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This paper aims to analyze the factors influencing the innovation process in the health care provided by the City of Campina Grande Department of Health Care, in Campina Grande, PB, Brazil. Our research method is case study, and our results evidenced both incremental innovation and innovation through recombination. Among the conditions for innovation, the support of management, including senior management, stands out, as well as knowledge and experience exchange. Among the barriers to innovation, it is worth highlighting the striking shortage of resources. Our results can help improve this innovation process and add to the basis of public policy for a better healthcare for the population. In addition, evidence of conditions and barriers hitherto unnoticed by the literature allow further insight into the factors that can influence innovation in public-sector services.

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This article seeks to connect the economic and political context of the second half of the twentieth century to the discussion of democracy and social participation in order to analyze institutional arrangements like the economic and social councils as a social dialogue alternative. The neoliberal policies implemented in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries have led democracy into a crisis of representation and legitimacy. One of the alternatives often aimed at solving or alleviating this crisis is to expand social participation through institutionalized forms of social dialogue. Based on the experience of the economic and social councils, this paper questions these entities as a path to overcome the crisis of democracy. The root of the problem seems to lie in neoliberal policies, which reduce state regulation and aggravate social inequality, allowing economically powerful groups to hold sway over political representatives in various ways, thus contaminating spaces for representative democracy and alternative dialogue, as seems to be the case with economic and social councils.

Focusing on the field of people management in public administration, we examined the sociomanagerial environment in a university hospital with regard to its employee health management, based on the taxonomy of working conditions proposed by Borges et al. (2013) and the National Policy on Worker’s Health (PNSTT). We conducted an exploratory and descriptive study with a qualitative-quantitative approach, with a non-probabilistic sample of 81 workers, using focus groups and structured questionnaires. The analysis of data from the focus groups and structured questionnaires revealed erosion in labor relations, pressure on the sociomanagerial environment due to infrastructure, scarce participation in decision making, and perception of cultural conflicts. With regard to employee health management in the environment studied, the actions established fail to adequately comply with the contents of the PNSTT.

This paper conducts a survey of the technical-scientific literature on public health, in order to verify the nature of research on social participation and detail the limits and advances of this research, highlighting gaps and suggesting a research agenda. Articles related to the topic of “social participation” were selected from the database of the Virtual Health Library. It is a source of technical-scientific knowledge that includes other sources and is managed by an organization belonging to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the World Health Organization (WHO) office for the Americas. All articles were classified according to four sub-topics: “participation,” “councils,” “conferences,” and “other.” The sub-topics of “councils” and “conferences” were detailed according to the federative level to which they belong. The totality of articles was classified according to their date of publication and grouped by periods. There is hegemony of the sub-topic of “councils” (41%), followed by the sub-topic of “participation” (39%). Production on social participation increased in the period 2001-2010 (in relation to the interval 1990-2000). The occurrence of texts based on case studies becomes thus evident (55%).

Law 13,019/2014 reformed the regulatory framework on transfer agreements between the Brazilian Federal Government and non-profit organizations (NPOs). This article presents theoretical concepts on NPOs and analyzes NPOs accountability-related statistics available at the Administrative Agreement and Transfer Contract Management System (Sistema de Gestão de Convênios e Contratos de Repasse da União [SICONV]), for the period from 2008 to 2014. Based on an econometric model, we show that the probability of default for NPOs’ agreements is higher than those for states, municipalities and government-owned companies; this corroborates the theoretical hypothesis of NPO voluntary failure as suggested in the Three Failures Paradigm (Steinberg, 2006)

The present study aims to analyze the governance of public budgeting by focusing on the case of the “Participatory Cycle of Planning and Budgeting” (CPPO), carried out by the municipal government of the city of São Paulo in 2013. This experience represented an innovative form of participatory budgeting, engaging citizens and the city’s multiple public policy thematic areas. Despite representing a window of opportunity for the participatory construction of public budget, we argue that it was not sufficient as a distributive conflict equalizing arena, considering, especially, the historical construction of the areas of public policy in Brazil, characterized by verticalization and sectorization.

The Intermunicipal Consortium for the Development of the Ribeira Valley (CODIVAR) and the Consortium for Food Security and Local Development (CONSAD) are two public action instruments created in the Ribeira Valley, in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, to promote cooperation for local development. Over time, different actors appropriated these instruments, leading them into a state of inertial functioning, taking on a life of their own according to the representation of new interests. This process allowed the social construction of two overlapping territories, amounting to relations of backwardness within both instruments. In the case of CODIVAR, such relations explain their ability to keep a legitimized position in the local context of public actions, while with CONSAD, such relations have led the forum through paths that culminated in its emptying.

The article is the result of a survey that sought to explore the effects of social welfare services in strengthening the relational social dimension of individuals and families in situations of vulnerability, with the territory dimension as an intervening variable in this process. Six CRAS units, in four municipalities of Minas Gerais, including urban and rural areas and ranging from small-size communities to metropolitan areas, were visited. Twelve technicians and twenty users of the CRAS services were interviewed in an attempt to map the types of interaction, the public profile and the incidence of social welfare services in altering trajectories or increasing the capacities of individuals and families served by the basic protection network. The findings point to the diversity of trajectories, as well as common stories for the interviewees as a whole. The different territories indicate a precariousness, in general, of a social infrastructure, marked by the precarious provision of services and by situations of violence and violation of rights. The meetings between families and CRAS members and the relationships established show different types and degrees of intensity. The reports of women exposed more systematically to the effects of services are clearer regarding changes in trajectories and subjectivities from the CRAS meetings.

This article discusses the challenges of implementing the Municipal Policy for Early Childhood Development in the City of São Paulo, known as “São Paulo Carinhosa”. Combining quantitative and qualitative strategies, the article is based on a process evaluation of this policy in a vulnerable neighborhood in central São Paulo. Analytically, the importance of process evaluations (beyond results and impact) is emphasized, particularly in the context of new policy agendas, with complex coordination and implementation arrangements. The article intends to contribute with both the discussion about the importance and the challenges of the evaluation of municipal policies and with the analysis of implementation features that should be considered in the improvement of intersectoral agendas.

The large number of judicial cases – caseload – and the inability to appropriately respond to such caseload is one of the main problems of the Brazilian Judiciary, and of many judiciaries around the world. Although Brazilian courts have been able to increase production capacity in recent years, the growing demand generates a sense of inefficiency and results in what is known as 'court congestion'. Several factors are related to congestion, and the present study seeks to test one of these factors: the work force. The objective is to describe the relationship between the rate of congestion of courts and the available work force. Data were collected on Justice in Numbers (CNJ) database and refer to state courts from 2009 to 2016. To analyze the data descriptive statistics and linear correlation techniques were used. Results indicate that congestion rate is positively correlated to the absolute workforce in justice. However, the correlation becomes negative when the workforce considered is proportional to the number of inhabitants. This indicates that the policy of personnel allocation in Brazilian state justice is misaligned with the caseload.

This study aims to identify the main performance inhibitory barriers in family farming cooperatives and understand how these barriers can hamper the access and development of public policies. The comparative case study method was adopted in two cooperatives, Cooperativa dos Produtores Rurais das Matas de Minas (COOPRAMM) and Cooperativa dos Produtores da Agricultura Familiar Solidária (COOPAF), with the purpose of analyzing interviews with members of the board of directors. There were some common barriers in the cooperatives, such as resource constraints and low participation of members. The elements that particularize them - associated with historical trajectory, management and technical assistance – are taken as performance inhibiting to access the institutional market in COOPRAMM. This work is certainly a useful tool to support public managers in the performance,access and development of public policies through the diagnosis of the main barriers, contributing for the proposal of governmental initiatives in order to support the strengthening of these organizations as articulators of the institutional market.

Conferences on public policy for women are relevant spaces for social participation, in which social actresses act and interact to influence the development of gender equality policies. In this paper, we aim to understand the repertoires and action strategies used by participants at the 5th Sao Paulo Conference on Public Policy for Women. Based on Alvarez and contributors (2003), we identified three main repertoires: double militancy, autonomist, and institutional. We also identified a coalition of power holders, formed by the municipal government and organizations close to it. This coalition was challenged mainly by the transgender women group, which was looking to increase their presence at the conference. We finish the paper discussing probable implications for the participative dynamic of conferences.

This paper aims at examining the transparency of executive power in Brazilian states and large municipalities, presenting an overview of transparency in governmental portals. We start from the assumption that transparency is not complete and would be unequal among governments, which was confirmed in the analysis of results. The research model was developed based on previous studies, codes of good practice prepared by national and international agencies and NGOs, and Brazilian legislation. The findings point to incomplete transparency, both at state and municipal levels, and focused primarily on meeting legal requirements. The results also point out that there is inequality in the transparency of observed governments.

This research aims to map the academic production on the field of Administration concerning “e-Democracy” and “e-Government”. The corpus is composed by articles published in Brazilian high impact journals in the field of Public Administration, public policies and information systems, from 2002 until 2016. The study analyzes the texts according to variables year, journal, author, approach (managerial, political, hybrid), through content analysis. The research has found 49 articles mostly concentrated in only seven journals and mostly produced by researchers from only six Brazilian institutions. In addition, we found that the term "digital democracy" was practically non-existent until 2011. Finally, management approach was predominant in early stages, but was overcome by political approach in recent years. We conclude that the area of Administration has been able to overcome an overly managerial view, but the subject still needs more academic attention.

Efficiency in public spending is a major challenge of public administration. In this study, the efficiency of allocation of federal resources to Brazil’s 27 states (UFs) during the administrations of presidents Lula and Dilma was assessed. To do so, data envelopment analysis (DEA) to the constant returns to scale model (Charnes, Cooper and Rhodes, 1978), known as CCR model, and the variable returns to scale model (Banker, Charnes and Cooper, 1984), named BCC model, output-oriented were applied. Spending on health care and education and mean household income was used as variables in the models, while the mean FIRJAN index of municipal development (IFDM) of each UF was adopted as outcome parameter. Subsequently, DEA-measured allocation efficiency was correlated with the GDP of each UF. Using CCR model (according to which efficiency is calculated assuming a proportionality between inputs and outputs), the number of efficient UFs was found to be significantly greater during Dilma administration. Using BCC model (according to which maximum efficiency is dependent on economy of scale), the number of efficient UFs was greater during Lula administration, but the difference was non-significant. Correlations were observed between CCR model and BCC model and between CCR model and GDP, but not between BCC model and GDP.

Despite public policy actions aiming to increase the rate of access to higher education, there are some idle vacancies in both private and public sectors. In relation to the public sector, public universities develop actions through their own institutional policies aiming to fill idle vacancies related, among other reasons, to the low demand or dropout in the respective undergraduate course. The present quantitative study was carried out at the University of Brasília and had the purpose of analyzing the influence of the attractiveness of undergraduate courses, as well as the existence of the so-called "trampoline effect", in idle vacancies destined to internal transfers of undergraduate courses. The analysis of the 1,050 distinct cases that occurred from 2012 to 2016 was done through statistical techniques. The results showed statistical significance for the trampoline effect: students abandoned less attractive undergraduate courses towards more attractive courses. In addition, it was noted the migration of students from more recently created courses, especially through Reuni's policy, towards other older undergraduate courses at the institution. On the other hand, the attractiveness of the course did not show significant statistical association with the knowledge area of the courses (arts, biological, exact and human sciences). In short, the results showed that the institutional policy of internal transfer adopted by UnB has contributed to the increase of idle places in the courses of medium and low attractiveness.

This case study aims at interpreting the social representations that characterize the Social Observatory of Brazil, its identity, organizational challenges and perspectives, under the coordination of Rede OSB of social accountability. To legitimize its performance, the organization enables partnerships and adopts a stance of political-party exemption, preservation of the public agent’s image, professionalization and standardization of procedures. Its main challenges and / or perspectives can be better understood considering its ambiguities and complementarities, that is, in the light of complex thinking, in the approach adopted here. For this analysis, the social representations were grouped according to three aspects that typify the engagement in social accountability: strategy, organization and context. The social representation of denial of political parties makes complex the long-term construction of lasting bridges between Society and State for the co-production of the public good, and shows the difficulty of the organized Society itself to build bridges.

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This paper analyzes transparency as an element in the coproduction of public goods and services. The analysis considers types of coproduction in the literature, presents structuring elements of coproduction and its relationships – transparency, trust, accountability, and citizen participation –, and describes three models of street paving provision in Brazilian municipalities. This is a qualitative and theoretical-empirical study, using a descriptive and analytical approach to examine and discuss a governmental program delivering street paving. The field research was carried out in 2016 and 2018, including interviews with public managers and residents, as well as documental analysis. As a result, the relevance of transparency in coproduction is highlighted, mainly when there is a lack of accountability, as it helps to integrate public authorities and citizens, to promote trust, and facilitate service delivery.