Acessibilidade / Reportar erro

Efectiveness of participation in the municipal councils of social assistence in Brazil

Abstract

This article evaluates the effectiveness of participatory institutions in Brazil by empirically analyzing the municipal councils of social assistance. We process our evaluation via the Effectiveness Participation Index (IEP), which consists of three indicators: a) the degree of institutionalization of the councils; b) the quality of the deliberative processes; and c) the quality of representation. The IEP was constructed using official data on the functioning of the Policy Councils in 2012 (Census Suas Ministério do Desenvolvimento Social) for all municipalities in Brazil. We conclude that there are significant degrees of effectiveness of the participatory institutions in the country due to, on the one hand, the three constituent dimensions of participation—institutionalization, deliberation, and representation—and, on the other, regional and demographic differences between Brazilian municipalities.

effectiveness; participatory institutions; policy councils in social assistence; institutionalization; deliberation; representation

Centro de Estudos de Opinião Pública da Universidade Estadual de Campinas Cidade Universitária 'Zeferino Vaz", CESOP, Rua Cora Coralina, 100. Prédio dos Centros e Núcleos (IFCH-Unicamp), CEP: 13083-896 Campinas - São Paulo - Brasil, Tel.: (55 19) 3521-7093 - Campinas - SP - Brazil
E-mail: rop@unicamp.br