End of Commitment Report – Spread the social participation through the territory for citizens participated at the formulation process of budget and its monitoring, occupying the spaces, strengthening the transparency by a citizen language

Name of Evaluator

Gabriela de Brelàz

Email

gabriela.brelaz@unifesp.br

Member Name

Osasco, 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 – Osasco, Brazil, 2021 – 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...

Spread the social participation through the territory for citizens participated at the formulation process of budget and its monitoring, occupying the spaces, strengthening the 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 by a citizen language

Action

The commitment intends to teach and bring awareness to bureaucrats on how to make budget language accessible and comprehensive to public in general, sharing knowledge and making citizens feel part of the territory and its policies by using technology and didactic material, besides promoting simpler process with guaranteed wide and accessible communication. Also, making public data understandable and attractive to social participation. Hopefully, we will be able to reinvent approaches, facilitating and stimulating society to participate in making public policies and also, making a well-structured accountability platform for present the result of this participation.

Problem

This commitment intends to surpass some challenges in state and society relationship, especially population distrust at the public service. The whole process puts these two stakeholders far apart, the extensive technicality language that the actual budget brings, the difficulty between the planning schedule with the resource application and what the public demands decided at the participative process are some of the reasons that disturb this relationship. Added to these problems faced by direct democracy, there are others kind of trammels that social participation face, such as long work hours and family responsibility that troubles this stakeholder’s participation. The commitment co-creation revels that Osasco still have high levels of bureaucratization of public processes, its citizen doesn’t feel part of the planning process, doesn’t have a channel to dialogue with people and if there is something that can be related to that is disorganized and limit to the center of the city, on top of that, there isn’t a well-structured language to talk about public resource.

1.1 What was the overall level of progress in the commitment implementation at the time of this assessment?

substantial

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The commitment involved: 1) providing budget content in accessible language across 46 public facilities and media, 2) implementing actions with specific methodologies at public facilities, 3) reformulating the Vision 360 platform for transparency on city council projects, 4) promoting public hearings and consultations for decentralized participation, 5) creating a government body to reactivate inactive councils through training for councilors, 6) reforming the Transparency Portal, and 7) establishing a project to train budget multipliers. Actions 1, 2, 4, and 7 were completed. Actions 3 and 6 are not fully implemented, as they are now managed by the Secretariat for Technology, Innovation, and Economic Development, which is reformulating platforms and due to electoral period constraints. Training for councilors on open government and budget actions was noted in action 5. The inactivity of 3 councils was analyzed, with a recommendation for deeper discussions with the government in 2025. n

Provide evidence that supports and justifies your answer:

ٍEvidence 

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

Considering the commitment to enhancing the population’s participation in preparing and monitoring Osasco’s budget, the actions were well addressed, with valuable lessons learned for future improvements. For example, there is potential to implement more initiatives using the informational booklet in public and private schools, universities, and social assistance centers, alongside the Counting the Bills Game (Contando as Contas), both of which have received positive feedback and impacted citizens significantly. The monthly digital analytics provided by the monitoring team demonstrated that increased activity posting by government had results, underscoring the importance of social media as an effective communication channel with the populace.

Concerning the reformulation of transparency portals and Vision 360, which are crucial for transparency and accountability, the process highlighted the need for broader changes involving multiple secretariats. This necessity, along with restrictions stemming from the election year, limited the completionImplementers must follow through on their commitments for them to achieve impact. For each commitment, OGP’s Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) evaluates the degree to which the activities outlin... of this action. Nevertheless, the monitoring team’s analysis indicates that this action is well-planned and likely to be successful.

Additionally, the analysis of 26 councils revealed a need to standardize documents and improve transparency regarding their activities, fostering greater 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. There is also potential to create a government body or process that promotes integration and dialogue among all municipal participatory councils and civil society.

It is important to note the absence of a Civil Society Forum. Since the plan was conceived during the COVID-19 pandemic, this group was inactive during the implementation of the 1st Action Plan. Therefore, establishing a diverse forum for civil society and academic stakeholders is vital to monitor the implementation of activities in alignment with the principles and values of open government.

1.3 Was the commitment implemented as originally planned?

most of the commitment milestones were implemented as planned

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

Osasco’s 1st Open Government action plan was implemented following the initial planning in most actions, achieving the proposed objectives. The Transparency Portal and Vision 360 launch, depend on other secretariats and were also limited by the 2024 ElectionsImproving transparency in elections and maintaining the independence of electoral commissions is vital for promoting trust in the electoral system, preventing electoral fraud, and upholding the democr.... The proposal was analyzed by the monitoring team, who was able to contribute with suggestions made in this report. Regarding the analysis of the municipal councils, it was discussed with the OG Department to amplify the analysis in order to obtain subsidies for a better understanding of council activities in Osasco and 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... to understanding councils functioning and to provide the subsidies for improving Inter-secretariat and inter-council relations, integrating councils, secretariats, and Open Government team for training in open government and dissemination of its practices and values.

Provide evidence for your answer:

ٍEvidence

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:

Marginal

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

The city of Osasco already has a transparency platform and strategic project consultation portal with data in a clear and accessible way, in compliance with the Access to Information Act, user-friendliness, with relevant content and regular visual attractiveness. Visão 360 website has strengths such as ease of use, loading time, security, and compatibility with mobile devices. However, areas such as visual attractiveness, depth of content, and quality of images and videos require attention to improve the user experience and the portal’s effectiveness. The Osasco Transparency Portal website has strong points, such as ease of use, loading time, and security. However, areas such as visual attractiveness, clarity of information, and quality of images and videos require attention to improve the user experience and the portal’s effectiveness. According to the monitoring team’s analysis, detailed in the report provided as evidence, the new platforms are addressing improvements and the IRM report highlights where there is more room for improvement.

In relation to municipal councils, the DGA’s work allowed all councilors to be introduced to the open government initiative in Osasco and the role of councils in this process. The wide distribution of budget booklets, around 69.000, also contributed to the opening of information about the public budget and its process, which can be followed in public hearings and consultations that were disseminated through different formats and with support for the transportation of citizens to participate. It is yet unclear because the new platforms have not been released and therefore citizen perception/evaluation cannot be measured.

Provide evidence for your answer:

Evidence

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:

Major

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

The Open Government Department did an important work to communicate about public hearings and public consultations and discussed internally with the secretaries responsible for the teams being discussed to make participation more efficient and democratic. Public Hearings were conducted during weekends and weeknight to increase and allow broad participation.
The law regarding public access to information and open dataBy opening up data and making it sharable and reusable, governments can enable informed debate, better decision making, and the development of innovative new services. Technical specifications: Polici... was updated and launched in 22022 and 2023.
Special attention was given to social networks that started improving its communication during the monitoring process and the 5th Open Government Encounter held in Osasco was an important moment to connect public servants, councilors, civil society and academy in contact regarding Open Government in Osasco.
The update of Transparency Portal and Visão 360 are also important spaces that will enhance this communication between citizens and government.

Provide evidence for your answer:

Evidence

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.

In April 2024 Osasco hosted the 5th Open Government Brazilian Meeting that was an important moment opened to society, public servants, legislative members and academics to talk about this policy. In this meeting the Brazilian Open Government Network was created and a Letter of Principles Signed by all its members.

It is worth mentioning two decrees that were issued by Osasco municipality that where not planned in the compromise but that improved the channels and opportunities to hold officials more answerable to their actions:

DECREE No. 13,332, OF APRIL 7, 2022. – Regulates the Policy of Access to Public Information within the scope of the Municipality of Osasco, as well as establishes specific rules complementary to the general standards established by Law No. 12,527, of November 18, 2011 – Law of Access to Information, and provides other measures.

DECREE Nº 13.655, OF JANUARY 16, 2023. – Provides the Institution of the Open Data Policy of the Municipal Executive Branch.

Provide evidence for your answer:

Degrees and Meetings 

2.1.4 Other Results

Yes

Degree of result:

Marginal

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

In addition to the points already presented, based on the analysis and evidence provided during the monitoring process, below there are some suggestions and reflections to be emphasized in the future of Open Government initiatives in Osasco.

• Institutionalize the Open Government policy and its principles within Osasco City Hall among the secretaries and civil servants.
• Draw up commitments that differ and are based on consistent and in-depth actions.
• Consider the environmental emergency and its relevance to municipal management and open government.
• Create an Inter-secretarial Committee and an Inter-council Committee. The creation of the former would involve the presence of members of the secretariats who hold strategic positions with the secretary and the Open Government and Strengthening Citizenship team to promote open government in the secretariats and hold monthly exchanges on agendas and opportunities involving the open government agenda. In the case of the councils, it would be essential to hold meetings with the councilors and the open government team to monitor activities and strengthen this vital space for civil society to participate with the government.
• Form a diverse and strong Civil Society Forum to co-create and constantly monitor the implementation of the 2nd Action Plan. Discuss the steps and directions with Civil Society to provide further legitimacy and make the process more participatory.

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 initiative focused on enhancing citizen participation in budgetary planning and monitoring. A significant first step was making information accessible and understandable, empowering the population to demand resources and influence policy and resource distribution, thus holding bureaucrats and politicians accountable. Disseminating materials and forming multipliers for budgetary 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 ... are central to this effort, marking the start of institutionalizing the Open Government Agenda. Connecting with various secretaries to distribute materials and improve participation in public hearings and consultations is crucial, involving bureaucrats, council members, and citizens in activities that bolster transparency, social participation, and accountability with technology’s support. This commitment lays the foundation for Osasco’s Open Government process, aiming to transform public policy management by increasing citizen involvement in decision-making across all districts in the city.

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.

Reccomendations for future commitments:

• Institutional support from the mayor and his secretariats is vital for the Open Government agenda in Osasco. Internally, it’s essential to institutionalize the initiative within municipal secretariats, complementary bodies, and councils, while also engaging with civil society externally. Standardizing processes and training stakeholders involved in open government are critical for successful implementation. This includes aligning knowledge and providing training on practices that promote participation, transparency, accountability, and the roles of municipal councils.
• Establishing a Civil Society Forum is crucial for monitoring the implementation of the Open Government Plan, ensuring alignment with its principles and values. This forum should have diverse representation to analyze ongoing changes effectively. Furthermore, fostering inter-secretariat and inter-council collaborations is fundamental for training in open government and disseminating relevant practices and values.
• Strategic partnerships are necessary to broadly disseminate open government principles among schools, universities, and councils, addressing the limited capacity of the Open Government Department. Utilizing digital teaching tools linked to civil servant career plans and certifications for civil society representatives can enhance this effort.
• Additionally, discussing emergency topics, such as climate change and its impacts on the city, should be prioritized on the agenda. Effective communication and leveraging the city’s social networks are essential for enhancing participation and transparency. Regularly utilizing these channels will be a crucial strategy for advancing Osasco’s Open Government initiative.