Abstract

This article explores a policy initiative launched in 2020 by the municipality of Santo Stefano di Sessanio aimed at incentivizing the arrival of residents and the establishment of new business activities in the village. Despite the great interest, eventually the policy was not implemented. The aim of the article is to analyze the factors that have hampered the implementation phase, and to extract comparative considerations from the case study that can be useful for territories experiencing the same territorial conditions. The article draws on existing literature and on interviews carried out in Santo Stefano with the mayor, members of the municipal council and other residents. Keywords: policy innovation, cohesion policy, marginalization