To improve the information tools and data on bidding and contracting, qualifying and expanding the transparency of the São Paulo City Hall. (BRSP0001)

Commitment ID

BRSP0001

Commitment Title

To improve the information tools and data on bidding and contracting, qualifying and expanding the transparency of the São Paulo City Hall.

Problem

Lack of standardization of information related to public bidding and contracting, making it difficult to exercise social control over such information.

Status quo

There are a number of challenges to be overcome regarding the availability of information on public bids and contracts of the São Paulo City Hall, in order to simplify the exercise of social control. The information is available, however, in a scattered way, which imposes to the citizen the need to access several channels to trace the progress of a contract/bidding from its origin to its conclusion. The availability of data and information in a closed format, making it difficult to be reused by other players, as well as the technicality used in the language, making it difficult for the lay population to understand the procedures, are other problems to be faced, which will require a constant and consistent work of awareness and training for the City's employees. The existence of an organizational culture that is still alien to the principles of open government and to the existing norms for the instruction and publication of bidding processes and contracts is one of the main factors that contribute to the non-uniformity of the information.

Action

The commitment aims to standardize the information relating to public bidding and contracting. Currently, it is not easy to answer how many contracts are in effect at the São Paulo City Hall, which ones are about to expire, how many were added, etc., and standardization would make it easier to obtain these answers, without the need to consult several sources.

Necessary actions to implement the commitment include adapting the Electronic Information System - where all processes in the São Paulo City Hall are generated and processed - and ensuring standardization in the instruction of processes in each agency and secretariat, in order to enable the direct and automatic export of information to a reformulated Official Gazette of the City of São Paulo. This exportation will enable citizens to access information in a single portal, in an open format and with a more accessible language, which will also be made easier with the availability of a glossary of technical terms related to bidding and contracts.

Finally, training courses will be held so that both civil servants and civil society, especially public policy advisors, can take ownership of the new features of the City's Official Gazette in their respective activities.

How will the commitment contribute to solving the public problem described above?

The implementation of the commitment will result in the standardization of information regarding biddings and contracts from the moment of the instruction of the process in the agencies and secretariats of the Municipality of São Paulo which, in turn, will promote the simplification of the tracking of information about any process/bidding by the citizens, which can be done through a single channel, the Official Gazette of the City.

As a result of the training cycles, the action will also contribute to the dissemination of the open government agenda both internally and externally to the City Hall. In the first case, by making civil servants aware of the importance of the implication of open government principles in their actions and, in the second case, by disseminating the new functionalities of the City's Official Gazette to the interested public. It is, therefore, a commitment that will qualify active transparency and strengthen social control.

What long-term goal as identified in your Open Government Strategy does this commitment relate to?

The goal identified in the Open Government Strategic Vision that most strongly relates to the commitment in question is: "that the community of São Paulo be an integral part of, recognize itself in municipal public policies and see the public administration in a clear and simple way, recognizing the value of open government principles."

One of the first steps to achieve this recognition is to guarantee that the population has access to information. Thus, the relationship between goal and commitment is justified by its purpose of qualifying, expanding and facilitating access to data and information relating to bidding and contracts, promoting, at the same time, actions to disseminate the new features of the channel that will effect the changes, the Official Gazette of the City of São Paulo.

Primary Policy Area

Open Data, Right to Information

Primary Sector

Public Services (general)

What OGP value is this commitment relevant to?