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Purpose. The dote system is the most recent and only way to finance and deliver services in the training and labour policy field in Lombardy (Italy), strengthening the regional quasi-market approach. This article analyses its logic and highlights the implications for the policy system.\ud Design/methodology/approach. Qualitative case-study including preliminary documentation, analysis of administrative data, in-depth interviews with stakeholders and practitioners.\ud Findings. The dote system is based on a strongly pre-structured and pure performance logic. It predefines forms, ways and steps towards people’s 'autonomy', further categorising the policy system and establishing a combination of individualisation without personalisation. The strict regulation makes it difficult to design accessible, high-quality and tailor-made interventions. Dote could represent an interesting innovation for high profile measures, but as a universal equivalent it often fails to match the needs of people and the labour market.\ud Research limitations/implications (if applicable). The self-funded research is limited to a regional context, analysed against the background of European welfare transformations. Greater effort in qualitative research could improve our knowledge about the implications of NPM and quasi-markets.\ud Practical implications (if applicable). Regional centralism is strengthened; local authorities and private bodies are excluded from planning; freedom of choice is limited. A marriage of convenience between providers and users increases the level of stress and the dispersion of resources.\ud Originality/value. Dote is a particular experiment in the panorama of activation. It works in a unique way, impacting on governance and activation modes. The paper is addressed to researchers, practitioners and policy makers interested in gaining better understanding of the implications of quasi-markets and NPM