Evaluation, Social Technology and Innovation Center

Its nature

The NATI proposes to contribute to various forms of knowledge production. Its work is aimed at supporting both the various understandings of the evaluation process and the development of social technologies. The evaluation processes are present as a way of strengthening governmental management and social technologies in their relationship between academic knowledge and common-sense knowledge. As a space for collaboration to think of such knowledge forms, the laboratory shall boost the participation, citizenship, and democracy processes. Thus, the NATI is organized around three major concerns:

Its activities range from recovery of traditional knowledge, successful policies, and monitoring of public policies to the appropriation of experiences with a greater degree of scientific elaboration. Their studies, therefore, imply new knowledge to be developed and applied in the daily routine of the public service. The literature on innovation and sustainable local development has highlighted the need to go beyond existing paradigms in the concepts and ways how services provided to citizens are structured and delivered to them, given the need to generate positive results in public management.

Structure

The structuring of the NATI provides gains to the Program in Public Policy and other courses of the Center of Applied and Social Studies (CESA) of the UECE. Its organization is focused on the interconnection between the academy and public management and organized civil society. The technical knowledge of professors and researchers involved with the laboratory will be enhanced through the use of the software suite available and the latest generation of hardware components. The NATI organizes information collections (database) of vital importance to the Graduate Program, and this is one of the main pieces of its information system. In its structure, there are also apps already developed or under development. The NATI has contributed to ensure the quality of public services, to seek solutions to new problems arising from the close relationship between governments, citizens and society. The permanent challenge has been to innovate in processes, concepts, paradigms, and organizational technologies. In this way, partnerships have already been established with the State Secretariat for Public Security (use of microdata from all the Women’s Police Stations in Ceará); the State Public Prosecutor’s Office (monitoring and analysis of biannual data from all Socio-Educational Units in Ceará); the Department of Education (record of successful experiences); the Brazilian National Secretariat of Human Rights (ECONCE); and the Ministry of Justice (CRR – UECE/NUPES).

Social technology

Innovation

Record of experiences

Available services and activities

• Moodle Network for distance learning; 
  
• Teleconference System of the Brazilian National Research Network (RNP) for student guidance and communication with other national and international institutions; 
  
• Teleconference room for thesis submission; 
  
• Live broadcasting of classes and conferences via the internet in an open way; 
  
• Computer lab.  

Courses and workshops

• Basic Statistics (SPSS) – Prof. Paulo César (April); 
  
• Advanced SPSS – Prof. Jacson (UFC); 
  
• Database Compatibility – Alexandre Cambraia (not confirmed); 
  
• Georeferencing and Spatial Analysis – Prof. Silvio (Geography); 
  
• Workshops to use: Atlas TI; NVivo; SPSS, and others; 
  
• Workshops to use databases of the IBGE; IPEA; and CAGEDE.