Digital Cities Project (BR0073)

to implement the infrastructure for internet connection in municipalities, thus interconnecting public bodies and agencies. The project shall foster the use of electronic government tools in municipal public management, as well as provide for the development of an open digital network for the exchange of experiences and contents.

Commitment 3.5. Digital Cities Project

Commitment Text: To implement the infrastructure for internet connection in municipalities, thus interconnecting public bodies and agencies. The project shall foster the use of electronic government tools in municipal public management, as well as provide for the development of an open digital network for the exchange of experiences and contents.

Responsible institution: Ministry of Communications

Supporting institution: None

Start date: Not specified                          End date: 14 December 2014

Commitment aim

This project sought to improve digital inclusion in cities with fewer than 50,000 inhabitants. The commitment was designed to link public bodies and agencies by constructing Internet access infrastructure and conducting e-government training.

Status

Midterm: Substantial

The commitment was substantially completed. In the initial pilot phase of the project, 77 of the 79 pre-selected municipalities received new Internet infrastructure, 61 received training, and nine were in the process of receiving new e-government applications. According to interviews with government representatives, 262 municipalities were selected in the second phase of the project, 15 of which received new Internet infrastructure. The trainings for this last group had not yet begun.

End of term: Substantial

There has been no additional progress found by the IRM researcher since the midterm evaluation. The government’s self-assessment reported that the second phase of the project is expected to be completed in December 2019.

Did it open government?

Access to information: Did not change

Civic Participation: Did not change

Public accountability: Did not change

The commitment did not make clear its relevance to open government. Its main focus was on expanding the e-government capacity of disconnected cities, rather than promoting open government. It should be noted that the commitment did include in the pack of software delivered to each city important open government tools (such as the e-SIC system used to establish an ombudsman system). In addition, it showed positive results for e-government in Brazil. For example, there is evidence of cities using the new fiber optics and Internet access to monitor local security,^{[Note 93: Portal Brasil, “Programa Cidades Digitais leva internet a 71 cidades,” http://bit.ly/2jjxdsz. ]} process traffic violations more quickly, and organise health care enrollments.^{[Note 94: Parque Tecnológico Itaipu, “Cidades Digitais é lançado em Toledo. Itaipu e Fundação PTI são parceiras,” http://bit.ly/2i0Hesy.]} 

Carried forward?

The commitment is not included in the next action plan. If carried forward in the future, the IRM researcher suggests explicitly promoting the use of open government software (such as the e-SIC), and maintaining open software policies in addition to implementation and capacity-building priorities.