egov'br Operational Lessons from Brazilian Experience

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e-gov.brOperational Lessons from Brazilian
Experience

• Peter T. Knight
• Telemática e Desenvolvimento Ltda.
• www.tedbr.com
• peter_at_tedbr.com
• Presentation for the World Bank 29/06/04
• From Rio de Janeiro

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Structure of the Presentation

• Findings based on the book e-gov.br, with four
  authors and 40 contributors, published by
  Financial Times Prentice Hall, São Paulo, 2004
  for information, content in Portuguese and
  English see www.tedbr.com/projetos/e-dem.br/e-dem.
  br.htm
• Brazilian e-government successes and factors
  behind them
• Implementation Challenges
• E-government in Brazil Suggestions for the
  future based on experience to date
• Key operational issues for international
  financial organizations
• From e-government to e-democracy suggestions

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Brazils e-gov Success Stories and Factors

• Vision development in 1999-2000, the green book
  (well-led broad participatory process)
• e-Elections a world leader (key is top-down
  leadership from the Supreme Electoral Court
  TSE)
• Structuring the e-gov project as a state policy
  (rather than the policy of a single government,
  thus entering into the national political agenda,
  including states and muncípios)
• Government financial administration and tax
  declarations (SERPROs experience, continuity of
  leadership, IADB and BNDES financing)
• e-Procurement at the Federal and state levels
  (savings of 20 or more, faster processes, better
  quality, social control supported by IADB and
  BNDES funding)

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Brazils e-gov Success Stories and Factors (2)

• Educational TV, school computerization, teacher
  training, distance education by public
  universities (long experience with educational
  TV, leadership, new GESAC partnership)
• Breadth and Depth of Brazilian e-governments
  federal, state and local (technical depth,
  infrastructure, competition, emulation, funding)
• The Brazilian Payments System (Central Bank
  leadership and one positive legacy of high and
  variable inflation over decades)

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Implementation Challenges from the Past

• Connectivity and digital inclusion
• Need for change in the culture of public
  administration
• Vested interests in the status quo of suppliers,
  civil servants and politicians
• Federalism in e-government
• Legacy systems, diverse networks, and excessive
  number of telecom provider contracts

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GESAC Digital Inclusion via Satellite 3200
points 3/04
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Challenges for Brazilian Governments Sugestions
for the Future

• Consolidate the insertion of the e-government
  program in the priority agenda of the government
• Strengthen the penetration of e-gov in the
  organizational structure of ministries and
  secretariats
• Assure budgetary resources, rationalizing
  expenses
• Deepen horizontal integration (between
  ministries, secretariats) and vertial integration
  (between levels of the federation), with special
  emphasis on
• Unifying the provision of services to the citizen
• Strengthening infrastructure
• Strengthen processes and mechanisms for
  coordination and establishment of standards for
  e-government infrastructure to assure integration
  between platforms and systems (e-PING)

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Challenges for Brazilian GovernmentsSuggestions
for the Future (2)

• Define and implement, as a priority project, the
  establishment of the necessary infrastructure
• Advance in the evolution of quality and
  performance in supplying public services to
  citizens via the Internet toward capacity to
  carry out complete transactions
• Facilitate e-commerce, including inclusão
  empresarial
• Mobilize, motivate and train civil servants for
  new work styles, communication, access to
  information, and provision of e-government
  services using modern distance education and
  seeking returns to scale

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Challenges for Brazilian GovernmentsSuggestions
for the Future (3)

• Advance toward organizational restructuring of
  public administration, based on re-engineering
  processes so they are centered on citizens and
  their needs rather than corporate bureaucratic
  interests
• Consolidate viable, transparent and effective
  business models that facilitate partnerships with
  the private sector
• Consolidate and disseminate models of partnership
  between civil society organizations and all
  levels of government

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Key Operational Issues for IFIs

• Priorities not very different from those for
  e-gov.
• Integrate information infrastructure with other
  infrastructure investments the John Gage
  principle.
• Leadership from the top to overcome the silo
  syndrome as crucial for IFIs as for governments
  public sector reform may offer the greatest
  scope, but...
• Where leadership is lacking at the federal level,
  look leadership at lower levels of government.
• There is a need for international infrastructure
  finance IFIs not well structured for this.

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From e-government to e-democracy

• Digital inclusion is absolutely critical
• Strategic communication and consensus formation
  undervalued services
• E-government fosters transparency, participation,
  social control and accountability

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Thank you!
Telemática e Desenvolvimento Ltda. peter_at_tedbr.com
www.tedbr.com