Innovation Tag Opengov: evaluation

With the maturing of the Transparency Policy in the Brazilian Federal Executive Branch, there was a need to broaden the assessment of the implementation of the Access to Information Act. The innovation here lies in the methodology adopted, which was previously quantitative and is now also qualitative, allowing an improvement in the answers provided to citizens and the extension of the transparency culture, favoring all stakeholders: public bodies under assessment, citizens and the Government.

Identifying representative indicators requires distinguishing the driving forces and directions of relationships in innovation, economic or health data. The innovation is an algorithm, a sequence of coded instructions, automated to derive visual tools directly from big data. The algorithm is adaptable to various fields of study for rapid, data visualisation and enables transparent, evidence-based indicator prioritisation.

The project of monitoring open government commitments was developed with the objective of guaranteeing the fulfillment of the Brazilian initiatives in the scope of the Open Government Partnership. It is a process carried out jointly, periodically and proactively by government and civil society, with significant results for society as a whole. This approach is materialized through specific monitoring and evaluation actions that provide transparency regarding the implementation of Brazilian OGP…

The methodology of the “Brazil Transparency Scale” Survey consists of a checklist on 17 categories that cover all relevant aspects of the access to information regulation at the local level, the existence and functionality of the electronic Citizen Information Service (passive transparency), as well as the information disclosure of public funds, revenue, expenditure, public bidding, etc. (active transparency). The final evaluation score ranged from zero to ten.

In citizen participation projects, analysing contributions is often a huge challenge for administrations. CitizenLab has developed machine-learning algorithms in order to help civil servants easily process thousands of citizen contributions and efficiently use these insights in decision-making. The dashboards on our platform classify ideas, show what topics are emerging, summarise trends and cluster similar contributions by theme, demographic trait or location.

The Internet has facilitated online services for citizens, but it has also facilitated Internet searches of service-seeking citizens by public officials, triggering conscious or unconscious bias. Via freedom of information (FOI) requests, academics provided evidence of this phenomenon at work. Brazil's Comptroller General (CGU) responded by implementing a check-box in its online FOI requesting system so that requesters could choose to remain anonymous. This innovation is a first for FOI regimes.

The Open Data Policy of the Federal Executive Branch was established by the Decree N. 8.777/2016. Besides establishing the possibility of requesting public databases, the policy sets up the obligation for each body to draw up an Open Data Plan (PDA), which systematizes the planning for the opening of public data. The CGU monitors (through www.paineis.cgu.gov.br/dadosabertos) around 230 federal agencies covered by the decree, establishing regular and customized contact with public managers.

Law nº 12.527/2011, the Access to Information Act, has come to materialize, in practice, transparency mechanisms of public information predicted in the 1988 Brazilian Federal Constitution, and in other several international treaties. The Law consolidates the understanding that public information is owned by society, not by public bodies that produce or keep it. Reviewing and improving mechanisms of various processes, such as increasing transparency and knowledge management, were implemented.