This article deals with the development of local welfare in Italy and is grounded on a research project focusing on activation as a main feature of change in Italian social policies. Along with decentralization processes, many Italian regions have been acting as policy laboratories, developing and testing very different approaches according to their political attitude. On the one hand this results in a fragmented policy landscape which is difficult to recompose, and, moreover, in growing inequalities in the Italian welfare system. On the other hand, it opens opportunities for experimentation on institutional and organizational structures on a regional scale, creating a variety of practices for research and policy analysis. In the article we first describe the main trends in national social policies, with a specific focus on the dynamics of change referring to activation. We will then focus on a pilot programme which is aiming at the promotion and implementation of innovative practices in health and social care services in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, a region in which there is a significant orientation towards enhancing social citizenship and enforcing the central position of the public actor. We investigate how the dynamics of territorialization and personalization, implied by the programme, trigger specific logics and practices of activation. Finally, referring to this case study, we propose an analytical overview of some relevant issues in the development of 'local active welfare' in Italy.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to present the results of an empirical research examining how local agencies interpret and implement a policy instrument that aims at reorganising fragmented interventions for disabled people employment in Milan. The main aim of this research is to analyse the organisational difficulties and opportunities that this new employment instrument faces and how it changes the courses of action and organisational logics of the local agencies. Design/methodology/approach -This issue is examined through the analysis of the design and implementation phases. The analytical framework used combines two concepts: capability and policy instruments. The empirical research is based on an in-depth empirical investigation. Findings -The paper shows that the Emergo Plan could not transform the way the agencies work: measures are bent and adapted to agencies' organisational routines or to labour market's logics and they do not guarantee adequate social support in order to promote disabled people's capabilities. This has consequences in terms of: chance of projects personalisation; participation and activation of disabled people; and job opportunities.Research limitations/implications -The paper focuses on one specific case study, the Emergo Plan, and the recipients were not interviewed. Further research is needed in order to assess the discussed issues at a more theoretical level and consider the beneficiaries' voices. Originality/value -The paper presents some indications about the relation between public administration and local agencies and its implications and consequences in terms of organisational arrangements for public policies and related services.

This chapter introduces the nine case studies, the common question framework used and the different methodologies adopted. The aim of the case studies is to examine the tran of disadvantaged young people from compulsory school to further education, from education/vocational training to the labour market and from being unemployed/sitions outside the labour market into employment. They also look at examples of education and employability programmes that may support young people in these transitions in order help us understand the trajectories from school to work from a capability approach.Additional co-authors: Bettina Haidinger, Ruth Kasper, Jan Düker, Thomas Ley, Gunilla Bergströ