Governance in the health-care system is based on participation at different levels: from social participation to institutional participation. The re-interpretation of local governance is an important social stimulus and also the sign of the growing importance of the community welfare. At the same time, the re-interpretation of local governance represents a hallmark of different forms of integration: institutional integration, professional integration and social integration. Downsides and virtues of this system are analyzed and compared under the different regional models, also taking into consideration the national and the European context.

Fosco Foglietta is president of the board of directors for the company CUP2000 and served as General Director for some Health Authorities of the Emilia-Romagna Region for eleven years.
As vice-president of the FIASO, Italian Federation of the Hospitals and Health Authorities, he promoted the bank of best practices. He is Visiting Professor at the Universities of Bologna and Ferrara, professor of the masters of healthcare law at SPISA and healthcare management at CESTAS onlus for the developing countries. He is the author of six books and more than one hundred of articles on scientific journals focused on health planning and management.
Franco Toniolo was regional secretary of the health and social department of the Veneto region and responsible of the main technical secretary of the Commissions of the regional Councillors for Health and Social Welfare within the Italian Conference of the Regions. He was the president of the Agency for the Regional Health Services from 1999 to 2005. He realised numerous international activities for studies, research and teaching and is the author of more than two hundreds of publications, especially on journals. Currently he is director at Veneto Formss (training school for health and social care management) and coordinates the "national network" of the regional schools for health and social care management.