Public administration, competitiveness and sustainable development. Proceedings of the National conference (Trento, 23-24 May 2

Upon its return to normal full-time operations this past decade, the Italian Section of the IIAS has engaged in carrying out an ambitious programme of initiatives on themes in the field of administrative law and the administrative sciences, thus restoring it to a leading role in the Italian legal and institutional community with an interest in such matters. Among them, I recall the study seminars on the administrative reforms in Italy, which became particularly important beginning in 1990; comparative law research on the administrative reforms in other European countries; the series of publications published in collaboration with the School of Administrative Sciences of the University of Bologna; and the active collaboration with other countries and National Sections of the Institute, in particular with Spain. It was in part thanks to these initiatives that the IIAS decided to hold the first regional international conference in Bologna in 2000; the resulting work – which had the full support of our Section – has enjoyed remarkable success A further advance in terms of initiatives undertaken by the Italian Section is the recent decision to participate in a more incisive way in the annual congresses organised by the Institute. To that end, each year the Section will hold its own national meeting for the purpose of discussing the theme of the following IIAS congress; the national meeting will revolve around a series of introductory reports which will be published in book form, along with the ensuing discussion and general conclusions.