This paper describes how Marche Regional Administration (MRA) introduced an innovative institutional reform of an Agricultural Knowledge and Information System (AKIS) in central Italy. In order to study the main features of the MRA reform we used a methodological approach based on three steps: (i) first we applied a desk analysis to sketch the main elements of the reform; (ii) we then analyzed farmers' assessment of the institutional change by using information derived from a field survey on a sample of beneficiaries, and (iii) using a focus group technique. We found that MRA reform introduced an institutional innovation in the domain of public extension services (ES) provision within the Italian context. However, the assessment of the short-term effects indicate that the original objectives of the reform have been only partially achieved. This is in line with other experiences presented in the literature and confirms the difficulties to introduce institutional innovation in the domain of AKIS. The paper describes the analysis of an institutional reform in the AKIS domain which has been considered a "best practice" within the Italian context. Using an institutional analysis approach the paper provides an original way of looking at a "new" model for organizing public ES. (Contains 7 tables and 4 notes.)