Ricerca valutativa e Case study research. Una valutazione dell’infrastrutturazione sociale nel caso di Palermo

The Case Study Research on the territory of Palermo has allowed to identify “constellations of circumstances that work” (Tendler, 1992) beyond the territorial boundaries initially indicated by the client. The case study highlighted how a new model of collaboration between profit, non-profit and public was developed in the Ballarò district, which was reported by several interviewees as an example of success. Involving local actors in the discovery of what worked, has brought to the fore the mechanisms that (interacting with particular contextual factors) have contributed to increase the infrastructures and consequently the social cohesion in the territory. The case study within a theory- oriented evaluation, not centered on the relationship between means and ends, allowed us to observe the complexity of the causal relationships that have been activated in the context and to identify strategies of action, elaborated on the experience of the actors. premises, which otherwise would have gone unnoticed in the eyes of the client.