Public governance

While means-tested benefits such as minimum income benefits (MIB) and unemployment assistance (UA) are an essential safety net for low-income people and the unemployed, incomplete take-up is the rule rather than the exception. Building on desk research, open-ended surveys and semi-structured interviews, this paper investigates the opportunities and risks of using artificial intelligence (AI) for managing these means-tested benefits. This ranges from providing information to individuals, through determining eligibility based on pre-determined statutory criteria and identifying undue payments, to notifying individuals about their eligibility status. One of the key opportunities of using AI for these purposes is that this may improve the timeliness and take-up of MIB and UA. However, it may also lead to systematically biased eligibility assessments or increase inequalities, amongst others. Finally, the paper explores potential policy directions to help countries seize AI’s opportunities while addressing its risks, when using it for MIB or UA management.

As 'market referees', regulators contribute to the delivery of essential public utilities. Their organisational culture, behaviour, actions and governance are important factors in how they, and the sectors they oversee, perform. The OECD Performance Assessment Framework for Economic Regulators (PAFER) looks at the institutions, processes and practices that can create an organisational culture of performance and results. This report uses PAFER to assess both the internal and external governance of Brazil’s National Agency for Water and Basic Sanitation (ANA). The review offers recommendations for the regulator to build upon its strong technical reputation and good practices. It proposes an integrated set of recommendations to help ANA best fulfil its roles relating to water resource management and water-use regulation, dam safety, and water supply and sanitation.

Brazil's public governance efforts have been seen as a model for other Latin American countries in areas such as civil service reform, open and digital government. However, in line with regional trends, trust in government and public institutions in Brazil has consistently declined in recent decades, hindering inclusive and sustainable growth, as well as social cohesion. The COVID-19 and other emerging crises have further exacerbated this trend and highlighted the need to strengthen the resilience of public institutions. Brazil is the first country in Latin America to undertake an OECD study on the main drivers of trust in public institutions, as part of a broader effort in building trustworthy relationships between the people and institutions. This report provides novel evidence on Brazilian people’s expectations and evaluation of government’s reliability, responsiveness, openness, integrity and fairness, based on the OECD Trust Survey. Based on this evidence, it identifies opportunities to further enhance trust, including improving the delivery and responsiveness of public services, enhancing foresight, planning, and preparedness to address long-term challenges, and promoting communication and engagement between the government and the people.

The behaviours of both top- and middle-level managers matter for promoting open organisational cultures, mitigating integrity risks and fostering ethical behaviour by their staff. This report examines key issues around integrity leadership in Brazil’s federal public administration, based on an extensive survey of senior public officials. Informed and inspired by behavioural insights, it provides concrete recommendations for strengthening integrity leadership in Brazil.

In the face of what has increasingly been referred to as an ongoing 'permacrisis', governments must cope with and respond to emerging threats while already grappling with longstanding issues such as climate change, digital disruption and low levels of trust. In this context, understanding new approaches and spreading successful ideas has never been more important. To promote this, the OECD Observatory of Public Sector Innovation (OPSI) has analysed 1 084 innovative initiatives from 94 countries to derive and understand novel government practices. The report discusses four key trends: 1) new forms of accountability for a new era of government, 2) new approaches to care, 3) new methods for preserving identities and strengthening equity and 4) new ways of engaging citizens and residents. Ten case studies and dozens of supporting examples illustrate these trends.

The OECD Centre of Government Review of Brazil offers key recommendations on consolidating the strategic role of the country’s centre of government (CoG) in managing policy priorities and improving outcomes. The review examines the CoG’s roles, mandates, and its co-ordination capacities. It provides an assessment of Brazil’s ability to translate political commitments into measurable objectives and delves into its capacity to link strategic plans to outcomes. Focusing on the capacities of the CoG to contribute to the budget strategy and the federal budget, it considers medium- and long-term plans and how these align with the budgetary framework and how the budget can support policies in a coherent manner. The review also examines the CoG’s role in monitoring and evaluating high-priority policy performance and how this information can be used to improve outcomes. Finally, the review assesses how Brazil can consolidate and reinforce public communication, both to pursue policy objectives and to promote a more open government. 

Removing unnecessary barriers to competition through targeted reforms can foster productivity and economic growth. This Regulatory Reform Review of Brazil analyses sectors that create barriers to competition, such as regulations that create obstacles to the entry of firms, inhibit the entry of firms, or restrict activities in professional and network sectors. In a complementary way, the review also identifies government efforts to develop policies and tools to improve the quality of regulations, such as ex ante assessment of draft regulations, stakeholder engagement in rule making, and administrative simplification. High-quality regulations can stimulate productivity by encouraging the efficient allocation of resources and promoting innovation. In turn, these measures can reduce prices for consumers, stimulate the creation of jobs, and help improve living standards. The review identifies areas for reform to bring the country’s regulations and institutional arrangements more in line with international best practices. It demonstrates how a proportional, clear, and efficient regulatory framework can drive improvements in Brazil’s economic performance and the welfare of its citizens.

The Open Government Review of Brazil provides an evidence-based assessment of the country’s open government agenda against the ten provisions of the OECD Recommendation of the Council on Open Government. It is also the first OECD Open Government Review to integrate a civic space perspective. The review takes stock of past reform efforts, analyses the present situation and suggests key actions Brazil could take to strengthen its open government initiatives at the federal level, including in the areas of transparency and open data, citizen and stakeholder participation, social accountability and the protection of the civic space. The review provides a roadmap towards an integrated open government agenda in Brazil, including the design of Brazil's first Federal Open Government Strategy.

Governments can use artificial intelligence (AI) to design better policies and make better and more targeted decisions, enhance communication and engagement with citizens, and improve the speed and quality of public services. The Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region is seeking to leverage the immense potential of AI to promote the digital transformation of the public sector. The OECD, in collaboration with CAF, Development Bank of Latin America, prepared this report to help national governments in the LAC region understand the current regional baseline of activities and capacities for AI in the public sector; to identify specific approaches and actions they can take to enhance their ability to use this emerging technology for efficient, effective and responsive governments; and to collaborate across borders in pursuit of a regional vision for AI in the public sector. This report incorporates a stocktaking of each country’s strategies and commitments around AI in the public sector, including their alignment with the OECD AI Principles. It also includes an analysis of efforts to build key governance capacities and put in place critical enablers for AI in the public sector. It concludes with a series of recommendations for governments in the LAC region.