End of Commitment Report – Develop and implement the Contagem Integrity Plan (PIC)
- Action Plan: Action plan – Contagem, Brazil, 2022 – 2024
Overview
Name of Evaluator
Isabella Lígia Moraes
Member Name
Contagem, Brazil
Action PlanAction plans are at the core of a government’s participation in OGP. They are the product of a co-creation process in which government and civil society jointly develop commitments to open governmen... Title
Action plan – Contagem, Brazil, 2022 – 2024
CommitmentOGP commitments are promises for reform co-created by governments and civil society and submitted as part of an action plan. Commitments typically include a description of the problem, concrete action...
Develop and implement the Contagem Integrity Plan (PIC)
Action
The commitment is to develop and standardize the Contagem Integrity Plan (PIC). It is expected to foster a cultural change of transparencyAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, transparency occurs when “government-held information (including on activities and decisions) is open, comprehensive, timely, freely available to the pub... More and integrity with all departments, employees, and other stakeholders, through an integrity plan formulated according to the reality of Contagem, with actions aimed at improving the delivery of services to citizens, disseminating the culture of integrity in the agencies and entities of the public administration of the Municipal Executive Branch, in order to expand the sense of ethics, accountability, and integrity, in addition to developing mechanisms for monitoring and improving the execution of activities, in alignment with best international practices, which enables external investments and more development for the city.
Problem
- Lack of actions aimed at open government;
- Absence of policies that seek transparency, popular participation;
- As well as the lack of programs aimed at providing guidance on topics such as ethics, morality, integrity, and anti corruption practices.
Section 1.
Commitment completion
1.1 What was the overall level of progress in the commitment implementation at the time of this assessment?
complete
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
The development of the Contagem Integrity Plan (PIC) was satisfactorily completed, through the fulfillment of all milestones proposed for this commitment, which implementation was established with the publication of Decree N. 599, of June 1st, 2022. Based on an initial diagnosis, the program was co-created with the participation of representatives from various municipal departments and included the involvement of the population, through a vote made available on the Decide Contagem platform to elect the priority actions. The PIC was launched at the International Anti-Corruption Day event, held on December 8, 2022. In the PIC preparation project, 33 actions were established in the areas of information transparency, strengthening of ethics in governance and promotion of human rightsAn essential part of open government includes protecting the sacred freedoms and rights of all citizens, including the most vulnerable groups, and holding those who violate human rights accountable. T..., and to date, 21 actions have been completed, 8 are in progress and 4 have not yet been started. As it is possible to see, more than 63% of all the actions were completed in a period of less than two years.
Provide evidence that supports and justifies your answer:
- Photo: The launch of PIC’s
- International Anti-Corruption Event Poster and Launch of the PIC
- Decree 599: The Establishment of the PIC
1.2 Describe the main external or internal factors that impacted implementation of this commitment and how they were addressed (or not).
The implementation of this commitment was mainly impacted by factors linked to the practical implementation of some milestones. During the working group meetings, the issue of popular participation was discussed, for instance, which is impacted by the still relatively limited reach that technology for innovation has in relation to specific groups of the population, such as the elderly or people in situations of social vulnerability.
During the execution of the PIC’s actions, some adversities were faced. As an example, we mention the drafting of the municipal decree to standardize the General Data Protection Law (LGPD). Due to the various particularities involved in this topic, it was quite challenging for the team to adapt the regulations to the reality and routine of the municipality, and it required a longer period of time than initially anticipated.
Furthermore, the issue of involvement and engagement of other departments in a project is always challenging. However, with the appointment of focal points and periodic meetings with the secretaries, it was possible to further mobilize the areas, ensuring greater engagement in the PIC’s agenda, thus achieving satisfactory results. The support of senior management is fundamental to the success of the PIC and the effectiveness of its actions.
Finally, some topics are extremely delicate to deal internally, such as issues involving harassment. In this sense, the creation of a booklet and the conversation circles that took place during Women’s Month were fundamental for preventive actions within the municipality, considering the relevanceAccording to the OGP Articles of Governance, OGP commitments should include a clear open government lens. Specifically, they should advance at least one of the OGP values: transparency, citizen partic... of this topic.
1.3 Was the commitment implemented as originally planned?
All of the commitment milestones were implemented as planned.
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
The milestones established for this commitment included actions especially aimed at information transparency and the promotion of ethics in governance, which were successfully developed. In this sense, the improvements promoted on the Transparency Portal enabled the population to consult information that promote knowledge, participation and monitoring through access to public accounts and their inspection. In terms of human rights, several events were held, such as activities for the Anti-Racism Month, human rights promotion for the migrant population and the 1st Seminar on the Special Social Protection Service for People with DisabilitiesA government is not open unless it is accessible to all, and governments are working to ensure people with disabilities are afforded equitable services and opportunities to participate. Technical spec..., Elderly and their Families. Manager trainings were also carried out on ethics and inclusive management, in partnership with the Diversitas Institute, in addition to training developed by the School of Government, taught by doctoral student and university professor Felipe Gouvêa Pena, from UNIBH.
Provide evidence for your answer:
Section 2.
Did it open government?
2.1.1. – Did the government disclose more information; improve the quality of the information (new or existing); improve the value of the information; improve the channels to disclose or request information or improve accessibility to information?
Yes
Degree of result:
Outstanding
Explanation: In narrative form, what has been the impact on people or practice.
Among the actions completed in the Contagem Integrity Plan – PIC, the improvement in the processing of information in the municipality stands out through the publication of Decree n. 969, of September 4th, 2023, which provides for the application of Federal Law N. 13.709, of August 14, 2018, General Data Protection Law – LGPD, within the scope of the Direct and Indirect Municipal Public Administration of the Municipal Executive Power. This law establishes competencies, procedures and measures to be observed by bodies and entities, aiming to guarantee data protection.
Furthermore, the innovations carried out on the Transparency Portal with a view to improving accessibility to information stand out. Through the availability of data in an open format, the population is now able to consult topics of public interest, including statements of expenses, travel allowances, extra-budgetary revenue, staff remuneration, among others.
Provide evidence for your answer:
2.1.2. – Did the government create new opportunities to seek feedback from citizens/enable participation inform or influence decisions; improve existing channels or spaces to seek feedback from citizens/enable participation/ inform or influence decisions; create or improve capabilities in the government or the public aimed to improve how the government seeks feedback from citizens/enables participation/ or allows for the public to inform or influence decisions?
Yes
Degree of result:
Outstanding
Explanation: In narrative form, what has been the impact on people or practice.
Providing access to data, information and public decisions that directly impact citizens’ lives, through improvements and updates to the Transparency Portal, stimulated and enabled citizen participationAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, citizen participation occurs when “governments seek to mobilize citizens to engage in public debate, provide input, and make contributions that lead to m... More more effectively in the municipality. The impact of this information disclosure consists of an improvement in existing communication channels between the government and society through the use of technology, enabling greater access to information and oversight of public services. An incentive was also provided to strengthen and integrate the population with the culture and history of Contagem, through the monthly availability of a cultural guide “Guia Acontece”, on the Municipality website. Also, within the scope of actions to promote ethics and combat prejudice, there was a positive response from women who work in departments in relation to unprecedented discussions about harassment in the workplace.
Provide evidence for your answer:
2.1.3 Did the government create or improve channels, opportunities or capabilities to hold officials answerable to their actions?
Yes
Degree of result:
Major
Explanation: In narrative form, what has been the impact on people or practice.
There was low involvement and engagement of departments with ethics, transparency, integrity and compliance practices, as well as a lack of programs aimed at providing guidance on these topics. The code of ethics, in fact, was little publicized among employees. This commitment acted in this regard with the availability of the Code of Ethics on the server portal – Decree 1928 of August 12, 2020. In addition, a booklet was developed for National Ethics Day, which was sent by direct mail to all employees. Actions were also taken to combat harassment and discrimination in the government environment, in order to strengthen ethics in work and, thus, improve relations and the image of the institution. In the following link it is possible to check the booklet that deals with harassment and discrimination, available on the municipality website.
In this sense, the implementation of the PIC made it possible to act more assertively in the detection and prevention of acts of corruption, irregularities and misconduct, aiming to effectively correct non-conformities and build a more honest environment among employees, agents and third parties.
Provide evidence for your answer:
2.1.4 Other Results
Not Applicable
Degree of result:
Did not change
Explanation: In narrative form, what has been the impact on people or practice.
Not applicable.
2.2 Did the commitment address the public policy problem that it intended to address as described in the action plan?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
The municipality had a lack of actions aimed at open government and was characterized by the absence of policies aimed at transparency and popular participation. Thus, an institutional culture was created with greater credibility and efficiency in the execution of municipal administration activities, with the development of actions and campaigns that promote the prevention, detection and correction of non-conformities, improvement of monitoring mechanisms and improvement of activities aimed at the expansion of transparency and citizen involvement with governance practices.
Provide evidence for your answer:
Section 3.
Lessons from
implementation
3. Provide at least one lesson or reflection relating to the implementation of this commitment. It can be the identification of key barriers to implementation, an unexpected help/hindrance, recommendations for future commitments, or if the commitment should be taken forward to the next action plan.
The implementation of this commitment brought to light the complexity of working to promote ethics, as this involves both an improvement in internal relationships between employees, in the institutional environment itself, as well as in the external relationship between the government and citizens. The lesson learned in this process reveals that improving the image of governance does not involve purely advertising, as a more superficial look might suppose, but rather it happens through the provision of information to the population and the development of a partnership in which citizens have the opportunity to get involved and act in monitoring public actions.
This commitment, moreover, consists of work to bring about cultural change in government institutions and in their relationship with the population. Thus, it is understood that it is the beginning of an awareness process that does not end with the conclusion of the commitment, but that will certainly solidify over time.
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