Pivotal societal challenges, such as global health crisis and social inequality, do not respect organizational boundaries: they permeate their influence over public and private sector organizations (Bryson et al., 2014). Such challenges push private and public actors to collaborate and innovate to solve the problems (Ansell & Gash, 2007; Bianchi et al., 2021). However, joining forces can die before the collaboration even has started, as constructing satisfying public-private incentive and operating models is complicated. Essentially, combining public and private sector interests and practices is a delicate balancing act that regularly fails, inhibiting collaborative potential (Grossi et al., 2017). Of course, there are also examples of public-private collaborations that seem to have mixed public and private interests in satisfying ways (Rajala et al., 2021).

Questions about satisfying combinations of public and private interests and practices take us to construction of hybridity: a competency of the contemporary public managers. Unfortunately, the competencies of public managers, who function as architects of hybridity, have not been systematically theorized (see Vakkuri et al., 2021; Noordegraaf, 2015; and Grossi and Vakkuri, 2024). Therefore, this study asks how one can theorize the techniques that public managers use to create valuable combinations of public and private sector interests and practices. The techniques used by public managers are here seen as competencies needed in the contemporary management.

Previous studies have demonstrated how hybridity is constructed in goal setting (Rajala, 2020), service production, performance measurement (Vakkuri et al., 2021), governmental reporting (Grossi et al., 2023), public accountability (Rajala et al., 2024), professionalism (Noordegraaf, 2015), stakeholder relationships (Vikstedt and Rajala (2023), and governance of collaboration and networks (Grossi and Vakkuri, 2024) to name few examples. Thus, there is accumulation of evidence showcasing how hybridity is constructed by public managers. This study builds on previous research that addressed the construction of hybridity by testing whether the theoretical model of hybridity in stakeholder engagement, developed by Vikstedt and Rajala (2023), can be applied to theorize the techniques public managers use to create valuable combinations of public and private sector interests and practices. The model of Vikstedt and Rajala (2023) is tested in two phases: in theoretical section, the past studies are reflected through the model to see whether it covers the key techniques used to create valuable combinations of public and private sector interests and practices. In the second phase, same model is taken to field and tested in one Finnish public-private alliance. By scrutinizing interview and document data in the content analysis, this study attempts to confirm which techniques public managers use to construct hybridity in practice.

The results of the qualitative study demonstrate the that the twelve techniques included to the model of Viksted and Rajala (2023) cover many essential ways in which hybridity is constructed. Both the past literature (e.g., Grossi et al., 2023) and the examined case confirmed the results. In addition, the study provides detailed examples how techniques, such as blending (Emerson, 2003), replacing (Campanale et al., 2021), transforming, mixing (Vakkuri et al., 2021), complementing (Jacobides et al. (2006), coupling (Mair et al. (2015), layering (Polzer et al., 2016), balancing (Pirson et al., 2012), compromising (Pache & Santos (2013), competing (Skelcher & Smith, 2015), decoupling (Pache & Santos, 2013) and contradicting (Castellas et al., 2019), are used to construct hybridity in the examined public-private alliance. The conclusions of this research provide a solid ground for academics to start developing more advanced theories about the techniques as competencies required from architects of hybridity, be they public or private managers. Practitioners gain valuable insights and examples on how to build hybridity in a systematic and deliberate manner.

People with disabilities and other societal groups merit to receive a special treatment when they visit public administrations to settle their affair. Nevertheless, it is not always the case that civil servants are adequately trained to be capable to deal with the various disabilities and specifications of each case. In this study we will use qualitative and quantitative study to track the level of awareness of civil servants in the field of service delivery for vulnerable social groups and people with disabilities and attempt to assess the preparedness of civil servants to accommodate and serve at the best level these special categories of public. Propositions will be presented about the relevant skills and capacity of civil servants that should be further cultivated in order to better serve people with disabilities in our modern public administration.

How non-professionalized workers with in-between working positions construct and legitimize their role identity and which impact do they have on professional work? The present study aims to contribute to the public management and organizational behavior literature that interconnects professionalism (Abbott, 1988; Fournier, 1999; Freidson, 2001; Evetts 2006) and identity work (Snow & Anderson, 1987; Ibarra, 1999; Alvesson & Willmott, 2002; Beech, 2008) with legitimacy (Suchman, 1995; Aldrich & Fiol, 1994; Bitektine & Haack, 2015), investigating how non-professionalized workers with liminal positions (Chreim, 2002; Beech, 2011; Ibarra & Obodardu, 2016), i.e. holding “in-between” work roles across different institutional and organizational domains, develop plausible understandings of their selves and legitimize their role identity (Evetts, 2014; Noordegraaf, 2016).

The paper aims to do so by employing an ethnography research design (Weick, 1985, Ospina and Dodge, 2005; Cappellaro, 2017), relying on non-participant observation and interviews as primary data collection methods, with Community Health Workers (CHWs), i.e. “health care providers who live in the community they serve and receive lower levels of formal education and training than professional health care workers” (WHO, 2020; 10) and health professionals (mainly GPs, nurses, obstetricians, etc.) which CHWs are working with. The empirical context is offered by the public healthcare regional system in the Tuscany region, central Italy, where CHWs are employed as cultural mediators to facilitate access to health and social care services for marginalized (mainly immigrants or non-native) targets of the local population.

Preliminary results illustrate that CHWs "interpret" and craft their role in different ways, mainly according to their previous work experience and individual history, according to the stregth of their relationships with the rest of the local community, whether they are recognized as "leaders" or reference points. Relative to this last element, embeddedness, i.e. the degree to which CHWs and their actions are linked to their social context (Baum & Dutton, 1996; Reay et al., 2006), functions both as a source of trust by the community and thus as a legitimacy factor to do their job, but also as a constraint when sensitivity issues and exposure threats are present. Moreover, healthcare professionals seem to value and legitimate the role of CHWs especially when the latter are able to transfer "uncommon" knowledge or divert cultural stereotypes held by professionals, that could create misuderstandings and even undermine the care process with patients.

In continuation with the recent results found by Golden and Bencherki (2024) on the "liminal" knowledge (both tecnhical and communicative) of CHWs, the present study underlines the importance of inculding cultural mediation competences in the range of skills necessary to professionalized public services, especially to reach marginalized targets and help them translating their needs.

Our study examines the crucial role of managerial skills in public administration, particularly focusing on perceptions and satisfaction with its functioning. We explore the dynamics of trust in public institutions, the quality of public administration—encompassing ethics, transparency, responsiveness, and professionalism—and their impact on civic engagement, especially among minority groups at the local level.

Grounded in social justice theory and power relations, our model highlights the relationships between these factors, emphasizing the moderating effects of ethnicity and education. Using survey data from Israel (2021-2023), our findings reveal that the quality of central government bureaucracy significantly influences local democratic engagement. Community factors, such as ethnicity, notably shape perceptions and trust in public institutions, with the minority Arab population showing more positive perceptions than the majority Jewish population. Additionally, trust is more vital for civic engagement among less educated individuals.

Our research contributes to the field by elucidating the essential competencies public administrators need to manage democratic governance complexities. This study is relevant to global discussions on political change, democratic values, and effective governance during crises. Data from the NAPPA-IL project, collected during Israel's polycrisis from 2021 to 2023, underscores the significant impact of managerial quality on civic engagement and highlights the critical role of trust in public institutions, especially among minority communities.