The Impact of COVID-19 on Public/Third-Sector Collaboration in the Italian Context

The extent of the effects produced by the ongoing COVID‐19 pandemic on the collabora‐ tion between public administrations and the third sector is currently unclear. Undoubtedly, as in any other organizations, social enterprises and non‐profit organizations have been severely af‐ fected by the spread of COVID‐19, especially regarding their relationship with the public sector. Based on an analysis of 563 Italian third sector entities (ETSs) that responded to an online survey launched in March 2020, this study aims to explore the current state and extent of the potential change in the collaboration between organizations belonging to the third sector and the Italian public administration system in response to the COVID‐19 emergency. The results have shown that only approximately one‐third of the organizations have been asked to jointly contribute with the public sector to contain the negative effects of the pandemic. In other cases, spontaneous support initiatives have been undertaken to manage the crisis. The findings have also revealed that the COVID‐19 pandemic has affected the internal operating and functioning mechanisms of the or‐ ganizations operating in the third sector. The study concludes with a forecast of the potential ex‐ acerbation of the difficulties currently faced by the third sector and with the provision of future strategic paths to contain the health, social and economic effects of the pandemic.