The Policy Work of Regional Public Managers in Italy: Activities, Relationships, and Analytical Capacity|Il policy work dei dirigenti regionali in Italia: attività, relazioni e capacità analitiche

This article presents the first systematic analysis of the policy work carried out by general regional managers in Italy’s fifteen regions with ordinary status. Building on a national survey, the article explores four interrelated dimensions of executive work: activities, information sources, relationships, and analytical skills. Through two Exploratory Factor Analyses (EFA), three competency profiles (economic, strategic, legal) and three types of activities (administrative direction, advice and evaluation, feasibility study) are identified to construct an inductive typology of ideal-typical executive profiles. The results suggest how feasibility studies are predominantly carried out by executives with legal expertise, advice and evaluation functions predominantly given to staff with economic expertise, while administrative direction functions are more evenly distributed, opening up insights into strengthening the analytical capacity of regional administrations.