Developing local cultural networks: the case of Dante 2021 in Ravenna

In the last decades and especially after the latest financial crisis, scholars are suggesting collaborative processes to address the reduction of public funds, as first discussed by New Public Management literature and later emphasised by Public Governance theories. As cultural activities belong to the wider set of public services, this paper enters the debate on delivering public services. It is aimed at analysing which factors contribute to an effective development of local cultural networks, also considering advantages, criticalities and potential for their future strengthening. Starting from a theoretical analysis, the paper carries out a case study of a local cultural network. The research focuses on the case of Ravenna, a town in northern Italy, and it is based on document analysis and semi-structured interviews. Results indicate that factors as geographic proximity, social relationships, a common cultural background and common values are crucial for the development of local cultural networks, consistently with isomorphism theory.