Transparency and Participation in Infrastructure Investments (BR0123)

Brief description of the commitment

Create or improve, as well as disseminate mechanisms that enable transparency, engagement, participation, and effective and qualified social control in the phases of the public infrastructure policy cycle: prioritization of problems, analysis of alternative solutions, detailing and execution of plans and projects.

Problem Definition

1. What problem does the commitment aim to solve?

It was identified that the processes relating to the formulation, implementation, and monitoring of public policies in the area of infrastructure lack transparency and the effective engagement and participation of citizens. This is due to the absence or weakness of institutionalized spaces for social participation during the infrastructure policy cycle. On the other hand, civil society and the communities directly impacted by major infrastructure projects do not have the tools or adequate qualifications to act more effectively. Concerning transparency actions, gaps were identified, such as the excessive use of technical language that is difficult to understand and fragmented communication on the part of the public administration. To mitigate these problems, the commitment seeks to promote and improve transparency mechanisms and encourage effective participation and social control in planning and execution of major infrastructure works, including public concessions.

2. What causes the problem?

During the development of the commitment, the main difficulty pointed out by experts to deficiencies in information transparency is related to the fragmentation of data between government bodies and the different understanding of the most appropriate mechanisms for publicizing and the priority information that should be made available. In addition, the spaces and instruments for social participation are assessed as insufficient and difficult to access. One of the difficulties for effective participation lies in the complexity of infrastructure projects, with various phases and agents involved. For this reason, participatory actions are not encouraged in the earlier stages of planning, in the definition and prioritization of works, and are restricted to the mechanisms required by environmental licensing legislation. In this way, the existing spaces for participation are fragile in terms of effectively claiming the demands of local communities.

Commitment Description

1. What has been done so far to solve the problem?

Brazilian legislation brings important advances for public transparency, including infrastructure policies. This legal framework applies to the entire public administration, with active and passive transparency requirements for bidding and contracting processes and environmental information, especially related to the socio-environmental impact of major infrastructure projects. On the Federal Government’s Transparency Portal, you can consult the budget planned and executed for the various actions and programs in the area of infrastructure, as well as follow the tenders and contractual instruments signed for the execution of major works. In addition, there are platforms such as Obras.gov, which promotes the integrated registration of investment projects, allowing the registration of information on basic projects, executive projects, studies, and works financed with the fiscal and social security budgets within the federal executive branch. However, despite the advances that have already been made in transparency, there are still gaps in information, a need for greater integration between the data made available and more accessible language for citizens. Regarding social participation, there are already some regulations that require society to be heard and to give its opinion on infrastructure projects, most often during the contracting phase of major projects. Although there is already an obligation to enable society to participate in the process of carrying out major works, especially through public hearings and consultations, and also on environmental aspects, there is still a very large gap when it comes to the possibility of social participation in the phases of surveying alternatives, in the decision-making process of choosing viable alternatives, as well as in the definition of priorities associated with major works.

2. What solution are you proposing?

The agreed commitment seeks to broaden the population’s knowledge of infrastructure policies through actions that foster transparency, as well as enable society to contribute and participate effectively in all phases of the construction of these policies. To this end, the following actions have been agreed upon: mapping good practices and opportunities for transparency, participation and social control in the decision-making process for planning, executing, and monitoring infrastructure investments; creating a space for permanent dialog between government and society on the agenda for improving infrastructure investment plans and projects; gathering recommendations and good practices for infrastructure transparency; among others. These actions aim to increase the transparency of infrastructure policies so that society has the necessary knowledge to participate in the process and, consequently, carry out social control of government actions in the area. The proposed actions will help mitigate the problems related to insufficient transparency in infrastructure policies, as well as foster greater engagement and participation by society in all phases of the public infrastructure policy cycle.

3. What results do we want to achieve by implementing this commitment?

It is hoped that the implementation of the commitment will contribute to society acting with greater engagement on the issue and that suitable instruments will be identified for making information available and providing opportunities for participation in all phases of infrastructure projects. It also seeks to disseminate knowledge for greater social control of infrastructure projects, including the improvement of transparency for major works, in the planning and execution phases.

Commitment Analysis

1. How will the commitment promote transparency? Through comparative studies and surveys, the aim is to disseminate instruments that enable transparency in the phases of the public infrastructure policy cycle. The existence of adequate mechanisms for transparency enables greater social control, especially of the groups directly affected by major construction projects, so that they can participate in decision-making processes and supervise the socio-environmental impacts of the project.

2. How commitment will help promote accountability? By promoting transparency of actions, there will also be an increase in the accountability of the agents who formulate/implement public policies in the area of infrastructure.

3. How will the commitment improve citizen participation in defining, implementing, and monitoring solutions? The commitment includes various actions to increase the engagement, participation, and control of society in the phases of the public infrastructure policy cycle. In particular, with the qualification of social participation in the different phases of infrastructure policies.

Commitment Planning (Milestone | Expected Results | Expected Completion Date)

Milestone 1 - Mapping good practices and opportunities for transparency, participation and social control in the decision- making process for all the infrastructure investments | Mapping carried out | December/2024

Milestone 2 - Proposing regulatory changes that indicate, for each relevant sector, the phases in which social participation is important and necessary, but not yet provided for or insufficient | Proposed regulatory changes were drawn up | June/2025

Milestone 3 - Improve "Obras.Gov" so that it includes, in an up- to-date manner, all federal infrastructure projects and the respective selection, planning, execution, and monitoring information | Platform improved | June/2025

Milestone 4 - Carry out mobilization and training actions to ensure that "Obras.Gov" is duly completed and updated | Mobilization and training actions implemented | June /2027

Milestone 5 - Creating a space for permanent dialog between government and society on the agenda for improving infrastructure investment plans and projects | Space for dialog created | June /2027

Milestone 6 - Presentation of a proposal to improve transparency and social control of investments in the Growth Acceleration Program - New PAC to the Growth Acceleration Program Management Committee - CGPAC | Proposal for improvement presented | July/2024

Milestone 7 - Dialogue and sensitize public managers about citizen language, transparency, and participation in infrastructure works | Dialogue and awareness- raising carried out | June /2027

Milestone 8 - Develop initiatives for training and engagement in transparency and social participation | Training and engagement initiatives implemented | June /2027

Milestone 9 - Survey recommendations and good practices for infrastructure transparency, including guidelines, databases, and categories of information, and carry out a diagnosis of the current state of infrastructure transparency in the federal government | Survey carried out | June /2025