Abstract :
This paper takes into consideration the existing links between local, economic development and the communications potential embedded in civic networks and local information systems. Through a thorough empirical survey of services (comprising administrative and social care services, possibility of access, IT literacy, discussion forums and equality of access) set up in Italy, and carried out using qualitative and quantitative methods, civic networks have been analysed as a way of improving administrative services and public communication and also as an opportunity to create new forms of communication between citizens, administration, economic actors and non-profit associations. What is highlighted here is how the confrontation and cooperation of social interests may not only improve the potential of local government, but also promote a process of socialization which could lead to the revitalization of declining civil and political participation. In particular, my analysis concerns the experiences of three Italian regions (Piedmont, Emilia Romagna and Lombardy) which offer different models of economic, social and political development. Civic networks, here, have evolved along different lines and served different purposes, determined by social and administrative regional environments.
