Abstract:

The research in nuclear and sub-nuclear physics, the so called "high energy physics”, has always been one of the major fields of interest of the modern research in physics. The growth in terms of economical and of human resources we have witnessed during the course of many decades is the reflection of an ever increasing complexity of the research field. This growth has been accompanied by a corresponding re-organisation of many modern funding institutions and by new ways of governance.
The governance of the Italian INFN, the “National Institute for Nuclear Physics” will be described in some detail, the points of strength will be underlined and the weak aspects discussed. INFN remains a success story that lasts since 1950, the year it was first founded by a small group of Universities. The INFN situation will be put in the framework of the international research and some comparison with other close institutions will also be shown.