This research project employs the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework, augmented by the Network of Adjacent Action Situations (IAD-NAAS), to examine the empirical applications within the territorial contexts of Italian UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The World Heritage List remains the most effective international instrument for the protection of cultural and natural heritage. However, World Heritage Sites frequently display deficiencies and fail to achieve territorial impacts associated with such a prestigious designation. To illustrate, one of the most frequently debated issues pertains to the governance of the site and the active participation of local stakeholders.
The decomposition of the complex management of the sites into constituent elements provides an innovative perspective through which to represent the problematic dynamics of WHL implementation. The research identifies the IAD framework as an effective interpretative instrument of the conditions that influence the rules within the governance of sites. Furthermore, the framework is enhanced by the Network of Adjacent Action Situations (NAAS), which acknowledges that the observed Action Situations are frequently interconnected and interdependent. Consequently, it is essential to analyse not only their individual components but also the relationships that characterise them. The introduction of the IAD-NAAS also includes the division of AS according to governance tasks, thus enabling this tool to represent common property administration situations within the territorial context.
The study begins from these premises to systematically apply the IAD-NAAS to European UNESCO sites, particularly those in Italy, with the aim of clarifying polycentric governance dynamics and identifying potential development paths that would enhance the impact of heritage on the territory. A cross-analysis of data from the Periodic Report, one of the monitoring systems used by UNESCO, is being conducted with the objective of constructing an analytical model representing the governance dynamics of the sites and the various resources that comprise them. The model will categorise these elements according to the specific governance tasks to which they are relevant and link them to the factors that impact the site. The findings will subsequently inform an innovative representation of the roles and resources associated with cultural heritage.
