AREA OF CONCENTRATION

Governance, Development, and Citizenship
The area of ​​concentration “G;overnance, Development, and Citizenship” indicates the Ph.D. program’s concern with the study of organizational changes in the current context of Brazilian society, interconnecting the need to advance democratic processes, sustainable economic development committed to the environment, and studies focused not only on technological innovations, but also on identifying citizen participation. The Ph.D. program focus lies on the complex, plural, and fragmented nature of the provision of public services and the deployment of public policies that require a governance structure based on the ongoing negotiation of values, meanings, and relationships, taking into account the multiple organizations and their political environment. Therefore, the course’s basic concern involves the whole public policy cycle – decision-making process, deployment, and assessment procedures.

LINES OF RESEARCH

Line 1: Governance and Citizen Participation

Research in this line of research seeks to focus efforts on promoting governance, providing reflections on the processes of participation in public policies and services. The reflective skills on building the capabilities of the Brazilian State are addressed. There will be a special focus on research projects that address this topic from a comparative perspective, in order to situate the region and the country in the global context of social, political, and economic development. The view is that research on the governance of public policy may produce innovative solutions from the point of view of institutional arrangements of governments in the context of democratic political systems.

Line 2: Planning and Assessment in Public Policy

Projects in this area deal with planning at three levels (strategic, tactical, and operational), i.e. in the formulation of the view, in the definition of guidelines and general objectives of public policies, in the breakdown of strategic objectives into more detailed guidelines for each area of ​​public policy; or in the budgetary and financial execution of activities that materialize such policies. This line of research also brings together investigations that address issues related to governance of public policy assessment systems, studying the various assessment models and monitoring models, common issues in the building of frameworks and in assessment planning.

Line 3: Innovation and Social Technologies

This line investigates the set of transformative techniques and methodologies developed and/or applied in public administration or in interaction with the population and appropriated by the latter, which represent solutions for social inclusion and improvement of living conditions. Research and technical production projects that constitute practical issues in the governance of public policies, in the search for innovative solutions and methodologies applied to policy processes and public services are encouraged. Projects may investigate transformative training experiences, methodologies, and techniques, designed and/or applied in interaction with the population and that represent solutions for social inclusion and improvement of the participant’s living conditions.

Related laboratories:

Quantitative and Qualitative Research (LabPol);
Creation of Digital Platforms and Big Data;
Digital Communication;
Geoprocessing and Georeferencing;
Network Analysis;
Electoral Research.

Line 4: Social Policies and Fighting Inequality

This line of research deals with governance processes to promote social, political, and economic development – ​​relating them to inclusion processes. The perspective is to study social policies based on their historical foundations, enabling them to be understood in the contradictory context of modern democratic societies and the challenges of overcoming inequalities at the most diverse levels. This line studies the population’s quality of life, well-being in various dimensions, radical poverty reduction, public safety, and environmental sustainability with resilience and respect for future generations.