Following the pandemic, investments in theconstruction sector are destined to reach exceptionallevels, with noteworthy effects on economicproduction, all while providing a very real opportunityto carry out projects that could resolve a good many ofthe critical problems currently affecting the towns, citiesand surrounding territory of Italy: problems such asaccessibility, the distribution of public resources andservices, and seismic and hydrogeological safety;foremost among these are problems plaguing structuralfunctions, as well as the lack of social and economicintegration in outlying urban areas. And yet there is arisk that pursuit of these objectives could be seriouslyhampered by distressing levels of inefficiency in theoverall organisation of the processes of intervention, aswell as the unwarranted influence of special interests,including, in some cases, infiltration by organised crime.The resulting situation presents an unacceptable ratioof resources allocated to the quality of results. Thispaper illustrates why significantly different forms ofgovernance should be adopted, together with a totallynew, innovative approach to organising the processesof intervention. A reference found to be especially useful in formulatingthe considerations developed in the paper was a criticalanalysis of the results - ultimately judged to be positive- of the project to replace the Morandi Bridge in Genoa,though mention was also made of the factors thatrender a generalised application of this example tofuture investments unfeasible. Instead we have focussed on certain aspects that, as wesee it, may prove useful in arriving at a new approach tomanaging project programs: first of all, theestablishment, at the heart of any project, and especiallythose that are particularly demanding in terms of sizeand/or quality, of a strong management function that,being in possession of all the necessary powers andknow-how, is responsible for successful performance ofthe work, meaning proper use of the availableresources, compliance with deadlines and pursuit of allthe objectives and standards of performance that gaverise to investment in the first place. To this end, planningquality is held to be of the utmost importance, and soplanning decisions should be supported by effectiveevaluation procedures. And such procedures, the paperargues, prove all the more effective when they supportfor each and every one of the phases of decision-making involved in planning, covering governance ofthe entire process, up to and including the actualexecution of the project.AbstractYou delight in laying down laws, Yet you delight more in breaking them.Like children playing by the ocean who build sand-towerswith constancy and then destroy them with laughter...... But while you build your sand-towers the ocean brings more sand to the shore.From The ProphetKhalil Gibran
