Methodology
| Autor | Gregory Michener - Luiz Fernando Marrey Moncau - Rafael Velasco. |
| Ocupação do Autor | Associate Professor, Ebape/Fgv Director, Program for Public Transparency - Manager Center for Technology and Society (Centro de Tecnologia e Sociedade), Fgv Direito Rio - Program Coordinator Program for Public Transparency, Fgv. |
| Páginas | 25-34 |
1. General Audit
As described in the introduction, the Public Transparency Program (PTP), co-
ordinated by FGV, EBAPE and CTS FGV DIREITO RIO, conducted a General Audit to
assess compliance with Brazil’s new Freedom of Information Law 12.527/11. The audit
consisted of 453 FOI requests, submitted in the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais,
and Rio de Janeiro, as well as their respective capitals, in addition to the Federal
District and the federal branches of government1.
The four states and three capitals included in this study account for nearly half
of the Brazilian population and more than half of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
We selected these jurisdictions due to their size and bureaucratic capacity to comply
with FOI requests. The sample is also representative of the three levels of the Brazi-
lian federal system – federal, state and municipal – as well as a variety of institutional
legacies. Finally, the sample included the federal branches of central government,
wielding the country’s largest budget, and whose policies affect all Brazilian citizens.
The selection of jurisdictions and government bodies was therefore based on
relevance within the national context. Our hypothesis was that if Law 12.527/11 is not
being properly enforced by the selected jurisdictions, its enforcement is likely to be
even more precarious in those parts of the country with more limited bureaucratic
capacity, public resources, and institutional legacies. Moreover, it is essential the law
be properly enforced within these critical jurisdictions in order to promote emula-
tion and diffuse best practice to other states and municipalities2.
The FOI requests submitted as part of the General Audit were based on three
principal themes: (i) governance and watchdogs; (ii) public participation and human
rights; and (iii) socioeconomic rights. These themes were selected for their impor-
1 For a discussion on the diffusion and adoption of public policies see: WEYLAND, K. G. Learning from Foreign
Models of Policy Reform. Baltimore: John Hopkins University.
2 Ibid.
CHAPTER 1 | METHODOLOGY
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