SEPLAG coordinated the carrying out of all Regional Seminars and leveraged the resources required for them to be held. Financial resources were invested by the State Government, which sought to reduce its costs through: i) establishing partnerships for local communities to provide meeting space; ii) utilization of its own work force for management and technical implementation of the event – i.e. planning analysts and management professionals from SEPLAG, professionals with technical expertise in the evaluation of public policies, media advisors, military police, firemen, paramedics and support staff. The involvement of civil servants yielded very positive results, given that it provided a technical character to the process and reinforced the State Government’s presence in the event. The State Government covered all expenses, in accordance with the laws, for transportation, meals and accommodations for public servants working off-site from their workplace.
The State Government was also responsible for contracting the company that handled production of printed material for indoor and outdoor signs, such as posters, banners and directional signs. This material was essential for publicizing the event externally and to assist participants once inside the event locale. A packet of didactic material was produced, including a pen, a notepad, a letter from the Governor, an explanatory booklet describing actions carried out by the government, a suggestion sheet and an explanatory brochure about the event’s agenda and content of the thematic discussion groups. This material was very useful for participants to understand the seminar’s intent and purpose, the seminar schedule and the importance of their participation.
Other financial resources were directed to the company that won the bid to contribute other human resources, materials and technical staff to carry out the event’s administrative activities. The company was directly supervised by SEPLAG and provided the following services: i) human resources – a group of people to handle registration and provide nametags for participants, support staff to provide information, reception area support, setting up the venue, along with placing chairs and tables in designated meeting areas, keeping the area clean, serving lunch and water in meeting rooms and the plenary session room and operating equipment; ii) technical resources and materials – portable computers, projectors, cameras, printers, ventilation or refrigeration equipment, tables and chairs. The company also took care of providing lunch, dessert, beverages, coffee breaks and water. The outsourcing of services was essential for SEPLAG to be able to coordinate the essence of the Regional Seminars, distributing its staff in locations for strategic coordination, ensuring that the event ran smoothly, but principally handling the recording and collection of proposals put forth in the discussion groups and those submitted in writing. Subsequent to the events, SEPLAG handled creating the data system for processing these suggestions and inputting information into the database.
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