Mobile Applications in Central Government of Brazil and Portugal

Abstract

This research aims to explore how central governments of Brazil and Portugal are using mobile applications to offer services to citizens. To this end, 12 APPs were analysed in Brazil (which provide 25 services) and 20 APPs in Portugal (which provide 22 services) based on the following set of criteria: Service coverage; Service category; Service area; Number of services provided by the APP, Number of installations, Availability in APP stores, Access key. The main results show that in Brazil the area of government with the greatest number of services provided through APPs is Social Security; that 60% of services can be carried out entirely via APP; that almost 90% of the services offered through APPs are in the interactive stage and that the same APP offers several services. In Portugal, three areas of government stand out in the provision of mobile services: Social Support and Health; Recreation; Citizenship and Documentation, which together account for 77% of APPs offered. The vast majority of services offered by APPs are in the interactive stage (50%) or the informational and educational stage (36%), and typically most of the APPs in Portugal provide just one service.