Reform Description

The “Território em Foco – Osasco pelo Clima” initiative is an effort aimed at transforming the way the city of Osasco, located in the metropolitan region of São Paulo, Brazil, plans and invests its public resources in response to the climate crisis. The project seeks to inform programs under the new Multi-Year Plan (PPA) 2026–2029 with technical evidence and direct input from residents of vulnerable areas, ensuring that municipal policies and resources respond fairly and effectively to the climate risks identified in the Municipal Risk Reduction Plan (2023).

The initiative will be implemented through deliberative mini-publics with residents from the northern and southern zones of the city, prioritizing areas at geological and hydrological risk. Participants were selected through a civic lottery, following a community outreach and engagement process carried out by community health workers and recruiters. These mini-publics are meeting over four sessions facilitated by trained moderators and experts, in a structured environment designed to foster high-quality dialogue. The methodology ensures diversity and representativeness, combining technical knowledge with local wisdom.

The deliberations will result in recommendation letters containing concrete proposals for their respective territories. These letters will be formally submitted during the PPA public hearings, establishing a real channel for community voices to influence the city’s strategic and budgetary planning. By innovating in social participation, Osasco aims to advance the development of climate change mitigation policies by placing the most vulnerable populations at the center of decision-making.

Problem(s) Addressed by Reform

The initiative aims to address the public problem of socio-environmental vulnerability experienced by populations living in high-risk areas of Osasco, especially in urban peripheries that are more exposed to floods, landslides, and other extreme events intensified by the climate crisis. These territories—often the result of an unequal and exclusionary urbanization process—lack adequate basic infrastructure such as stormwater drainage systems, sanitation, solid waste management, slope containment, and regular access to essential public services. This structural precariousness not only amplifies the material damage caused by climate events but also directly threatens the safety, health, and lives of the families who live there.

In response to this scenario, the initiative proposes the collective construction of solutions based on the knowledge accumulated by those who experience these vulnerabilities in their daily lives. Through meaningful listening, citizen deliberation, and the recognition of local knowledge within the minipublics, the project seeks to strengthen the institutional capacity of the Osasco City Hall to plan and implement public policies that are fairer, more effective, and responsive to territorial realities.

The implementation of minipublics represents a significant advancement because it promotes the inclusion of people who, for the most part, face multiple vulnerabilities—social, economic, and environmental—and whose voices have historically been excluded from decision-making spaces related to urban planning. This creates a cycle of exclusion and neglect, in which public policies fail to adequately or proactively address their needs, and public investments do not prioritize the most critical areas.

By bringing together a diverse and representative group of residents to deliberate based on high-quality information and with the presence of experts, the process creates a space for deep listening and collective solution-building. This contributes to the development of more effective public policies. Moreover, by directly linking the recommendations from the minipublics to the development of Osasco’s new Multi-Year Plan (PPA), the initiative establishes a real channel for popular influence in the city’s strategic decisions, ensuring that public investments reflect the priorities of those who are most affected by the climate crisis.

Relevance to OGP Values

The initiative directly strengthens the core values of open government, especially civic participation and transparency. By adopting the methodology of deliberative minipublics, the municipality of Osasco creates an organized, accessible, and representative space for the population—particularly those living in areas most affected by the climate crisis—to participate directly and in an informed manner in the formulation of public policies, such as in this case, the development of the 2026–2029 Multi-Year Plan (PPA).

By formally linking the recommendations of the minipublics to the PPA development process, the municipality establishes an institutional commitment to active listening and the incorporation of input from civil society. This reinforces the principle of public accountability, as it requires the government to provide a clear response regarding the incorporation (or not) of the recommendations deliberated by citizens. In doing so, it strengthens co-responsibility and social oversight of public policies.

In addition, during the deliberation process, participants have access to materials that are didactic and well-grounded, developed with the support of specialists, public servants, and technical staff from the relevant departments. This ensures a deeper understanding of the challenges and limitations of public administration. Furthermore, direct interaction with government officials during the sessions fosters mutual trust, transparency in the communication of technical data, and clarification of doubts, contributing to a more horizontal dialogue between government and society.

Intended Results

Development of a decentralized social participation axis, ensuring the inclusion of residents most exposed to climate change in decision-making processes related to the planning, implementation, and monitoring of public policies for their territories, addressing risks and strengthening communities.

Expansion of public awareness and engagement on climate issues, promoting environmental justice, resilience in vulnerable territories, and encouraging shared responsibility between the community and the government.

Influence on the municipal public budget, through the integration of minipublic recommendations into strategic and budgetary planning, ensuring that resources are allocated to priority actions identified by communities for climate risk reduction.

Milestones

April 11, 2025: Draw of the blocks classified as risk areas in the Municipal Risk Reduction Plan (2023).

April 22, 2025: Training workshop for field approach with health agents.

April 23 to May 7, 2025: Health agents went to the field to register residents interested in participating in the mini-publics.

May 9, 2025: Citizen sortition held, defining the 60 selected participants (primary and alternates) for the mini-publics, ensuring representativeness and diversity.

May 16, 2025: 1st session – Mini-public meeting of the southern zone to review the content material.

May 20, 2025: 1st session – Mini-public meeting of the northern zone to review the content material.

May 23, 2025: 2nd session – Mini-public of the southern zone delves deeper into the topic and prioritizes solutions.

May 27, 2025: 2nd session – Mini-public of the northern zone delves deeper into the topic and prioritizes solutions.

May 28, 2025: 3rd session – Mini-publics meet to produce recommendation letters for their respective territories (north and south).

May 31, 2025: Mini-public of the northern zone officially delivers its recommendation letter at the public hearing for the 2026-2029 Multiannual Plan.

June 3, 2025: 4th session – Mini-publics meet to produce a single joint recommendation letter.

June 7, 2025: Mini-public of the southern zone officially delivers its recommendation letter at the 2nd public hearing for the 2026-2029 Multiannual Plan, and representatives from both mini-publics formally deliver the joint recommendation letter.

June 7, 2025: Project completion.

Is Civil Society Involved?

Yes. Civil society was involved in all phases of the project—design, preparation, and deliberation—in a structured and meaningful way:

Co-creation of the project (design phase) – The project was conceived through a series of meetings with Delibera Brasil, a non-profit, non-partisan civil society organization that works to strengthen democracy through the promotion of deliberative processes based on civic lotteries. In these meetings, the objectives of the initiative, the methodological criteria for the minipublics, the timeline structure, and the proposal submitted to the international People Powered network's call for proposals were collectively defined.

Development of informational content (preparation phase) – A Content Group was formed with 30 members from various segments of civil society, including academic researchers, community leaders, municipal council members, and specialists in climate change, waste management, and civil defense. This group reviewed diagnostics, suggested new sources of evidence, proposed pedagogical approaches, and contributed to the final methodology for the deliberative workshops.

Formation of the minipublics (implementation phase) – The mobilization phase was led by community health agents and contracted recruiters who conducted fieldwork directly in the risk areas identified by the Municipal Risk Reduction Plan. They went door to door, inviting and registering residents interested in participating in the minipublics. This effort resulted in 203 registered individuals. A civic lottery was then conducted, selecting 60 participants (main and alternates) according to diversity criteria such as gender, education level, race, and residence in climate-vulnerable areas.

Throughout the entire process, civil society was not only consulted but shared responsibility for shaping the direction of the initiative, actively contributing to its legitimacy, relevance, and overall success.