Benefícios e barreiras dos Portais de Dados Abertos Governamentais no fomento da participação social: uma análise sob a ótica dos stakeholders

Abstract

This research analyzes the benefits and barriers of the portals of Government Open Data (DAGs) that are perceived by the stakeholders to foster social participation. The relevance of this research lies in the non-identification in any work in the Brazilian context the analysis of the benefits and barriers of DAGs in the view of suppliers and key users (stakeholders), nor how they influence social participation. To fulfill this purpose, we adopted a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews. To select the sample, we used the “snowball” technique and contacted the interviewees through email. The interviews took place through the platform of choice of each participant. In total, 13 suppliers and 13 key users were interviewed, meeting the data saturation criterion. The results indicate that there are economic, political, and social benefits that DAGs can bring to society. These benefits are already being perceived in other countries, but not yet in Brazil due to several problems to be overcome, such as the lack of publication standards, absence of metadata, lack of updating, among others. These problems are barriers that hinder or even prevent suppliers and key users from using DAGs, considering culture as the main barrier to social participation. It was noticeable through the interviewees' speech that the culture of secrecy is still present in Brazilian governmental institutions to the detriment of a culture of access. The consequence is the lack of incentive and institutionalization of DAGs in public agencies. Moreover, there is also a culture of “non-participation” by Brazilians, with indications that it occurs due to the lack of encouragement from the government and public managers, precisely because the culture of secrecy still rules. Although the majority of respondents report that DAGs can influence greater participation by society, this study showed that they have not yet reached this point in Brazil. This is prevented by barriers found to limit too much access, use, reuse, participation, collaboration, and interaction between government and society. Therefore, we conclude that DAGs do not generate participation by society, but serve as a tool to facilitate this process, as well as to make the society more qualified.