Open Electoral Data (BR0121)

What is the public problem that the commitment will address? Undeveloped data governance.

What is the commitment? The lack or poor governance of public data offered to the population harms the transparency, control and quality of the information provided by the TSE. This situation makes it challenging in some cases for civil society organization to contribute to the rationalization of internal management processes, and also makes it difficult for improvements to be proposed in relation to the dissemination of the electoral process and fundamental information for a greater understanding by the population about the main aspects involving the activity of Electoral Justice in the Brazilian democratic scenario.

How will the commitment contribute to solve the public problem? The commitment’s implementation will contribute to enhance the collaborative governance of open electoral data. Initially, a methodology will be developed to establish participatory decision-making procedures for bringing together the Users’ Council (civil society representatives) and the TSE Open Data Management Commission. This initiative alone will already improve data availability with a focus on information users. Next, the composition of the Users’ Council will be formalized to start the implementation of participatory mechanisms aimed at discussing and revising Electoral Justice’s regulations on the subject. After the revision, feedback from civil society will be collected to improve the data to be made available, with the preparation of partial and final monitoring reports on the treatment of the suggestions received. Finally, an event will be held to disseminate the results from the implementation of established milestones. The commitment is thus expected to improve the service provided by the Electoral Justice in terms of transparency and access to open electoral data.

Why this commitment is relevant to OGP values? The commitment is relevant because the improvement of open electoral data governance in partnership with civil society will enhance the quality of the data made available, resulting from data users’ feedback (transparency). Furthermore, with the formalization of a civil society forum to enable participation in the consultative process about open electoral data availability, the space for social engagement and the offer of opportunities for effective participation will be both expanded due to the improvement in data quality (social participation). By revising current regulations on the governance of open electoral data disclosed by the Superior Electoral Court, it will be possible to enhance the accountability of decision-makers responsible for data availability. The full implementation of these measures will allow the TSE to increase its engagement with open government values (transparency, social participation and accountability).

Additional information • TSE Strategic Plan for the period 2021-2026 (https://www.tse.jus.br/transparencia-e-prestacao-decontas/arquivos/plano-estrategico-2021-2026- final/at_download/file) - Transparency is one of the values informing the TSE plan and is also a key part of TSE vision: “consolidating itself as a transparent institution, guarantor of the electoral process’ legitimacy and a driver of innovation in the safe, affordable and sustainable delivery of services to the citizen.”

Milestones (with verifiable deliverable) Start Date: End Date: Milestone 1 - Development of a methodology based on collaborative governance and participatory decisionmaking procedures for the Users’ Council and the TSE Open Data Management Commission December 2021 February 2022 Milestone 2 - Establishment of a Users’ Council composed of civil society organizations December 2021 January 2022 Milestone 3 - Event to discuss and revise regulations on the disclosure of open electoral data March 2022 March 2022 Milestone 4 - Implementation of the participatory methodology, including the collection of user feedback, to improve the data to be made available under the TSE Open Data Plan (effective 2023-2025) April 2022 November 2022 Milestone 5 - Preparation of partial and final evaluation reports on civil society suggestions for improving open electoral data May 2022 November 2022 Milestone 6 - Event to present results December 2022 December 2022

Action Plan Review

Commitment 11. Open Electoral Data

Results Report

Commitment 11. Open electoral data

Commitment 11 aimed to improve the decision-making and governance of the Superior Electoral Court of Brazil’s (TSE) open data policies via a user council to develop recommendations on improving open electoral data collaboratively. [163] The Open Data Users Council structure was officially established in July 2022 via TSE Ordinance N. 691. [164] The ordinance defines the council members with clear representation from relevant civil society organizations and with the possibility of citizen users participating. It also clearly states the duties of the council in providing recommendations, monitoring policies, and advising the TSE to improve its open data. The contents of the ordinance directly reflect the work done in the development of the commitment. [165] Nevertheless, the council had not been constituted during the implementation period. [166] According to TSE representatives, the formation of the council was still underway, [167] especially given the dependence of four of the six commitment milestones on the actual establishment of the council, which was not accomplished. [168] As with other commitments, the shorter implementation period presented a challenge along with the TSE's active involvement in electoral processes. [169] The IRM evaluates this commitment as having recorded limited completion and moderate early results. The majority of the milestones pertaining to the actual improvement of the TSE open electoral data were not started. Nevertheless, the commitment did establish a clear structure for engaging civil society and regular citizens while advancing in the inclusion of other levels and branches of government in open government practices, allowing the TSE to coordinate once again a commitment within the OGP framework. Finishing the establishment and selection of the council members would significantly advance the transparency goals of the TSE and increase social participation.