Caglie o, Robe o e al.
A icle
A pa icipa i e me hodology o p io i ising in e en ion
logic in he design o he I alian CAP S a egic Plan
I alian Re iew o Ag icul u al Economics (REA)
P o ided in Coope a ion wi h:
Fi enze Uni e si y P ess
Sugges ed Ci a ion: Caglie o, Robe o e al. (2022) : A pa icipa i e me hodology o p io i ising
in e en ion logic in he design o he I alian CAP S a egic Plan, I alian Re iew o Ag icul u al
Economics (REA), ISSN 2281-1559, Fi enze Uni e si y P ess, Flo ence, Vol. 77, Iss. 3, pp. 25-40,
h ps://doi.o g/10.36253/ ea-13717
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ISSN 0035-6190 (p in ) | ISSN 2281-1559 (online) | DOI: 10.36253/ ea-13717
REA ITALIAN REVIEW
OF AGRICULTURAL
ECONOMICS
ITALIAN REVIEW
OF AGRICULTURAL
ECONOMICS
Ci a ion: Robe o Caglie o, Giampie o
Mazzocchi, Alessand o Mon eleone,
Fabio Pie angeli, Pie o Manzoni di
Chiosca, Elio Romano (2022) A pa icipa-
i e me hodology o p io i ising in e -
en ion logic in he design o he I al-
ian CAP S a egic Plan. I alian Re iew
o Ag icul u al Economics 77(3): 25-40.
DOI: 10.36253/ ea-13717
Recei ed: June 13, 2022
Re ised: Oc obe 11, 2022
Accep ed: Oc obe 11, 2022
Copy igh : © 2022 Robe o Caglie o,
Giampie o Mazzocchi, Alessand o
Mon eleone, Fabio Pie angeli, Pie o
Manzoni di Chiosca, Elio Romano.
This is an open access, pee - e iewed
a icle published by Fi enze Uni e -
si y P ess (h p://www. up ess.com/ ea)
and dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he
C ea i e Commons A ibu ion License,
which pe mi s un es ic ed use, dis i-
bu ion, and ep oduc ion in any medi-
um, p o ided he o iginal au ho and
sou ce a e c edi ed.
Da a A ailabili y S a emen : All el-
e an da a a e wi hin he pape and i s
Suppo ing In o ma ion iles.
Compe ing In e es s: The Au ho (s)
decla e(s) no con lic o in e es .
Resea ch a icle
A pa icipa i e me hodology o p io i ising
in e en ion logic in he design o he I alian
CAP S a egic Plan
Robe o Caglie o1,*, Giampie o Mazzocchi1, Alessand o Mon eleone,
Fabio Pie angeli, Pie o Manzoni di Chiosca, Elio Romano
CREA - Resea ch Cen e o Ag icul u al Policies and Bioeconomy, I aly
*Co esponding au ho . E-mail: obe o.caglie o@c ea.go .i
1The au ho s con ibu ed equally as co- i s au ho s.
Abs ac . The new CAP implemen a ion model equi es each Membe S a e o design
a CAP S a egic Plan (CSP) o deli e ope a ional ac ions unde he wo CAP pilla s.
Each CSP mus be buil om an e idence-based needs assessmen ha unde goes ig-
o ous p io i isa ion o plan comp ehensi e and achie able in e en ions. In I aly, he
ins i u ional con ex equi es all he Regions and Au onomous P o inces o exp ess
hei p e e ences and o discuss he CSP collec i ely, bo h as ega ds iden i ying e -
i o ial needs and hei p io i isa ion. In his amewo k, i became pe inen o in o-
duce a speci ic ins umen o acili a e pa icipa ion in his p ocess. The I alian Minis-
y, in collabo a ion wi h he Na ional Ru al Ne wo k, de eloped a pa icipa o y ou e
o assess he p io i isa ion o he iden i ied needs, o suppo he decision-making
p ocess in CSP d a ing p ocess. The p ocess is p ima ily based on a o ing agg ega-
ion echnique called he Cons ained Cumula i e Vo ing me hod. The p ocess iden i-
ied makes i possible, on he one hand, o o mula e a sha ed consensus on he le el
o impo ance o each need; on he o he one, ia he de ini ion o na u al b eaks, o
de e mine homogeneous g oups o needs by impo ance o in e en ion. This p ocess
is in line wi h he Eu opean Commission’s legisla i e p oposals equi ing a sound and
well- ounded logic o in e en ion.
Keywo ds: CAP, CSP, needs, p io i isa ion, go e nance a angemen s.
JEL codes: Q18, O21, D7.
HIGHLIGHTS
• The p ocess o de ine he CAP S a egic Plans o 2023-2027 equi es
Membe S a es o iden i y e i o ial needs in a e y pa icipa o y way.
• The Na ional Ru al Ne wo k p oposed a well-s uc u ed, comp ehensi e
and highly pa icipa o y p io i isa ion ou e, based on he Cons ained
Cumula i e Vo ing me hod.
• The esul s o he p io i isa ion p ocess we e collec i ely discussed, e al-
ua ed and emended, and a inal lis o he p io i y le els was de ined
wi h a clea le el o pola isa ion.
26 Robe o Caglie o, Giampie o Mazzocchi, Alessand o Mon eleone, Fabio Pie angeli, Pie o Manzoni di Chiosca, Elio Romano
1. INTRODUCTION
The implemen a ion o he Common Ag icul u al
Policy (CAP) is s uc u ed a ound a New Deli e y Model
based on he CAP S a egic Plans (CSP), de eloped by EU
Membe S a es (MS). As s a ed in he new egula ions,
each MS mus design a single plan ollowing 9 speci ied
objec i es (Fai Income; Compe i i eness; Food Value
Chain; Clima e Change; En i onmen al Ca e; Land-
scapes; Gene a ional Renewal; Ru al A eas; Food Heal h),
om h ee Gene al Objec i es (economic, en i onmen-
al, and social) (GO), plus one c oss-cu ing objec i e on
knowledge and inno a ion (AKIS) ( eg. (EU) 2021/2115,
a . 6). The CSP is in ended o o e MSs g ea e manoeu-
abili y o espond o hei speci ic e i o ial needs and
con ex s; some expe s (Ca ey 2019, Ma hews, 2021,
Caglie o e al., 2021) sugges ha his is he mos c ucial
elemen con ained in he new CAP egula ions adop ed
in Decembe 2021. The ans e o ele an esponsibil-
i y o MSs allows hem o design hei own s a egies o
add ess speci ic na ional challenges, while s ill complying
wi h objec i es de ined on an EU le el.
This challenge equi es he es ablishmen o a con-
sis en in e en ion logic, de ined in he Eu opean Com-
mission’s Be e Regula ion Guidelines as « he logical
link be ween he p oblem ha needs o be ackled (o
he objec i e ha needs o be pu sued), he unde lying
d i e s o he p oblem, and he a ailable policy op ions
(o he EU ac ions ac ually aken) o add ess he p oblem
o achie e he objec i e». I in ol es implemen ing a e y
obus p ocess when i comes o designing he CSP: (i)
diagnos ic and con ex analysis, (ii) SWOT analysis and
e i o ial needs assessmen , (iii) p io i isa ion o needs,
and (i ) he es ablishmen o a s a egy o in eg a e in e -
en ions and he se o a ge s (Ca ey, 2019). All he s eps
mus be adequa ely de ined using clea and anspa en
me hods and he use o pa icipa o y app oaches is ec-
ommended (Ma hews, 2021; E ja ec e al., 2018).
The in oduc ion o a single plan ep esen s a pa -
icula ly signi ican challenge in coun ies whe e ag i-
cul u al issues a e decen alised o egional au ho i ies.
Indeed, se e al Membe S a es cons i u ionally delega e
hei compe encies o e ag icul u e and u al de el-
opmen o subna ional en i ies; in I aly, o example,
he Regions and Au onomous P o inces (RAPs) hold
se e al, undamen al compe encies in ag icul u e and
u al de elopmen . In he 2014-2022 planning pe iod,
he implemen a ion o u al de elopmen s a egies, i.e.
he second pilla o he CAP, was s uc u ed as ollows:
22 Ru al De elopmen Plans (RDPs) – one co e ing
he na ional le el and 21 egional o p o incial – and a
Ru al Ne wo k Plan.
The I alian ou e o de ine an in e en ion s a egy
began in 2019, when he Minis y o Ag icul u e, Food
and Fo es y Policies (MIPAAF) launched a join p ocess
wi h he RAPs. The aim was o assess con ex analysis
as a diagnos ic phase, wi h he echnical suppo o he
Na ional Ru al Ne wo k (NRN). Ten Policy B ie s ela -
ed o he 9 EU-speci ic objec i es and he AKIS objec-
i e we e d a ed and discussed in a ious echnical
mee ings wi h he RAPs.1 Consul a ion wi h economic
and social pa ne s and ci il socie y s akeholde s was
also ini ia ed in his phase. The consequen elabo a ion
o SWOT ma ices aimed o p o ide na a i e syn he-
sis o he Policy B ie s, bu also o be consis en wi h
he expe ience gained du ing he 2014-2022 planning
pe iod. Use ul indica ions o he imp o emen o he
Policy B ie s and SWOT ma ices we e p o ided du ing
he echnical mee ing wi h he Commission’s GeoHub
(Pie angeli, 2020). The iden i ica ion o he i s lis o 50
needs was conduc ed by NRN expe s and discussed, in
se e al ounds, wi h he RAPs (Angeli e al., 2020).2
Based on hese s eps, I aly de eloped a speci ic, high-
ly pa icipa i e p ocess o assigning di e en le els o
p io i y o he iden i ied e i o ial needs, s a ing om
a Cumula i e Vo ing (CV) app oach. Cumula i e Vo -
ing is a simple and anspa en me hod o p io i ising a
lis o i ems and, acco ding o he li e a u e, o e s se e al
ad an ages. I allows o a high a e o pa icipa ion among
s akeholde s and he possibili y o clus e ing esul s, a h-
e han me ely p o iding a lis o p io i y alues. Using
he li e a u e a ailable, NRN expe s de eloped a speci ic
ield- es ed model o he echnique, known as Cons ained
Cumula i e Vo ing (CVV), o add ess he common weak-
nesses o he CV echniques and o cope wi h cons ain s
a ising om he COVID-19 pandemic. In addi ion, o
make he esul s o he o ing p ocess mo e manageable
and e ec i e, hey we e agg ega ed in o p io i y bands,
h ough a clus e ing p ocedu e (Jenks op imisa ion).
The esul s o he applica ion o CCV we e e y
posi i e and i was able o pola ise he p io i y o needs
as expec ed. These esul s we e compa ed wi h he ou -
comes o a consul a ion phase wi h he s akeholde s
(Pa ne ship). This compa ison p ocedu e suppo ed and
con i med he ou comes o he applica ion o CVV and
made i possible o de ine he inal amewo k o he
p io i y bands o e i o ial needs ha could subsequen -
ly be applied o he u u e CSP in I aly.
This pa icipa i e app oach is pa icula ly unique
because i also in ol ed he RAPs and he Pa ne ship
1 h ps://www. e e u ale.i /PAC_2023_27/PolicyB ie
2 h ps://www. e e u ale.i / lex/cm/pages/Se eA achmen .
php/L/IT/D/a%252F1%252F9%252FD.6c3376 87c 067a519 9/P/
BLOB%3AID%3D23075/E/pd
27
A pa icipa i e me hodology o p io i ising in e en ion logic in he design o he I alian CAP S a egic Plan
in he p io i isa ion p ocess, while o he egionalised
Membe S a es ha e p edominan ly used desk esea ch
echniques, applying mul i-c i e ia me hodologies. Fo
his eason, he aim o he a icle is o desc ibe he p o-
cess and discuss he ou comes o he needs p io i isa ion
phase in I aly.
2. THE PARTICIPATORY ROUTE TO PRIORITISING
CSP NEEDS IN ITALY
Since 2019, he I alian Minis y has been de eloping
an app oach ha would cohe en ly combine CSP in e -
en ion logic wi h EU indica ions, in line wi h he ou
s eps men ioned abo e: (i) con ex analysis, (ii) SWOT
analysis and e i o ial needs assessmen , (iii) p io i i-
sa ion o needs, and (i ) he es ablishmen o he CSP
s a egy. O he egionalised Membe S a es, such as
Spain, Po ugal and F ance, ollowed a simila pa h: hey
used a pa icipa i e app oach up o he needs assess-
men s ep, while o needs p io i isa ion, hey used desk
esea ch app oaches, o en buil on mul ic i e ia analy-
ses, o de ine p io i y bands.3 In compliance wi h he
Eu opean Code o Conduc o Pa ne ships (Commis-
sion Delega ed Regula ion (EU) 240/2014), I aly op ed o
main ain a highly pa icipa i e app oach in he p io i i-
sa ion s ep. The Minis y ini ia ed a pa icula ly unique
app oach, made up o a ious phases o c ea e wha is
called he needs p io i isa ion ou e. A hema ic wo king
g oup, comp ised o NRN analys s, iden i ied he i e a-
i e p ocess suppo ing he MIPAAF, he RAPs and he
s akeholde s in exp essing a sha ed assessmen o he
p io i isa ion o he a ious i ems iden i ied in he diag-
nos ic p ocess. The p ocess is in ended o in ol e and
allow o eedback om s akeholde s h ough a ious
mechanisms, ensu ing he in ol emen o a b oad pa -
ne ship and he ac i e pa icipa ion o ac o s wi h man-
da es on ag icul u e.
The p io i isa ion ou e was composed o h ee
phases (Fig. 1): he i s (Phase A), in ol ed he I al-
ian RAPs o de ine needs and p io i y le els based on
a pa icipa o y cumula i e o ing app oach; he second
3 In Spain and Po ugal, e i o ial needs a e classi ied using a code sys-
em (+++; ++; +), while in F ance, hey use “PSN indispensable; PSN
u ile; PSN pas indispensable”.
Fig. 1. The Rou e o Valida e he Needs and P io i ies Assessed in I aly, by he Main Phases.
28 Robe o Caglie o, Giampie o Mazzocchi, Alessand o Mon eleone, Fabio Pie angeli, Pie o Manzoni di Chiosca, Elio Romano
(Phase B), in ol ed he Pa ne ship o CAP 2023-2027,
wi h he aim o consul ing pa ne s and e ining he
pic u e eme ged om Phase A; he hi d (Phase C), p o-
ided he inal de ini ion o he p io i y le els o each
o he needs iden i ied, by compa ing and me ging he
esul s ob ained om phases A and B.
Phase A: The Technical Feedback om he RAPs
The i s phase o he p io i isa ion p ocess was
ocused on he echnical exe cise ca ied ou wi h he
RAPs, s imula ing a collec i e discussion o de ine and
sha e he di e en le els o impo ance o he 50 needs
iden i ied om he con ex analysis, speci ied o each
al ime ic a ea (plain, hill and moun ain).
In a wo-s age selec ion p ocess wi h eedback
adjus men (Tang e al., 2020), RAPs we e called o
exp ess he deg ee o p io i y o he common needs in a
cons ained o ing amewo k ha led o he i s lis o
p io i ised needs. The o ing mechanism allowed sim-
plici y o applica ion, lexibili y and emo e manageabil-
i y. This aspec was pa icula ly impo an , as he CAP
planning phase ook place du ing he pe iod in which he
es ic ions on a el and in-pe son mee ings due o he
COVID-19 pandemic we e pa icula ly s ic (Caglie o e
al., 2021). The esul o his s ep was he collec ion o p i-
o i y indica ions in ca dinal e ms by he pa icipan s.
Nex , we p oceeded o agg ega e he indi idual
indica ions ga he ed. To a oid igid, ine ec i e ca -
dinal anking, while a ou ing a usable indica ion o
p io i ies, we p o ided a p io i y bands scheme es i-
u ion o he o e all agg ega ed ma ix. Since i is c u-
cial o ob ain «clea b eak poin s ha show which a e
he ob ious high-p io i y i ems» (Dennison, 2000), we
ans o med he nume ical indica ions o each need
in o quali a i e le els o bands, ia he Jenks na u al
b eaks classi ica ion me hod. The Jenks op imisa ion is
a common classi ica ion echnique based on a K-means
app oach o de ine he minimum dis ance be ween da a
and he cen e o a class, as well as he maximum dis-
ance be ween class cen es (Mac Ca on e al., 2016;
Khan, 2012). This means educing he a iance wi hin
e e y band and i maximises he a iance be ween he
bands. By ex ension, in his s udy, we se a p io i ou
bands o subdi ide he e i o ial needs and we applied
he Jenks op imisa ion wi h an R® so wa e ou ine by
al ime y. The quali ica ions o he di e en p io i y
bands ha e been se as ollows (Mazzocchi e al, 2021):
• S a egic: hese p io i ies lie a he hea o he s a -
egy and should in ol e bo h speci ic ac ions and
comp ehensi e app oaches ha also syne gis ically
add ess o he needs;
• Quali ying: hese p io i ies e e o enabling a eas
o in e en ion o make e ec i e esponses o o he
needs, in pa icula , s a egic needs;
• Complemen a y: heses p io i ies e e o sphe es o
in e en ion ha syne gis ically complemen s a-
egic needs; hey a e no echnically less ele an ,
me ely mo e speci ic, o an enabling na u e;
• Speci ic: o inc ease he e ec i eness o he p ocess,
bu wi h speci ic ele ance o he S a egic Plan.
Once he i s d a o he na ional ma ix was
de ined, he eedback s age was conduc ed o educe o
elimina e inconsis ency o dissa is ac ion o indi idual
pa icipan s wi h he o e all g ade. The measu emen
o consensus can be ead as he de ia ion be ween he
indi idual and he collec i e p e e ence ma ix and,
despi e he ac ha decision-make s do no o en eas-
ily accep a eedback mechanism, any con en ious issues
mus be clea ly iden i ied and add essed (Wu e al., 2018;
Gu e al., 2021). The RAPs we e hen called o discuss
he o e all es ima ed pic u e and hey could con i m o
p opose a change in he p io i y le els alloca ed in he
agg ega i e p ocess conduc ed by NRN expe s.
This eedback mechanism is based on a colou -
coded o ing sys em (Gibbons, 2019; Dennison, 2000),
simila o a a ic ligh . The RAPs we e asked o e iew
each need and gi en he op ion o indica e i hey ag eed
wi h i s alloca ed p io i y band o belie ed i should
be e ised, using a sys em o colou ed do s: GREEN =
inc ease o he nex p io i y le el; WHITE = he le el
is co ec ; RED = educe p io i y by one le el. This s ep
was conduc ed by applying a c i e ion o consis ency in
he obse a ions and p oposals. A change in p io i y
le els was accep ed when he p oposed change was su -
icien ly ep esen ed in he o e all ally o o es bo h in
e ms o numbe o o es and he di ec ion (up o down
by one le el) o he change. In p ac ice, his mean ha
a leas one- hi d o he pa icipan s had eques ed an
amendmen o he p io i y assigned o a pa icula need
and wi h a simila indica ion in he change o p io i y
band (ei he inc easing o dec easing).
Phase B: The Consul a i e Phase wi h he Pa ne ship
F om he ou se , he MIPAAF ini ia ed an open and
collabo a i e discussion wi h he ep esen a i es o he
compe en ins i u ions and en i onmen al and socio-
economic sec o s, in line wi h eg. (EU) 240/2014. The
Minis y has se up a speci ic Pa ne ship, composed o
ep esen a i es o he s akeholde s (public au ho i ies,
economic, en i onmen al, and social ac o s). The Pa -
ne ship was asked o exp ess i s assessmen o he p io -

29
A pa icipa i e me hodology o p io i ising in e en ion logic in he design o he I alian CAP S a egic Plan
i y le els o he needs by al i ude (plain, hill, moun ain).4
The pa icipan s we e asked o ill ou an online ques-
ionnai e h ough which hey could assign he possible
p io i y le els o he 50 p io i ies. They we e gi en he
op ion o include quali a i e commen s in a sepa a e sec-
ion; his quali a i e in o ma ion mainly conce ned spe-
ci ic e i o ial aspec s and was o ganised by heme. All
eedback was p ocessed by he NRN expe s, o iden i y
he le el o p io i isa ion as exp essed by he Pa ne ship
o each need by al ime ic a ea, unde he ou labels
used by he RAPs (S a egic; Quali ying; Complemen-
a y; Speci ic). The mos c i ical issue was he de e mi-
na ion o an unambiguous le el o p io i ies, while he
indica ions ga he ed we e in se e al cases disco dan o
no su icien ly pola ised. The agg ega ion mechanism
s a ed om he modal alue o he o es. The a ibu-
ion in a p io i y band was se as ollows: (i) a leas 3/4
o he o es indica es he same p io i y le el, (ii) i wo
o es ep esen oge he a leas 2/3 o he ally o es, we
a ibu ed he p io i y le el mos o ed be ween hem.
Phase C: Recomposi ion o he P io i isa ion Indica ions
The inal phase was o colla e he indica ions de i -
ing om he wo s ages desc ibed abo e. NRN esea ch-
e s c osschecked and compa ed he le els a ibu ed by
he RAPs, de i ing om he CVV applica ion, and hose
ha eme ged om he Pa ne ship’s indica ions, o ali-
da e he RAPs p io i y bands and compile an o e all
assessmen .
As al eady desc ibed, he app oach was p ima ily
o main ain he a ibu ion esul ing om he echni-
cal pa h in Phase A. In his ligh , he RAPs’ indica ions
we e con i med in wo di e en cases: (i) whe e he
s akeholde s’ consul a ion led o a mino di e ence in
o es, i.e., a di e ence o only one p io i y band le el, (ii)
whe e s akeholde consul a ion did no indica e a uni o-
cal assessmen . On he o he hand, whe e he e was e i-
den disco dance, a e ision o he p io i y band – limi -
ed o one le el – was p oposed and discussed again wi h
he RAPs; e.g., i a S a egic band was indica ed by he
RAPs, bu he Pa ne ship assigned he Complemen a y
band, we p oposed he inal Quali ying le el.
Du ing he discussion in Phase C, modi ying he
desc ip ion and he labelling o ce ain needs was aken
in o conside a ion, bu only in a e y limi ed way, less
han i e needs. Following his, based on he discussion
held and he elemen s collec ed, NRN expe s we e able
o d aw up a conclusi e lis o inal needs and he ela-
i e p io i y le els by GO and al i ude.
4 h ps://www. e e u ale.i /PAC_2023_27/Ta olodiPa ena ia o
3. THE CONSTRAINED CUMULATIVE VOTING
TECHNIQUE: A THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
P io i isa ion P ocesses h ough Pa icipa o y App oaches:
he Cumula i e Vo ing Technique
The key challenge o using pa icipa o y app oach-
es in p io i isa ion p ocesses is o ind a sui able way
o de i ing a collec i e p e e ence ec o om indi-
idual choices and o eaching a consensus (Tang e al.,
2020). Consensus-building p ocesses among di e en
s akeholde s ep esen ing di e en economic, social,
en i onmen al in e es s and cul u al alues ypically
in ol e o ing p ocedu es by which o in e collec i e
choice om indi idual p e e ences (Ma ca o, 2021).
App oaches based on p io i ised decision-making do
no esul in a single chosen al e na i e, since hey p o-
duce a lis o op ions anked om mos o leas impo -
an , whe e he anking ep esen s he p e e ences o
an indi idual ela i e o o he a ailable op ions. Mo e
o mal p io i isa ion p ocesses a e ypically associa ed
wi h wo king g oups (“g oup p io i isa ion”), whe e
mul iple p io i ies om a ious indi iduals mus be
combined in o a single p io i y lis , as is equi ed o
he CSP. Caglie o e al. (2021) explo ed he main p i-
o i isa ion axonomies, as shown in Table 1, and high-
ligh ed he ad an ages and weaknesses o adop ing a
Cumula i e Vo ing echnique (Tab. 2).
CV is a simple and anspa en me hod o p io i ise
a lis o i ems. Each pa icipan is gi en he same num-
be o o es/poin s/do s o be alloca ed among a gi en
numbe o op ions unde going p io i isa ion (Ves ola,
2010): he mo e poin s you gi e an op ion, he mo e i s
ele ance in e ms o p io i y inc eases. CV is gene ally
conside ed an app op ia e me hod o conduc ing p i-
o i isa ion sessions, including hose in ol ing mul iple
s akeholde s (Tu ail e al., 2019). I is easy o use and i
allows o ing wi h ine-g ained in o ma ion on o e
p e e ence in ensi y. The main bene i is CV’s abili y o
handle many i ems wi h many pa icipan s.
Howe e , he e a e some ca ea s wo h men ion-
ing. Used in a e y basic o m, CV p esen s some limi s
linked o ac ical o ing and is suscep ible o “sh ewd
ac ics” (Ves ola, 2010), as indica ed in Table 2. Fo
example, i a s akeholde expec s o he s o sp ead hei
poin s among many i ems, hen s/he may assign all
he /his poin s o one speci ic i em in o de o ele a e i s
ele ance on he agg ega e p io i y lis (called plump-
ing). Al hough mee ing ace- o- ace is use ul o s imu-
la ing discussion, he p ac ice o in-pe son CV en ails
ce ain isks, such as au ho i y bias o HiPPO e ec s
(i.e. pa icipan s assign a highe p io i y ollowing he
mos in luen ial g oup membe ), o bandwagon e ec s,
30 Robe o Caglie o, Giampie o Mazzocchi, Alessand o Mon eleone, Fabio Pie angeli, Pie o Manzoni di Chiosca, Elio Romano
whe e pa icipan s o ing la e a e mo e inclined o
o e o an al e na i e ha had been p e iously o ed
o by o he s (Asch, 1951; Koha i, e al., 2007; Nadeau
e al., 1993) In addi ion, CV equi es some cogni i e
e o when used o lis s wi h many op ions. Howe e ,
acco ding o some au ho s (Skow on e al., 2021; Maz-
zocchi e al., 2021), he gains in exp essi eness ou -
weigh he cogni i e bu den and he well-known and
a o emen ioned disad an ages.
Tab. 1. The Main Taxonomies o P io i isa ion Me hods wi h a Pa icipa o y App oach.
Scale Examples Complexi y Ease o use Accu acy S a is ics
Nominal scale Top 10 Ve y easy Yes Yes Mode and chi-squa e
MoSCoW Easy Yes No
O dinal scale
Nume ical assignmen Easy Yes Yes
Median and pe cen ile
Ranking Easy N/A N/A
Game Planning Easy Yes Yes
Wiege ’s Me hod (WM) Complex Yes Yes
In e al scale Requi emen Unce ain y P io i isa ion
App oach (RUPA) Complex N/A N/A Mean, s . de ., co ela ion,
eg ession, a iance
Ra io scale
Value-o ien ed p io i isa ion Complex Yes Yes
All o ms
Analy ic Hie a chy P ocess (AHP) Ve y Complex Yes Yes
Cos - alue anking Easy Yes No
Cumula i e Vo ing (CV; 100$) Complex Yes Yes
Sou ce: Caglie o e al., 2021.
Tab. 2. The Main Aspec s o he Cumula i e Vo ing Technique.
S eng hs Weaknesses/ h ea s
I is a quick and easy way o p io i ise a long lis o op ions. Too many op ions can be o e whelming (o e choice) and unde mine
he pola isa ion o indica ions.
I equi es a clea choice o be made and does no in ol e ague o
unin o med beha iou . I is no possible o add new op ions once he p ocess has s a ed.
I allows pa icipan s o exp ess a p e e ence o mo e han one
op ion a he same ime. Simila o ela ed op ions a e penalised ( o e spli ing).
I c ea es a sense o commi men and allows pa icipan s o be ac i e
in he decision-making p ocess. Pa icipan s may adop oppo unis ic a i udes (sh ewd ac ics).
I allows o a cumula i e and simple sys em o analysis o esul s. The e is a isk o bandwagon and HiPPO e ec s (leade s can
in luence he opinions o he g oup)
I has se e al possibili ies o adap a ion (sub-g oups, di e en
ounds, use o mone a y alues, ...).
I may no be possible o highligh whe he an ou come ep esen s a
b oad consensus o no ; because o excessi e dispe sion o oo much
ocus on o es.
Main Applica ion Fields A en ion Poin s/Cus omisa ions
I is pa icula ly use ul o eaching a collec i e consensus wi h a la ge
g oup o pa icipan s and a high isk o disag eemen .
I is sui able o ocusing he discussion on a subse o al e na i es
wi hin a e y b oad se .
I is pa icula ly use ul o choosing be ween se e al po en ial
op ions.
I is necessa y in o de o each a g oup decision wi hin an accep able
ime ame (po en ially as sho as possible).
I is pa icula ly use ul o na owing down a policy design. I is necessa y in o de o a ou he anonymisa ion o o es and non-
sha ing o pa ial esul s.
I is pa icula ly use ul o classi ying a gumen s o be discussed. I is use ul o andomising he o ing p ocedu e.
I is pa icula ly use ul o ga he ing in o ma ion o c ea e a p io i y
ma ix.
I is use ul o applying so wa e ools o emo e o ing, ins ead
o ace- o- ace mee ings (in pa icula , as ega ds he COVID-19
pandemic).
Sou ce: Mazzocchi e al., 2021
31
A pa icipa i e me hodology o p io i ising in e en ion logic in he design o he I alian CAP S a egic Plan
Th e P oposal o he Cons ained Cumula i e Vo ing Technique
To o e come he c i ical issues epo ed, Caglie o e
al. (2021) es ed and p oposed a s eng hened e sion, as
compa ed o he basic applica ion o he me hod, called
Cons ained Cumula i e Vo ing. Based on he CSP egu-
la ion equi emen s ( eg. (EU) 2021/2115), he p ocess
aims o be:
• anspa en , bo h in he exp ession o indi idual
p e e ences and he compu a ion o he i nal agg e-
ga ion;
• easy o unde s and and execu e, hus, a oiding being
a bu den;
• so wa e-based, so ha a ious pa icipan s can ake
pa emo ely as/when equi ed;
• lexible enough o be used wi h small, medium
and la ge se s o i ems o be p io i ised and by he
equi ed numbe o pa icipan s;
• able o un i e a i ely, in he case o using mul i-
ple ounds o e i ne e alua ions, as well as limi ing
ime-was ing in he p ocess.
Th e i nal de e mina ion o he o ing model ook
place a e wo ounds o es ing on di e en o mu-
la ions, bo h in e ms o he numbe o o es and he
weigh ed alues o o es, wi h he collabo a ion o NRN
egional expe s. Th e imp o ed model con ains some
upg ades o he s anda d CV echnique: i is so wa e-
based, i coun s non- i xed o es and i enhances he abil-
i y o explain p io i isa ion a iabili y. F om an ope a-
ional poin o iew, he CCV uns on a Mic oso ® Excel®
applica ion and includes i e sp eadshee s, con aining he
needs ela ed o each Gene al Objec i e, plus he AKIS
ans e sal objec i e and a summa y shee con aining an
o e iew o he alues alloca ed o each need.
We p oposed a speci i c o ing o ma , including di -
e en weigh s o o es o compile indi idual p e e ence
ec o s o hen be agg ega ed in o a collec i e p e e ence
ec o (Tang e al., 2020). Th is o ing shape is cha ac-
e ised by a e y limi ed quan i y o high- alue o es, o
simpli y he p ocess and nudge o e s owa ds he clea
pola isa ion o op ions (Achimugu e al., 2014). Following
Am hein (Am hein, 2019), he de i ni ion o he numbe
o o es was assigned based on he ollowing ela ionship:
𝑁𝑁 = [(𝑇𝑇/2)∗ 𝑇𝑇]
𝑃𝑃
(1)
whe e T is he numbe o issues o opics, in he p esen
analysis he numbe o e i o ial needs, P is he num-
be o pa icipan s and N is he numbe o do s equi ed
o each pe son. Fo he es ing phase, we conside ed 50
needs o be p io i ised and 23 o e s (one pe each o he
22 RPDs and he NRN Plan), hus he numbe o do s
was es ima ed as 50-55 o es o each pa icipan . Th e
o m o he o ing po olio was: 5 do s o alue 10, 7 o
alue 5, 35 o alue 1. Each pa icipan had o dis ibu e
he ull amoun o 50 o es by geog aphical le el, i.e.:
120 poin s o he plains, 120 o he hills, 120 o he
moun ains (Fig. 2).
Once he indi idual le els o p io i isa ion om pa -
icipan s we e ga he ed, i was possible o compose he
o e all na ional pic u e. Th is agg ega ion was ca ied ou
by NRN expe s, a e he single RAPs exp essed hei
indica ions indi idually and sepa a ely, wi hou po en-
ially knowing each o he ’s in en ions as ega ds o ing.
Th e esul ing ma ix comp ises h ee e i o ial agg ega es
(plain, hill and moun ain) and is ela ed o CAP objec i es.
4. MAIN RESULTS FROM THE PRIORITISATION
PHASES
In his sec ion, he esul s om he phase led wi h
RAPs and consul a ion o s akeholde s a e p esen ed.
Fig. 2. Th e i nal shape o he o ing pa e n by numbe and alue (Cons ained Cumula i e Vo ing, CCV).
32 Robe o Caglie o, Giampie o Mazzocchi, Alessand o Mon eleone, Fabio Pie angeli, Pie o Manzoni di Chiosca, Elio Romano
Fu he mo e, he inal de ini ion o needs p io i isa ion
de i ing om he me ging o he wo ounds is shown.
Phase A: The Indica ions o he RAPs
In Figu e 3, he esul s o he p io i isa ion p ocess
conduc ed wi h RAPs, ia CCV and he Jenks op imi-
sa ion me hod, a e p esen ed. S age 1 and S age 2 ep-
esen he wo momen s be o e and a e he discussion
and e iew phase wi h he RAPs in he wo-s age selec-
ion p ocess.
The esul s o S age 1 show he consis en pola isa-
ion o alloca ions, as in ended o be achie ed wi h he
applica ion o he CVV. Ou o he 150 op ions o be
o ed on (50 needs o 3 al ime ic a eas), jus o e one-
en h we e judged o be a he S a egic le el, less han
a i h a he Quali ying le el, almos 40 pe cen a he
Complemen a y le el and he emainde a he Speci ic
12
28
61
49
14
40
59
37
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
S a egic Quali ying Complemen a y Speci ic
S age 1 S age 2
534633
710 11
11
710
20 23 18
15
24 715
18 14 17 10 14
22
3
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Plain
Hill
Moun ain
GO1
GO2
GO3
AKIS
S age 1
S a egic Quali ying Complemen a y Speci ic
545635
11 14 15
15
13 9
3
18
21 20 14
22
8
15
16 11 10 710
20
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Plain
Hill
Moun ain
GO1
GO2
GO3
AKIS
S age 2
S a egic Quali ying Complemen a y Speci ic
Fig. 3. The Ou comes o he Technical Phase wi h RAPs – Phase A ( equency).
39
A pa icipa i e me hodology o p io i ising in e en ion logic in he design o he I alian CAP S a egic Plan
Gene al Objec i e 3: o s eng hen he socio-economic ab ic o u al a eas.
3.1 P omo e en ep eneu ship in u al a eas
Plain S a egic
Hill S a egic
Moun ain S a egic
3.2 Implemen and/o s eng hen he elema ics and digi al in as uc u e
Plain Speci ic
Hill S a egic
Moun ain S a egic
3.3 C ea e and suppo occupa ion and social inclusion in u al a eas
Plain Complemen a y
Hill Quali ying
Moun ain Quali ying
3.4 P omo e inno a ion o sus ainable and ci cula bio-economics
Plain Complemen a y
Hill Complemen a y
Moun ain Complemen a y
3.5 Inc ease he a ac i eness o he e i o ies
Plain Speci ic
Hill Quali ying
Moun ain Quali ying
3.6 Raise he le el o he quali y o li e in u al a eas
Plain Speci ic
Hill Complemen a y
Moun ain Quali ying
3.7 Suppo in eg a ed planning in u al a eas
Plain Complemen a y
Hill Quali ying
Moun ain Quali ying
3.8 Imp o e he planning capaci y and he pa icipa ion o local ac o s
Plain Speci ic
Hill Speci ic
Moun ain Complemen a y
3.9 P omo e ele a ion o he quali y and heal hiness o ag i- ood and o es p oduc ions
Plain Complemen a y
Hill Complemen a y
Moun ain Complemen a y
3.10 P omo e consume knowledge
Plain Complemen a y
Hill Complemen a y
Moun ain Complemen a y
3.11 Rein o ce he links o he sec o wi h he e i o y and he ypes o di ec ela ionship
Plain Speci ic
Hill Speci ic
Moun ain Speci ic
3.12 Fa ou he e olu ion o li es ock ea ing owa ds a mo e sus ainable and e hical model
Plain Quali ying
Hill Quali ying
Moun ain Complemen a y
3.13 Rein o ce he p oduc ion o heal hy and nu i ious oods.
Plain Complemen a y
Hill Complemen a y
Moun ain Complemen a y
3.14 Rein o ce managemen echniques and me hods o ien a ed owa ds he euse o by-p oduc s
Plain Complemen a y
Hill Speci ic
Moun ain Speci ic

40 Robe o Caglie o, Giampie o Mazzocchi, Alessand o Mon eleone, Fabio Pie angeli, Pie o Manzoni di Chiosca, Elio Romano
Ho izon al Objec i e: AKIS
A.1 P omo e coope a ion and in eg a ion be ween he di e en AKIS componen s
Plain Complemen a y
Hill Complemen a y
Moun ain Complemen a y
A.2 P omo e he ga he ing and di usion o in o ma ion adequa e o he companies’ needs
Plain Complemen a y
Hill Complemen a y
Moun ain Complemen a y
A.3 Imp o e he in o ma ion and aining o e
Plain Complemen a y
Hill Complemen a y
Moun ain Complemen a y
A.4 P omo e aining and he consul a ion sys em (public and p i a e)
Plain Complemen a y
Hill Complemen a y
Moun ain Complemen a y
A.5 P omo e he use o digi al ins umen s
Plain Complemen a y
Hill Complemen a y
Moun ain Complemen a y
A.6 S imula e he pa icipa ion o companies in he se ing-up o inno a ions
Plain Complemen a y
Hill Complemen a y
Moun ain Complemen a y