Benchmarking multi-criteria evaluation methodology's application for the definition of benchmarks in a negotiation-type public-private partnership. A case of study: the integrated action programmes of the Lazio Region

The growing scarcity of public financial in Italy, in opposition of the more significant problems of degradation of many urban areas, prompted the Legislature to standardise new processes of settlement transformation based on negotiation–type public–private partnerships (PPPN). However, these standards have not provided for benchmarks referring to the contents of partnerships or assessment procedures aimed at assessing the initiatives undertaken with respect to public utility objectives. This has often led to redevelopment initiatives geared more towards the satisfaction of private rather than public interests. The proposed methodology, structured on the integration of a benchmarking process with multi–criteria evaluation techniques known as benchmarking multi–criteria evaluation (BME) enables the definition of benchmarks through a participatory process of the different stakeholders involved in a PPPN to which the BME is applied. In order to verify the applicability of the proposed procedure, it has been applied to a type of PPPN: the integrated action programmes (PII) in the Lazio Region. The benchmarks can be used by Lazio's administrators both for renewing the planning of the PII concerned and for verifying the quality of the initiatives within the same PPPN process.