Changing patterns in the steering of the University in Italy: funding rules and doctoral programmes

The paper aim is to highlight the transformation of the state-university relationships in Italy, because of the introduction of the autonomy-accountability principles for the university government. The focus is on funding rules and procedures and doctoral programmes as examples of changes of the university steering. The analysis is carried out taking into account two different government theories, namely the New Public Management (NPM) and the Network-based governance system (NBG). The work is based both on the literature related to the steering of the Italian Universities, and on the Government’s acts (laws and related official documents). The paper is the first deliverable of the Project “The steering of Universities. A comparative research on the impact of new rules and actors on University governance” – SUN, developed within PRIME - Network of Excellence (VI EU Framework Program).