A decade of decentralized management in Brazil : governance as a strategy in public projects

This paper describes the results of a descriptive/interpretive investigation that was guided by the assumption that the public management of the State of Santa Catarina (Brazil) has borrowed elements from Public Governance... [ view full abstract ]

This paper describes the results of a descriptive/interpretive investigation that was guided by the assumption that the public management of the State of Santa Catarina (Brazil) has borrowed elements from Public Governance since 2003. Modeled in the substantive approach to economics (POLANYI, 1980), in the paraeconomic paradigm, and the idea of social multidimensionality (GUERREIRO RAMOS, 1989), a conception was developed in order to verify the presence of such elements in the field. This conception is anchored in the move made by the neo-developmental State Public Administration to allow for the development process to take place by means of cooperation between State, market and civil society based one equity and responsiveness. It includes a genealogical proposal called ‘Elements of Public Governance Framework’, which is composed of the following elements or categories of analyses: coproduction of development through cooperation between State, market and civil society (PGE1); State coordination of the cooperation process, where the State acts as the mediator (PGE2); delegation of State authority in three directions: downward, upward and outward, recognizing the potential and encouraging the role of the networks (PGE3); emphasis on efficiency and effectiveness, linking them to mechanisms of both deliberative and direct democracy in search for responsive results(PGE4); and planning aimed at equity and regional development(PGE5). The empirical research, inspired by Weber’s ideal-type perspective, investigated the presence of these elements in three projects decentralized of this government in Brazil. The operationalization was conducted by means of semi-structured interviews with representatives of the State, civil society and the marketing each region, and the collected data under went categorical content analysis of an interpretive nature. The results indicated the presence of the elements in different degrees in each of the projects and suggest that faster progression is inhibited by two aspects: non-compliance with the legal framework that delineates and regulates the model, and the instrumental connotation given to the participation of civil society in the Regional Development Councils of some decentralized units. Considering the sample as representative of the reality in which the model is being deployed, the research recognizes that despite the embryonic stage, Santa Catarina public management borrows elements from Public Governance, therefore, confirming the hypothesis that encouraged the investigation. The results also suggest that this Brazilian reality deserves further investigation, expanding the number of projects analyzed, and sharing best practices with other decentralized units, strengthening results and improving that administrative region's indicators.