Brazil Action Plan Review 2023-2027

Brazil’s sixth 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... includes eight commitments prioritized by government and civil society. Commitments to promote 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 citizen oversight in infrastructure projects, and to increase transparency of scientific research both show substantial potential to deliver results. As Brazil’s first four-year action plan, the mid-point refresh process would help to further specify and enhance the ambitionAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, OGP commitments should “stretch government practice beyond its current baseline with respect to key areas of open government.” Ambition captures the po... of other commitments.

Brazil’s sixth action plan comprises eight commitments. It introduces new policy reforms related to citizen oversight of infrastructure projects, improving the quality of ethnic and race related data, digital inclusionPrioritizing digital inclusion — such as by expanding broadband access to remote areas or removing barriers to affordable internet — helps ensure all citizens have the opportunity to participate. ... for the elderly, improved services for family farming, and social participation and popular educationAccountability within the public education system is key to improving outcomes and attainment, and accountability is nearly impossible without transparent policies and opportunities for participation ... across territories in the country. Three commitments to enhance the publication and use of open data—addressing corruption, promoting open science, and ensuring compliance with access to information legislation—have been carried over from previous plans.

Commitments 1 and 3 have substantial potential for results and are reviewed in further depth in this review. Commitment 1 seeks to improve the accessibility and usability of information on public infrastructure projects and institutionalize spaces for social participation with stakeholders being involved in the selection, planning, execution, and monitoring of public infrastructure cycle. Aside from safeguarding against corruption, enhancing open government values in public infrastructure projects are crucial given the importance of such projects on communities and people’s lives. Commitment 3 continues a successful line of open science commitments by seeking to deliver clear national policies and guidelines to advance transparency in scientific research. It seeks to raise awareness, build capacity, and continue unfinished actions from past commitments, all while building on the strength of the participatory focus.[1]

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... 5 is also a promising commitmentThrough the Action Plan Review, OGP’s Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) recognizes promising commitments that address a policy area that is important to stakeholders or the national context. Pro... aimed at improving the quality and availability of ethnic and racial data collected to monitor and strengthen affirmative action policies. Given the inconsistency between Brazil’s ethnic and racial diversity and their underrepresentation in decision-making, this could contribute to greater transparency and social accountabilityTransparency of public service delivery is not enough on its own; giving citizens opportunities to monitor progress on the ground and hold their governments accountable improves the quality of these s....

The co-creation of the action plan encompassed consultations with a significant geographic reach and notable proactive awareness raising effort. While noting that improvements could still be made in future co-creation processes, civil society stakeholders recognized positive improvement in the quality of dialogue, geographical outreach, and diversity of voices.[2]

A public consultation to propose priority themes received 126 contributions along with 58 contributions received from a parallel process for public institutions. Further consolidation and prioritization of these initiatives resulted in four civil society priority topics of anti-corruption, access to information, transparency and participation in infrastructure, and collaborative science.[3] On the government side, the priority topics include service improvement in consultation with users, digital education for the elderly, social participation across national territories, and open ethnic-racial data for affirmative action.[4] These topics were drafted and refined in 16 in-person co-creation workshops until a consensus was reached for the plan’s final eight commitments.[5] Women accounted for 60 percent of participants throughout the co-creation workshops.[6]

Civil society stakeholders highlighted that the action plan overlooks crucial policy areas such as environmental sustainability.[7] Environmental themes did not achieve enough popular support during the action plan development process to become commitments.[8] Given Brazil’s vast and critical natural resources, the documented erosion of environmental protections by the past administration,[9] and inclusion of environmental commitments in prior action plans, the midterm review could prioritize addressing this gap. Overall, an Imaflora representative recognized that the current administration has expanded environmental policy spaces compared to the previous administration.[10]

To optimize implementation, it is crucial to maintain active and consistent engagement between government and civil society. The Interministerial Committee for Open Government (CIGA) needs to play an active role in ensuring that public institutions remain engaged and that civil servants are provided with the technical support required to deliver open government results.

Promising Commitments

The following review looks at the three commitments that the IRM identified as having the potential to realize the most promising results. Promising commitments address a policy area that is important to stakeholders or the national context. They must be verifiable, have a relevant open government lens, and have modest or substantial potential for results. This review also provides an analysis of challenges, opportunities, and recommendations to contribute to the learning and implementation process of this action plan.

Table 1. Promising commitments

[1] Bianca Amaro, Washington Carvalho, and Priscila Sena (Brazilian Institute of Information in Science and Technology – IBICT), interview by IRM researcher, 2 February 2024; Otavio Castro Neves (Comptroller-General of the Union), interview by IRM researcher, 13 March 2024.

[2] Danielle Bello (Open Knowledge Brasil), interview by IRM researcher, 13 March 2024; Paula Schommer (Council of Transparency, Integrity, and Anti-Corruption), interview by IRM researcher, 12 March 2024.

[3] For more information on the process, refer to Annex 2: Action Plan Co-Creation.

[4] For more information, see: https://www.gov.br/cgu/pt-br/governo-aberto/a-ogp/planos-de-acao/6deg-plano-de-acao-brasileiro/devolutiva-temas-governo.pdf.

[5] Neves, interview.

[6] See “Brazil 6th National Action Plan on Open Government,” Comptroller-General of the Union, 2023, https://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Brazil_Action-Plan_2023-2027_December_EN.pdf. The IRM reviewed photographic evidence of 3 out of 16 workshop meetings and confirmed that women’s participation tended to be the majority. See: https://www.gov.br/cgu/pt-br/governo-aberto/a-ogp/planos-de-acao/6deg-plano-de-acao-brasileiro/Oficinas-cocriacao-6-plano-acao-nacional.

[7] Bello, interview; Schommer, interview.

[8] See Annex 2: Action Plan Co-Creation.

[9] Robbie Gramer, “Who owns the Earth’s Lungs? The battle to save the Amazon goes beyond Brazil,” Foreign Policy (9 December 2022), https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/12/09/amazon-rainforest-climate-change-deforestation-bolsonaro-lula..

[10] Bruno Vello (Imaflora), interview by IRM researcher, 23 September 2024.