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Inception Report – Action plan – Contagem, Brazil, 2022 – 2024

Overview

Name of Evaluator

Isabella Lígia Moraes

Email

isabellaligiamoraes@gmail.com

Member Name

Contagem, Brazil

Action Plan Title

Action plan – Contagem, Brazil, 2022 – 2024

Section 1.
Compliance with
co-creation requirements

1.1 Does a forum exist?

Yes

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

In 2022, the Municipality of Contagem applied to become a member of OGP Local to obtain support for the development of an open government action plan, comprising a set of commitments aimed at promoting values in line with OGP’s goals. The establishment of these commitments mobilized different sectors of the Municipality, such as the Municipal Department of Information Technology, Municipal Prosecutor General’s Office, Municipal Office of Comptroller General, and Municipal Governance Office. The five commitments of the Action Plan were developed with the support of civil society representatives from the Association of Residents of Novo Progresso II District (AMONP) and the academic sector – UNA University Center –, through virtual and in-person meetings. The establishment of the Working Group was registered and published on the official website of the Municipality, as Ordinance CGM N. 08/2022, on August 4th, 2022, which was rectified in order to officially include new members on February 24th, 2023.

Provide evidence for your answer:

Rectification of the ordinance (August 4, 2022)

Ordinance (August 4, 2022)

Provide references here (e.g. interviews):

Publication of Ordinance CGM N. 08/2022, on August 4th, 2022.

Considering the entry of the Municipality of Contagem into the Open Government Partnership (OGP) and the need to draw up an Action Plan, a working group was established comprising different segments and profiles, with the purpose of defining practices, commitments, and strategies, aligned with OGP guidelines, aimed at implementing actions, as available in the following link: Publication of Ordinance CGM N. 08/2022, on August 4th, 2022.

1.2 Is the forum multi-stakeholder?

Yes

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

During the second half of 2022, the Municipality of Contagem co-created the Action Plan in partnership with OGP. The process was accompanied by the institution Association of Residents of Novo Progresso II District – AMONP, which acted as a representative of civil society in these meetings, in which five commitments were established based on the values of the international organization. Also, representatives of the academic sector have contributed to the elaboration of the commitments, ensuring a methodology consultancy. In this sense, the working group is composed of both governmental and non-governmental representatives in order to develop the Action Plan. The minutes of the 2nd meeting of the Working Group for the preparation of the OGP Action Plan (Sep. 06/22) show the participation of members of the government, universities, and civil society in face-to-face and virtual meetings, as it is possible to check in the “Evidence” section below.

Provide evidence for your answer:

Regular Meeting Minute_1

Regular Meeting Minute_2

Regular Meeting Minute_3

Provide references here (e.g. interviews):

On March 14, 2022, the Association of Residents of Novo Progresso II District (AMONP), as a representative of civil society, has written a letter to OGP Local in order to confirm its support for the registration of the Municipality of Contagem, to integrate the OGP Local Program, as it is possible to check in the link below:

Letter of Support: Novo Progresso Neighborhood Association 

On February 24th, 2023, a rectification of the Ordinance CGM N. 08/2022, of August 4th, 2022 was published on the official website of the Municipality of Contagem to officially include a new member of the civil society (Association of Residents of Novo Progresso II District – AMONP) and a representative of the academic sector (UNA University Center) to the Working Group, as available in the following link: RECTIFICATION OF CGM ORDER NO. 08/2022, OF AUGUST 04, 2022

1.3 Does the forum hold at least one meeting with civil society and non-governmental stakeholders during the co-creation of the action plan?

Yes

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

From August to November of 2022, on the first Tuesday of each month, the working group met to brainstorm and to systematize the commitments that make up the Action Plan. There were four in-person meetings, in which the co-creation processes integrated governmental and non-governmental actors in the definition of priorities and in the verification of challenges that possibly could come up in the execution of the commitments. Also, there were many virtual meetings to align the perspective of the civil society point of view to the action that was being developed by the government secretariats. During the preparation of the action plan, the population of Contagem was also included in the decision-making process regarding to the commitments. The municipality launched the Municipality’s Popular Participation System and the Decide Contagem platform, which allowed the population to vote and choose the priority commitments to be developed in the Action Plan. In the Evidence from this section, besides a picture of the Working Group, it is possible to check pictures from the referred launching of the Decide Platform of Contagem.

Provide evidence for your answer:

Decide- Contagem_1

Decide-Contagem_2

Contagem working group

Provide references here (e.g. interviews):

The active participation of civil society and non-governmental stakeholders can be verified in the minutes of the four meetings of the Working Group, as shared in the Evidence of the 1.2 section. In the Evidence of this 1.3 section, it is possible to verify a picture of this second meeting of the Working Group, in which governmental stakeholders from multiple secretariats, a representative from the Association of Residents of Novo Progresso II District – AMONP as a member of civil society and two representatives from UNA University Center took part, as their names attest, at the end of the aforementioned minute of the second meeting:
– Isabella Lígia Moraes (AMONP – civil society)
– Wagner Felipe Macedo Vilaça (UNA University Center)
– Dardania Gouveia dos Reis (UNA University Center)

1.4 Has the action plan been endorsed by the stakeholders of the forum or steering committee/group?

Yes

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

Since its beginning, the elaboration of the Action Plan was jointly developed by stakeholders from government and civil society, as the population of Contagem has voted to choose the commitments which development would be the priority to integrate the Action Plan, by the virtual website Decide Contagem. With the establishment of the Working Group, members of civil society (AMONP) and academia (UNA University Center) have participated actively in all the virtual and in-person meetings during the development of the Action Plan, contributing with opinions and perceptions from their point of view as non-governmental stakeholders in all the stages of the process, from the initial brainstorming to the consolidation of the action plan. In this sense, the action plan was developed and approved by the working group members – including civil society and non-governmental stakeholders – before being submitted to the OGP.

Provide references here (e.g. interviews):

A piece of news published on the official website of the Municipality of Contagem addresses the virtual meeting held on August 24, 2022, with the local director of OGP, Rudi Borrmann, with the aim of presenting the advances in Contagem’s Action Plan for Open Government Partnership – OGP, as it is possible to check in this link. The news confirms that the representative from civil society from AMONP attended this last meeting before the delivery of the final Action Plan to OGP, as the following excerpt attests: “The meeting was attended by the controller general, Nicolle Bleme, the attorney general of the municipality, Sarah Campos, social counselor Isabella Lígia Moraes, representative of the Association of Residents of Bairro Novo Progresso II – Amonp, an institution that has been supporting Contagem since registration with the OGP, and with members of the Working Group established by Ordinance CGM No. 08/2022, of August 4, 2022”.

 

Section 2.
Recommended practices
in co-creation

2.1 Does the government maintain a Local OGP website or webpage on a government website where information on the OGP Local process (co-creation and implementation) is proactively published?

Yes

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

On the official website of the Municipality of Contagem, there is a Transparency Portal that has a link to the Open Government publications. It is possible to check there all the documentation related to the development of the commitments and the Action Plan.

Provide references here (e.g. interviews):

Transparency Portal – Contagem.

2.2 Did the government provide information to stakeholders in advance to facilitate informed and prepared participation in the co-creation process?

Yes

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The working group involved in the process of co-creation of the commitments that make up the Open Government Action Plan of the Municipality of Contagem provided information in advance to interested parties, both governmental and civil, to facilitate informed and prepared participation in the co-creation process. In the first face-to-face meeting of the group, a diagnosis of Open Government was shared with a focus on the stage of Social Participation, carried out by the Getúlio Vargas Foundation – FGV in partnership with the Municipality of Contagem in April 2022, which helped to identify challenges and possibilities for the development of this form of governance. This diagnosis is available for public consultation on the City Hall website. Based on the Open Government diagnosis (FGV / Contagem Municipality), the Seminar “Open Government and Popular Participation” was promoted in May 2022, in the space of the city hall and with live transmission on the City Hall’s Youtube channel. It is possible to check the popular participation in this event by the picture shared in the Evidence below. In this Seminar, the Decide Contagem Platform was launched, aimed at popular participation through digital voting on projects and work priorities.

Provide evidence for your answer:

Decide-Contagem
Diagnosis FGV

Provide references here (e.g. interviews):

On April 2022, the diagnosis of the four dimensions of Open Government was published on the City Hall website, focusing on the stage of Social Participation, prepared by the Getúlio Vargas Foundation – FGV in partnership with the Contagem City Hall. This diagnosis was prepared to verify how social participation manifests itself in the municipality, the challenges, and possible solutions to improve the perspectives of Open Government. The diagnosis was shared by governmental stakeholders of the Working Group with the civil society and academic members in order to base and facilitate the discussions about the development of the Action Plan. It is also available to the population and possible interested people on the official website of the Municipality of Contagem, by the link below:

Diagnosis of the four dimensions of Government, focusing on the stage of  Social Participation

The “Open Government and Popular Participation” Seminar took place on May 20, 2022, at the Municipality of Contagem and gathered around 450 people, in person and virtually. During the event, which featured specialized discussions on the subject, the launch of Decide Contagem took place, a digital platform for popular participation through which the population could elect the commitments that would integrate the Action Plan that would be delivered to OGP. News about the event can be found at the following link:

City Hall invests in popular participation to make a more plural city with more well-being

The following link presents the lectures of the aforementioned Seminar “Open Government and Popular Participation” (May 20, 2022), which took place in the City Hall and was broadcast live on the City Hall’s YouTube channel.

2.3 Did the government ensure that any interested member of the public could make inputs into the action plan and observe or have access to decision-making documentation?

Yes

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The dissemination of documentation related to the development of the Action Plan took place mainly through the City Hall website, the City Hall channel on YouTube, and face-to-face meetings in which the interested population was summoned.

In the Seminar “Open Government and Popular Participation”, promoted on May 2022, the digital platform Decide Contagem was launched in order to enable social/civic participation in the decision-making for Open Government in the Municipality. The population had the opportunity to choose the commitments to integrate the Action Plan for OGP Local, voting between October and November 2022. Some examples of the material developed to publicize the election process that would take place in Decide Contagem platform are shared in the Evidence below.

Meanwhile, in the meetings of the Working Group, the Associação dos Moradores do Bairro Novo Progresso II – AMONP represented civil society with broad access to all requested documentation that could act as proof or evidence of the processes developed. It was verified, in the meetings, the collective construction of the commitments among the members of the different government secretariats, the representatives of the academia, and of the civil society, with attentive listening to the demands of the population of the municipality.

Provide evidence for your answer:

Participate in the voting and help select commitments

Voting to define the priority axes

Decide-Contagem

Provide references here (e.g. interviews):

The virtual platform Decide Contagem launched in the referred Seminar on May 2022, promoted an increase in social/civic participation in the decision-making of priorities to be developed in projects or action plans for the city. The platform is available at the following link:

Decidim Contagem

The following link presents the call to the population to take part in the development of the 1st Open Government Plan of Contagem Municipality (Oct. 17th – Nov. 11th /22):

Decidim Contagem Process

2.4 Did the government proactively report back or provide written feedback to stakeholders on how their contributions were considered during the creation of the action plan?

Unclear

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The information provided by the municipal government to interested parties on how their contributions were considered during the creation of the Action Plan was disclosed mainly through the official website of the City Hall and through the Minutes of face-to-face meetings. Considering that the first contribution of the population of Contagem was the definition of commitments through digital voting on the Decide Contagem platform, this disclosure occurred through sharing the voting results on the official website of the City Hall. In addition, the aforementioned Minutes of the Working Group meetings show the comments and contributions of members from different sectors of government, participants from academia, and representatives of civil society during the co-creation of the commitments.

Provide references here (e.g. interviews):

Regarding the presentation of the 5 commitments to the OGP on December/22, it is possible to verify the following statement by the controller of the Municipality, Nicolle Bleme: “The five commitments that will compose the Action Plan are still being structured and will be published in the future on the platform Decides Contagem, so that society is part of the whole development, whether with proposals, comments or suggestions”.

Contagem advances and strengthens actions aimed at transparency, inclusion, and citizen participation in management 

2.5 Was there an iterative dialogue and shared ownership between government and non-governmental stakeholders during the decision-making process, including setting the agenda?

Yes

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The government, the civil society organization, the municipality’s academic environment, and the population itself worked together to establish the agenda of priorities for the commitments. It is evident that, in the “Open Government and Popular Participation” Seminar, which took place in May 2022 in person and with live transmission on the City Hall’s Youtube channel, the Platform Decide Contagem was launched, aimed at popular participation through digital voting on projects and work priorities. Through this platform, in October and November 2022, the population of the municipality was able to elect, through digital voting, three priority commitments for the Open Government Plan, as it is possible to check in the Evidence below. In this way, the population actively participated in deciding priorities for commitments and, in the Working Group meetings, was represented in its interests by the civil society organization responsible for monitoring the process.

Provide evidence for your answer:

Participate in the development of the 1st open government plan of Contagem

2.6 Would you consider the forum to be inclusive and diverse?

Moderately

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The Action Plan developed by the Working Group is considered to be inclusive and diverse at a moderate level, considering that there are men and woman stakeholders, as it is possible to check in the evidence below, but there is no formal position for other groups representing diverse communities.

Provide evidence for your answer:

Contagem working group

Section 3.
Initial evaluation
of commitments

1 Commitment :

Develop a mobile application for georeferencing third-sector institutions to ensure that citizens have access to information about the services provided in partnership with the municipality.

1.1 Is the commitment verifiable?

Yes

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The commitment clearly identifies the problem it aims to solve, which consists of the lack of knowledge of a large part of the population of Contagem regarding the social services provided by civil society organizations in partnership with the municipality, resulting in information asymmetry. Consequently, this scenario results in a political capture of the social services provided by some groups, which generates a lack of transparency and access to information. It is therefore relevant to OGP values. The commitment is also verifiable in its implementation, as the resources to achieve this commitment are partially guaranteed, both financial resources and the partnership with UNA students for the development of the app’s layout and usability. Also, the commitment clearly states the date when it will be completed, which will be on June 2023.

1.2 Does the commitment language/activities clearly justify relevance to OGP values?

Yes

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The development of a mobile application for georeferencing third-sector institutions will allow citizens of the municipality of Contagem more access to services made available to citizens by Civil Society Organizations in partnership with the Municipality. The importance of this commitment resides in the fact that it guarantees the independence of citizens in relation to political mediators, giving more autonomy to citizens and ensuring care and assistance to families, individuals, or groups in vulnerable situations, in the defense and guarantee of rights. Thus, this commitment is relevant to the OGP values of transparency, innovation, and technology, considering that it aims to improve access to information and the quality of shared information.

Provide evidence for your answer:

1.3 Please select one option that best describes the commitment:

a new regulation, policy, practice, or requirement.

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The commitment consists of a new practice since until then there has been no centralization of information on services provided by the Municipality in partnership with civil society organizations.

1.4 Please select one option that best describes the commitment:

will result in a change of the rules, practices, or policies that govern a policy area, public sector, and/or relationship between citizens and is binding or institutionalized across government or specific institution(s).

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The development of the application will make it more accessible and expand the reach of information about these services, guaranteeing the population access to information, its autonomy, and a reduction in social vulnerability. In this sense, the committee can potentially change the relationship between citizens and the services provided in the municipality.

1.5 Are there any recommended changes to the design of the commitment to help improve its implementation?

Considering that internet access is an important open government tool, it is warned that the digital divide is a challenge in the Municipality that can impact the population’s access to the application. In this sense, it is recommended to work on strategies for digital inclusion in conjunction with the implementation of this commitment, especially aimed at the population in a situation of social vulnerability.

2 Commitment :

Improve the usability and content of the Transparency Portal of the Municipality of Contagem

2.1 Is the commitment verifiable?

Yes

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The commitment clearly identifies the problem to be solved, which consists of the lack of accessibility of the Transparency Portal of the Municipality of Contagem, both in its usability and in the organization of its content. Failures in search engines and the complexity of organizing information result in poor communication between the government and citizens. By improving the portal’s accessibility, it will be able to effectively perform its role as a space for the transparency of information in public management. As such, it is relevant to OGP’s values as it presents technology and innovation for transparency. The commitment is verifiable in its implementation since the Transparency Portal already exists and meets the requirements of the legislation, requiring improvements that do not require financial resources for its execution. Furthermore, the commitment clearly states the date when it will be finalized, which will be on December 2023.

2.2 Does the commitment language/activities clearly justify relevance to OGP values?

Yes

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The improvement in usability and content of the Transparency Portal of the Municipality of Contagem will allow government and citizens to improve communication by facilitating access to information. The importance of this commitment resides in the fact that it guarantees citizens the opportunity of supervising and ensure the correct application of public resources, expanding the interest and involvement of citizens in government actions. Thus, this commitment is relevant to the OGP value of transparency, considering that it aims to improve access to information through technology and innovations, considering that the improvements in the Portal of Transparency will strengthen social control and data transparency.

Provide evidence for your answer:

2.3 Please select one option that best describes the commitment:

a continuation of the ongoing practice in line with existing legislation, policies, or requirements.

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The commitment is a continuation of ongoing practice, considering that it consists of improvements in the Portal of Transparency, which already exists in line with the requirements of the legislation. However, much information is not available in an open format, making it necessary to improve the organization, presentation of information, and integration with the systems used internally to improve content updating. Also, the usability of the Portal needs to be improved, by adapting the layout to make it more accessible and its use more intuitive.

2.4 Please select one option that best describes the commitment:

will result in a change of the rules, practices, or policies that govern a policy area, public sector, and/or relationship between citizens and is binding or institutionalized across government or specific institution(s).

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The commitment activities will result in a change in the practices that govern the public sector. The Portal of Transparency, as it works now, makes difficult the propagation of information by the government and also the access to information by citizens. Thus, the improvements proposed by the commitment will provide a positive change in the communication between government and the population, by integrating systems in order to share information with transparency and also making the Portal more usable for citizens.

2.5 Are there any recommended changes to the design of the commitment to help improve its implementation?

When noticing that the information is not centralized in the government, but is spread out in different sectors whose systems do not communicate so effectively, it is considered that the integration of the systems for updating the information shared on the portal will be a challenge, due to the difficulty of locating data. Therefore, considering that the Municipality of Contagem still provides a high number of services analogically, it is understood as necessary to mobilize different sectors of the municipality to integrate information and digitize it, which may result in the need for a deadline changing for the delivery of the commitment.

3 Commitment :

Improve and develop the System of Popular and Citizen Participation in the Municipality of Contagem, expanding popular and democratic participation in the formulation of public policies.

3.1 Is the commitment verifiable?

Yes

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The commitment clearly identifies the problem it aims to solve, which consists of the
planning of the municipal system of popular and citizen participation, which has not yet been fully implemented, considering that there are instruments, but they have little or no operation, such as the Public Policy Councils, Regional Councils, and Municipal Conferences. Consequently, although the municipality has numerous participatory tools, there is a need to integrate these processes, to improve the definition of attributions of each participation channel and to centralize information. It is therefore relevant to OGP values. The commitment is also verifiable in its implementation, as the financial resources to achieve this commitment are guaranteed. Also, the commitment clearly states the date when it will be completed, which will be on October 2024.

3.2 Does the commitment language/activities clearly justify relevance to OGP values?

Yes

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The improvement and development of the System of Popular and Citizen Participation in the Municipality of Contagem will allow the expansion of popular and democratic participation in the formulation of public policies. The importance of this commitment resides in the fact that it ensures an effective relationship between the municipality and citizens, bringing more transparency and co-management to strengthen a participatory governance system, allowing the participation and involvement of citizens in politics and decision-making processes. The referred improvements mainly consist of implementing the Decidim digital platform, with the centralization of participatory channels and processes, and expanding participation to a hybrid environment, both face-to-face and virtual. Thus, this commitment is relevant to the OGP value of public participation, as the proposed mechanism enables the development of a participatory management system.

Provide evidence for your answer:

Contagem Activities 2022

3.3 Please select one option that best describes the commitment:

a continuation of the ongoing practice in line with existing legislation, policies, or requirements.

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The commitment is a continuation of ongoing practice, considering that it consists of improvements in the System of Popular and Citizen Participation in the Municipality of Contagem, which already exists in line with the requirements of the legislation, in tools such as the Public Policy Councils, Regional Councils, and Municipal Conferences. However, the processes that already exist have decentralized information and the systems are not integrated, having a small operation and an inefficient reach. Thus, the implementation of the Decidim platform will enhance the channels of participation and develop governance that is more committed to society. The following link presents a notice published on the city hall’s official website, which attests to the investment of R$ 15 million in 75 works chosen by the population through the popular participation system.

3.4 Please select one option that best describes the commitment:

will result in a change of the rules, practices, or policies that govern a policy area, public sector, and/or relationship between citizens and is binding or institutionalized across government or specific institution(s).

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The commitment activities will result in a change in the practices that govern the public sector. The System of Popular and Citizen Participation in the Municipality of Contagem, as it works now, makes difficult the operation of the programs by the government and also the access to information and to participation by citizens. Thus, the improvements proposed by the commitment and the development of the Decidim platform will provide a positive change in the communication between the government and the population, by integrating systems in order to share information with transparency and also making public participation more relevant, as the proposed mechanism enables the development of a participatory management system.

3.5 Are there any recommended changes to the design of the commitment to help improve its implementation?

Digital exclusion is a challenge in the Municipality and can impact the reach of the Decidim platform and, consequently, can filter the portion of the population that will actively participate in decision-making processes. Thus, it is recommended to work on strategies for digital inclusion in conjunction with the implementation of this commitment, especially aimed at the population in a situation of social vulnerability.

4 Commitment :

Develop and implement the Contagem Integrity Plan – PIC

4.1 Is the commitment verifiable?

Yes

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The commitment clearly identifies the problem it aims to solve, which consists of the lack of actions to detect and prevent irregularities and misconduct, as well as efforts to ensure more transparency and efficiency in the provision of public services. The development of the Counting Integrity Plan – PIC also aims to contribute to solving the lack of programs in government aimed at providing guidance on topics such as ethics, morality, integrity, and anti-corruption practices. Consequently, this scenario results in a low involvement and engagement of the secretariats with ethics, transparency, integrity, and compliance practices. Therefore, it is relevant to the OGP values. The commitment is also verifiable in its implementation, as it involves changing attitudes by promoting ethical conduct among government employees, agents, and third parties, ensuring the detection and prevention of acts of corruption, irregularities, and misconduct.

4.2 Does the commitment language/activities clearly justify relevance to OGP values?

Yes

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The development and implementation of the Contagem Integrity Plan – PIC will promote a cultural change in the bodies and entities of the Public Administration of the Municipal Executive Power to develop transparency and integrity in the provision of services to the citizens. In this way, the sense of ethics, responsibility, and integrity will be expanded, in addition to developing mechanisms for monitoring and improving the execution of activities. The importance of this commitment resides in the fact that, with the implementation of the PIC, it is expected to act more assertively in detecting and preventing acts of corruption, irregularities, and misconduct. Thus, this commitment is relevant to the OGP value of transparency, considering that the PIC includes an effort of providing access to data, information, and public decisions that directly impact the lives of citizens. Also, it attends the OGP value of technology/innovation for public participation, by an improvement of the channels of communication between government and society, providing more access to information and expanding popular participation, and enabling the inspection of public services.

4.3 Please select one option that best describes the commitment:

a new regulation, policy, practice, or requirement.

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The commitment consists of a new practice since until then there has been a lack of actions aimed at open government, policies that seek transparency, popular participation, and practices aimed at anti-corruption. It aims to build a new culture of practices in the government and in its communication with citizens.

4.4 Please select one option that best describes the commitment:

will result in a change of the rules, practices, or policies that govern a policy area, public sector, and relationship between citizens and is binding or institutionalized across government or specific institution(s).

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The commitment activities will result in a change of the practices related to the practices of open government in the Municipality of Contagem. The Contagem Integrity Plan – PIC will organize and systematize isolated compliance actions, to create an institutional culture with greater credibility and efficiency in the execution of municipal administration activities. Thus, the implementation of this commitment will provide a positive change in open government practices and in the communication between the government and the population.

4.5 Are there any recommended changes to the design of the commitment to help improve its implementation?

There is no recommended change to the proposed processes for implementing the Contagem Integrity Plan – PIC, as its design is perfectly able to result in a cultural change of government practices.

5 Commitment :

Implement the Chamber for Prevention and Administrative Resolution of Conflicts in Contagem (CPRAC-C) – Open Justice

5.1 Is the commitment verifiable?

Yes

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The commitment clearly identifies the problem it aims to solve, which consists of the low effectiveness in the promotion of rights by judicial courts in response to citizens’ problems. Considering that access to justice by population is an obstacle due to the time of response, the implementation of the Chamber for Prevention and Administrative Resolution of Conflicts in Contagem (CPRAC-C) will contribute to providing more efficiency and speed in access to rights by the population by solving demands from Contagem’s citizens in an administrative sphere and, consequently, promoting open justice development. It is therefore relevant to OGP values. Despite of the non-definition of the necessary budget for implementing the commitment, it is verifiable in its implementation, since it presumes a feasible methodological reorganization to improve the work processes of the government sector.

5.2 Does the commitment language/activities clearly justify relevance to OGP values?

Yes

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The development and implementation of the Chamber for Prevention and Administrative Resolution of Conflicts in Contagem (CPRAC-C) will promote an improvement in popular participation in conflict resolution. The mechanisms that will be developed by the government aim to solve conflicts of the citizens in a consensual manner and in the administrative sphere, promoting de-judicialization and social pacification cultural change in the bodies and entities of the Public Administration of the Municipal Executive Power. The importance of this commitment resides in the fact that it will develop transparency and integrity in services provided to citizens. Thus, this commitment is relevant to the OGP value of public participation and inclusion, considering that it will ensure more effectiveness and efficiency in solving real problems that affect the day-to-day life of the city’s population.

5.3 Please select one option that best describes the commitment:

a new regulation, policy, practice, or requirement.

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The commitment consists of a new practice since until then there has been low access to justice by citizens of Contagem in judicial court and a lack of effectiveness in the solution of actions involving different public administration agencies. In this sense, citizens depend on a slow process of solving their conflicts because of an overload of lawsuits handled by the judicial court and the related parties. Also, relevant political cases that may impact the municipal public administration end up getting a slow response time due to this overload of cases.

5.4 Please select one option that best describes the commitment:

will result in a change of the rules, practices, or policies that govern a policy area, public sector, and/or relationship between citizens and is binding or institutionalized across government or specific institution(s).

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The commitment activities will result in a change in the practices related to open justice in the Municipality of Contagem. The Chamber for Prevention and Administrative Resolution of Conflicts in Contagem (CPRAC-C) will empower the population to solve their conflicts and remove the overload of lawsuits handled by the government sector. Thus, the implementation of this commitment will contribute to the reduce the time response and volume of judicial lawsuits in promoting the rights required by citizens.

5.5 Are there any recommended changes to the design of the commitment to help improve its implementation?

There is no recommended change to the proposed processes for the implementation of the Chamber for Prevention and Administrative Resolution of Conflicts in Contagem (CPRAC-C), as its design is perfectly able to result in a feasible change of the relationship between government and citizens in the proposed runtime.

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