ways. For instance, it started using blockchain technology in Industry 4.0 pilot plant, a mega project aiming at introducing digital innovation and big data directly into mechatronic industry. Furthermore, the government is heavily investing in the human capital to make the Industry 4.0 and blockchain technology reach to fruition.

Source text:  https://it.coinidol.com/pubblico-usando-blockchain/