Brazil

E-Democracy

City/State/Region
Begin – End: 2009 – ongoing
Name of organization in charge: Câmara dos Deputados
Type of organization in charge: government
Level: national

Impact

?

Implementation: was the innovation effectively, partially or not put into practice at all?

Fulfillment of Aims: were the goals of the innovation completely, partially or not achieved at all?

Output: has the innovation generated recommendations, initiatives, decisions or policies?

Outcome: if there were a policy output, was it enacted or implemented?

Implementation: yes
Fulfillment of Democratic Innovation’s aim: yes
Output: yes
Policy Outcome: yes

The E-democracia (lit. E-democracy) portal of the House of Representatives is an interactive, participatory online space, created to encourage citizens and civil society organizations to contribute to the formulation of federal laws, as well as to assist the members of the chamber in its supervision and control. It allows Brazilians to participate in the legislative process through the internet by: a) sharing information, studies and other content; b) participating in the decision-making processes in discussion forums; c) organizing thematic social networks for legislative purposes; and (d) presenting proposals for legislative texts. The E-democracia project is divided into two large spaces for participation: Comunidades Legislativas (lit. Legislative Communities) and Espaço Livre (lit. Free Space). In the first space, users participate in discussions on specific topics related to bills in progress. In the second, the user can define the theme of the discussion. Data from 2010 indicate that in the first two years, more than four thousand users registered on the platform.

Institutional design

?

Formalization: is the innovation embedded in the constitution or legislation, in an administrative act, or not formalized at all?

Frequency: how often does the innovation take place: only once, sporadically, or is it permanent or regular?

Mode of Selection of Participants: is the innovation open to all participants, access is restricted to some kind of condition, or both methods apply?

Type of participants: those who participate are individual citizens, civil society organizations, private stakeholders or a combination of those?

Decisiveness: does the innovation takes binding, non-binding or no decision at all?

Co-governance: is there involvement of the government in the process or not?

Formalization: only backed by a governmental program or policy
Frequency: regular
Mode of selection of participants: open
Type of participants: citizens
Decisiveness: democratic innovation yields no decision
Co-Governance: yes

Means

Deliberation
Direct Voting
E-Participation
Citizen Representation

Ends

Accountability
Responsiveness
Rule of Law
Political Inclusion
Social Equality

Policy cycle

Agenda setting

Formulation and decision-making

Implementation

Policy Evaluation

Sources

http://edemocracia.camara.gov.br/