Public service innovation in Brazil after covid-19: digital platforms across the levels of public administration

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has made sociability even more dependent on digital technologies. In this context, this paper explores evidence of this trend towards accelerating digitization in the public sector and what are the differences in terms of response and capabilities across the levels of Brazilian public administration. This inquiry is based on the literature on innovation in the public sector and digital innovation/digital platforms. It uses a multiple-case approach, based on document analysis and interviews to investigate three Public Services Platforms (PSP): 'gov.br' at the federal government (Digital Government Secretariat);'EPI-Match' from autonomous social services (Brazilian Industrial Development Agency - ABDI) and 'FiquenoLar' at the local government (project by the Jaguaribe City Hall and the Federal Institute of Ceara). It finds evidence that public service providers have turned to PSP as one of the solutions to respond to a growing demand for digitization.