End of Commitment Report – Promote principles and practices of open government and social control in municipalities

Name of Evaluator

Sidney Antonio Tavares Junior

Email

Sidney.junior@tcesc.tc.br; claudia.silva@tcesc.tc.br

Member Name

Santa Catarina, 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 – Santa Catarina, Brazil, 2021 – 2022

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...

Promote principles and practices of open government and social control in municipalities of Santa Catarina, promoting shared learning and articulating governments and civil society initiatives at local and state levels.

Action

The commitment aims to promote open government principles and practices in municipalities of Santa Catarina, articulating government and civil society initiatives at local and state levels. It involves the execution of actions that go beyond the limits of the State Executive Branch and focuses on exploring the role of the state as an articulator, taking advantage of the capillarity in its territory municipalities.As a result, we hope to establish open government principles and practices, and effective collaboration, at the municipal level, between civil servants and citizens, in order to expand and spread the citizen-centered public administration culture. That way, the open government ecosystem in the state of Santa Catarina is expected to be strengthened by the connection  with other states and countries.

Problem

The problem or opportunity to be explored is the existence of open government and social control capacity in several municipalities of Santa Catarina that can be developed and enhanced by the association with the state open government process and its interface with experiences of other states and countries. In this way, the state action plan can contribute to avoid fragmentation, dispersion and waste of existing capacities, resources and knowledge, as well as developing new capacities in the articulation between state and municipal governments, civil society organizations, academia, and other partners.

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 3rd commitment had all its milestones completely finished. As evidence, the CGE sent questionnaires to Santa Catarina’s municipalities, associations of these municipalities, city councils and associations of city councils. Furthermore, there was a couple of training and meetings, held by Santa Catarina State’s social observatories, as well as webinars, with the participation of several institutions, encouraging the participation of these actors in order to promote principles and practices of open government 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.... There was also a meeting with state governor candidates and congress candidates, in order to insert an open government agenda in the candidacy proposals. Finally, a diagnosis was made and it served as a guide for the elaboration of an open government plan in the city of Ascurra, and the city of Blumenau also showed interest in elaborating an open government plan.

Provide evidence that supports and justifies your answer:

Compromisso 1 – Evidencia 1.1.

1.2 Describe the main external or internal factors that impacted implementation of this commitment and how they were addressed (or not).

Diversity of characteristics among the municipalities of Santa Catarina, requiring different engagement strategies, such as partnerships with associations of regionalized municipalities.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, interactions with municipalities occurred mostly online, harming engagement in activities and establishment of trust between the group and the proposed work.

Due to the electoral year and the legislationCreating and passing legislation is one of the most effective ways of ensuring open government reforms have long-lasting effects on government practices. Technical specifications: Act of creating or r..., the government’s communication channels were restricted, preventing events and dissemination of materials.

Some municipalities reported a certain overload of demands from different aspects and government bodies, which did not allow prioritizing the activities of the Plan.

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:

As explained in the previous items, the milestones of the 3rd commitment were finished in their entirety and as planned, even though there difficulties, due especially to the Covid-19 pandemic and the restriction of communication channels, due to the electoral year.

Provide evidence for your answer:

Compromisso 1 – Evidencia 1.3.

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?

Not Applicable

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?

Not Applicable

2.1.3 Did the government create or improve channels, opportunities or capabilities to hold officials answerable to their actions?

Not Applicable

2.1.4 Other Results

Yes

Degree of result:

Outstanding

Explanation: In narrative form, what has been the impact on people or practice.

This commitment helps to create a culture of governance and 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, so necessary for the development of government actions, promoting social participation in order to empower the citizen with information and data necessary to better understand the priorities listed in the established public policies.

Provide evidence for your answer:

Compromisso 1 – Evidencia 2.1.4.

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.

It is necessary to consider the context of each municipality, with some adaptation and attention to smaller municipalities, precisely because of the diversity between them. There is a need to strengthen partnerships with associations of regional municipalities.

At the municipal level, open government initiatives arise to respond to a challenge or solve a problem in a specific context and were not necessarily planned and implemented from strategic government guidelines. That is, the practices follow a “bottom-up” approach, with a more organic relationship of implementation at the real level of execution. This demonstrates that public servants can also be significant actors in the opening government process and ensuring the continuity of actions.