| 4. In which ways is the initiative creative and innovative?
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While European, African and Asian nations had already Councils producing qualified analysis and recommendations or opinions to government, Brazil created its own in 2003. It was the first national Council of such model in South America, a region currently with many other municipal and state level ESCs. In Brazil, around 30 councils inspired by CDES were created by city mayors and state governors after 2003. Such efforts demonstrate the acceptance of the innovative dialogue method promoted by CDES.
Furthermore, Brazil was invited several times by Latin American nations to present its experience in establishing such unique forum within the Presidency. Besides presenting recommendations to government, CDES is also seen as a creative forum where distinct interests are debated, and where potential conflicts can be processed. By seeking consensus on various agendas at CDES, government gains legitimacy in public-policy decisions, bringing allies and consequently favoring the implementation of governmental actions. Such characteristics make CDES a unique institution in the Brazilian government.
Its broad and plural composition is innovative in public service and allows a systemic view on the issues at hand. This feature expresses the understanding that development involves multiple and necessary aspects such as economic, social, political, cultural, and environmental.
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| 5. Who implemented the initiative and what is the size of the population affected by this initiative?
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Due to the broader scope of CDES mission, the whole society could be affected by an adopted recommendation. Size of population affected can vary according to the very nature of a specific recommendation.
Recommendations produced can be implemented by one or more governmental agencies. A recommendation on primary education, for instance, is usually forwarded for analysis by the Ministry of Education. Public officials are often invited to follow up and even interact with councilors during the design and consensus building process. Certain recommendations can demand, for implementation purposes, coordination between different public institutions. In such situations, the Office of the Chief of Staff of the Presidency is often called to mediate and coordinate such process.
The CDES Steering Committee plays a relevant role in both planning and implementing the Council´s agenda. This Committee acts as representative for the group of councilors, and it is composed of five members elected among their peers. This smaller and more dynamic group facilitates frequent and direct dialogue between councilors and the President, including at the intervals between plenary meetings. Members of the Steering Committee must interact with other councilors, conveying their concerns and proposals to the government, and vice versa. In addition, the Committee contributes to the organization of the Council's work by proposing guidelines for activities and recommending the creation of working groups and evaluating the work plan.
CDES Secretariat (Sedes) is linked to the Office of the Chief of Staff. It is a technical structure composed of around 30 public servants, responsible for implementing CDES agenda and also providing organizational support. It plays an important role in coordinating the debates, analyses and proposals designed by councilors. Sedes is headed by a Secretary designated by the Minister of the Office of the Chief of Staff, who also serves as CDES Executive Secretary.
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| 6. How was the strategy implemented and what resources were mobilized?
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In its 14 years, the CDES has mobilized various and different actors and has adopted different strategies to reach its distinct objectives. What links all the strategies is dialogue as a method for building consensus.
In order to accomplish its mission, CDES Secretariat provides human, financial and technical assistance to make it possible to gather councilors and specialists in debates and the various Council´s activities. CDES annual activities are financed from a public budget submitted by the Government and approved by Congress.
Besides the plenary sessions and the working groups, it is part of the CDES strategy the organization of seminars, colloquiums, roundtables and other national and international activities. They provide data, information and analyses useful to expand the dialogue involving governmental bodies, universities and research institutions, social organizations and ESCs from other countries. Activities can involve councilors and government only or, occasionally, other civil society partners, as illustrated below.
In 2011, previous to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development – Rio+20, the CDES mobilized its councilors and launched an interinstitutional dialogue with 76 partners to discuss a joint Brazilian civil society proposal on sustainable development. The strategy included various meetings and debates with high level authorities and experts on the subject, and the final result of such effort was named Agreement for Sustainable Development: Contributions to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development Rio+20.
In 2016, with the deepening of the economic crisis in the country, the President demanded the newly recomposed CDES an agenda and proposals that could favor the regaining of growth. The President and councilors have decided then to establish 5 working groups within CDES on the following themes: business environment, primary education, agribusiness, productivity and competitiveness, and bureaucracy reduction and modernization of the State. These working groups gathered and, after intense debate, produced 15 recommendations to be presented to the President in the upcoming CDES plenary session. At this time, the strategy used to favor implementation of such recommendations was to engage government authorities since the beginning of working group debates, bringing their perspectives into consideration by inviting them to comment draft CDES recommendations.
CDES’ strategy involves, therefore, the design and dissemination of its dialogue products, including motions and recommendations to the President. Considering it has a consultative role rather than a deliberative one within public administration, implementation of recommendations depends on the endorsement of governmental institutions, and is subject to the decision of the President.
Many of those recommendations are incorporated to the suite of public policies. CDES, therefore, is not responsible for implementing sectorial governmental programs and actions, but documents produced are to be taken into account by public authorities. The dialogue products by CDES are valuable resources in the formulation, implementation and monitoring / evaluation phases of the public policy-making process.
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| 7. Who were the stakeholders involved in the design of the initiative and in its implementation?
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CDES was established in 2003 in the beginning of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s term. At that time, similar experiences abroad were observed in order to design a council which would suite the characteristics of the Brazilian public administration as well as complement the political agenda of the government. Many high level authorities and policy-makers contributed to both the design and implementation of CDES, created originally as a Special Secretariat with the status of a Ministry. Presidents Dilma Rousseff and Michel Temer were key stakeholders and had not only continued the work of the Council but increased its composition from civil society.
Another key stakeholder is the CDES Executive Secretary, the Minister of the Office of the Chief of Staff. Without the active engagement and political effort of the Executive Secretary, the Council would most probably not gain the necessary support to continue its mission and work. The Secretary for CDES Secretariat (Sedes) is also a key player in the implementation of the working plan, the coordination of actions and the agenda of activities.
Many Brazilian public institutions are key actors and partners in the debates promoted and actions taken, including the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the Institute for Applied Economic Research (IPEA) and the National School of Public Administration (ENAP).
Moreover, the councilors themselves are seen as the main stakeholders, the agenda decision-makers. They bring not only their personal expertise, but also an institutional representation from a variety of segments as business associations, labor unions, environmental organizations, universities and non-governmental organizations.
The councilors present the demands and, through the Steering Committee or directly to the President, to the Executive Secretary or to the Sedes Secretary, come up with suggestions, advices or legitimate demands in order to enrich the Council´s agenda.
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| 8. What were the most successful outputs and why was the initiative effective?
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As mentioned in a previous answer, in March of 2017 conclusions of five CDES working groups will be delivered to the President. Fifteen recommendations are to be presented on the following themes: business environment, primary education, agribusiness, productivity and competitiveness and bureaucracy reduction and modernization of the State.
Besides these current outputs, with partial implementation by government soon to be announced, various debates promoted by CDES since its establishment produced concrete results and strategic documents synthesizing the views of civil society:
The National Development Agenda was consolidated in 2004 after intense discussions and 18 months of work, counting on various contributions from nearly 50 members in a working group named “Strategic bases for development”. The document was approved on a consensual basis by the CDES plenary meeting of August 2005.
In 2006, the Strategic Statements for Development was announced by CDES with guidelines meant to offer a basis for a strategic long-term development plan. It included 24 consensual statements on political reform; social policies; monetary policies; fiscal reform; science, technology and innovation; infrastructure; industrial policies; land reform; public safety; among others.
The Agenda for the New Development Cycle was concluded in 2009 and refers to opportunities for carrying out the changes needed for a sustainable economic and social growth process in Brazil. From this perspective, the CDES councilors identified two fundamental strategies for the Brazilian development: i) consolidate a balanced employment and income expansion process, strengthening the internal market and creating incentives to sustainable production, consumption, distribution and expansion of investments to create innovation; and ii) further insert the country into the international economy.
The Agreement for Sustainable Development: Contributions to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development Rio+20, delivered in 2012, is one of the main documents produced by the CDES and 76 invited partners. It is a result of civil society’s willingness to participate in the Conference, and to produce a joint proposal as a contribution to the Brazilian government.
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| 9. What were the main obstacles encountered and how were they overcome?
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In almost a decade and a half of functioning as an advisory body to different Presidents and under the leadership of various Executive Secretaries, the CDES has experienced several institutional changes and difficulties in implementing its agenda. Immediately after launched, doubts emerged concerning the role CDES would play as a civil society channel for participation in public policy-making and for the delivery of proposals to government. The recently created CDES, the first of its kind in Brazil, was falsely seen as a forum that would somehow hinder the role of Congress. Distrust rapidly ceased, and the Council turned well accepted as an innovative dialogue forum on economic and social development.
Some obstacles, however, had to be overcome since 2003 with regard to institutional change, leadership and team replacements that impacted the continuation of certain actions and debates.
Successive political and economic crises have also impacted the work by the Council. The presidential agenda at times did not entirely support the work proposal designed for CDES. Detachment from the presidential priorities limited some of the ongoing work. Nonetheless, the solid understanding of the importance of this diverse and representative forum to gather support and legitimacy to government action increasingly raised trust on the Council, minimizing impacts of the mentioned obstacles.
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