Mission-oriented policies for digital transformation in Brazil: the role of the Digital Transformation Group of States and its support institutions

Abstract

This research aims to investigate how mission-oriented policies for digital transformation are being designed and evaluated in Brazil. As the world is facing an abundance of different challenges - from health issues to climate crisis and governing digital technology - new forms of designing and evaluating public policies to address these issues arise. The mainstream discussions that consider policymaking as a cycle with defined stages and a linear process has many limitations, especially when applied to complex problems, or wicked problems. Digital transformation in governments can be seen as a wicked problem since it affects government services in several spheres, such as health, education, economics, among many others; there are numerous clients and policymakers with conflicting values, and the ramifications in the whole system can be confusing. Digital transformation policies can directly impact citizens, public and private institutions and turned out to be a central discussion during the COVID-19 pandemic, since many public and private services, of all natures, needed to face mandatory digital transformation. The research proposed in this project focuses on the role of the Digital Transformation Group of States (GTD.GOV), an institution that is heading policies and programs with a mission-guided formulation in Brazil, and its support institutions, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Ministry of Economics, and the National Bank for Economic and Social Development. The research project is anchored on a qualitative-quantitative methodological approach seeking to critically investigate a wicked problem that require an integrated and interdisciplinary approach. This topic requires further investigation since it comprehends multiple dimensions: technological, economic, social and political and demands the co-ordination of strategies and policies with a clear goal. Also, since it is a complex phenomenon, a framework for evaluating the effectiveness of mission-oriented policies is also a goal and intended result for this research. (AU)