Public management policies in two brazilian states: investigating the role of policy entrepreuneurs

This study focuses on the concept of "policy entrepreneurs", still unexplored in Brazil as a theoretical and conceptual tool able to explain changes and innovations in public policy. Considering the importance of good and... [ view full abstract ]

This study focuses on the concept of "policy entrepreneurs", still unexplored in Brazil as a theoretical and conceptual tool able to explain changes and innovations in public policy. Considering the importance of good and efficient public policies to the development of economies in transition like Brazil, our overall goal is to verify how some potential "policy entrepreneurs" acted to promote innovation and develop public management policies in the sub-national level, highlighting two cases the brazilian specialized literature indicates as paradigmatic when it comes to managerial reform and public management policies: Minas Gerais and Pernambuco. In this way, we intend to investigate why and how was this formulation process and innovation in public management policies in both states, identifying key elements that characterize the role of these agents of change: the positions of the "entrepreneurs actors" involved, the negotiation mechanisms employed, the ideas that supports the formulation of the policy, strategic alliances of support or opposition to the policy etc. The proposal is justified because of the absence of an important aspect of studies in this analytical perspective: the role played by specific individual actors in the formulation, advocacy and dissemination of policies to reform the public administration. We will use qualitative methodology by doing direct interviews with the policy actors involved, document analysis of official government data combined with literature review of the most important international references on public policy. Thus, we will seek to understand the role of policy entrepreneurs in defense, political support and dissemination of proposals for administrative reform and public management policy innovation in selected cases, investigating to what extent the presence and activities of these entrepreneurs is responsible for the continuity of managerial reform in Brazil. Thus, we intend to add evidence about the path taken by its main entrepreneurs, deepening the understanding of the role of these actors in triggering management reforms.