INTER-ORGANIZATIONAL
RELATIONS FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT: THE CASE OF THE FEDERAL NETWORK OF
PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Cleidson Nogueira Dias
Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (Embrapa),
Brazil
E-mail: cleidson_nogueira@yahoo.com.br
Flávio Manoel Coelho Borges Cardoso
Universidade de Brasília - UnB, Brazil
E-mail: flaviomanoel@hotmail.com
Valmir Emil Hoffmann
Universidade de Brasília - UnB, Brazil
E-mail: ehoffmann@unb.br
Submission: 10/02/2014
Revision: 07/03/2014
Accept: 10/04/2014
ABSTRACT
This research paper examines the
importance of inter-organizational network management as a government policy
tool to promote regional development. This pattern requires Federal Government
intervention so as to compensate for the imbalance that this causes and to
guarantee that economic growth resulting from government actions leads to
development in all regions of the country, thereby avoiding the traditional
mechanisms of wealth concentration. For this, a methodology of content analysis
was used based on a relevant public policy aimed at promoting development
within Brazil and by analyzing the data collected in relation to the current
theory related to strategy, local development and inter-organizational networks
in general. The results show that, when the applied policy we had studied in
this work, was implemented the networks had a positive influence on the outcome
of the policy objectives and represented an extremely powerful support tool,
being one of the most important factors to boost development.
Keywords: Strategy; Regional development;
Inter-organizational networks; Territorial agglomerations; Federal Institutes
of Science; Education & Technology.
1. INTRODUCTION
The lack of
equal treatment that exists in the area of investments in different regions of
Brazil, which in effect privileges some areas to the detriment of others, has
meant that the process of development in Brazil has been unevenly distributed
across the country. Regional inequalities have been accentuated and replicated
within a cycle of impoverishment, resulting in the coexistence in the country
regions of stagnating economies, and low levels of social welfare, alongside
regions which are extremely dynamic in social-economic terms, thereby forming a
pattern of social inequality and lack of opportunity.
Public bodies
exist to promote local and regional development through a process of activities
that encourage the creation of work activities and citizen emancipation in the
view of development. The different types of development opportunities that
exist in each sub-region of the country, which reflect the social, economic,
environmental and cultural diversity of the country, form the basic material
for regional policies. This means that these types of government policies act
to minimize existing inequalities and make the most of the diversities and
specific opportunities offered by each location.
Regard this
theme, the Brazilian Ministry of Education (BME) is also involved in the
process of intervention, from the moment that a specific public policy is
formulated, to its implementation. For this, BME promotes development using an
expansion policy created by the Federal Network of Professional Education,
Science & Technology which, in addition to carrying out important field and
extension research, also offers professional qualification and technical
training courses, undergraduate education and graduate technical programs in
accordance with regional demands around the country. This governmental agency
has expanded – as the Federal Institute of Education, Science & Technology
(FIES&T) – and one of its main aims is to provide encouragement and support
to educational processes that generate employment, income and citizen
emancipation within the perspective of local and regional social-economic
development.
Given the above context, there is the problem that motivated this research: What is the importance of managing interorganizational
networks, the implementation of public policies for regional
and local development?
With regards to
the methodological issues involved, it was decided to use a content analysis (BARDIN,
1997) as the scientific method to study the BME’s policy to expand the Federal
Institute of Education, Science & Technology. A content analysis was
carried out using a semi-constructed questionnaire containing (closed and open)
questions that were put to FIES&T CEOs.
One of the
strategies used to reduce inequality is to promote activities in those
territories that are less attractive to agents working in this field, by
enhancing the value of local diversities. The focus of these policies is to
fight income inequality across the country, resulting from the stagnation of
economic activities. Reducing such inequalities helps construct a country that
encompasses all its territorial regions and contributes towards creating new
frontiers of expansion for the Brazilian economy.
2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
2.1.
Social capital and local government
Robert Putnam,
in an analysis he carried out in Italy – between 1970 and 1989, sought to
understand the reasons why such inequalities occurred in the performance of the
local governments of the northern and southern regions of the country, and that
these inequalities led to the southern part of Italy being poorer while the
northern region prospered and developed. Thanks to his work, it was possible to
observe the effectiveness of regional governments, to demystify the reasons for
different regional performances, and to understand the reasons for these
differences, so that Italy could become an economically efficient country.
According to
Valentim (2008), in his book, Putnam used the argument that civic traditions,
the relationships of trust and cooperation play a far more decisive role than
just good citizenship in promoting social economic development. In the case of
Italy, cooperation resulting from mutual trust between individuals within a
community led to strengthened social relationships, thereby consolidating
formal institutions which enabled the Italian people to react more effectively
to the challenges and opportunities of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Putnam (2006: 105) wrote that “one key indicator of
civic sociability is the vibrancy of associative life”. According to this author, a civic community is characterized by
the interest and participation shown by its members in public issues and in the
collective wellfare at the cost of all types of purely individual and private
interests. This type of community will become even more civic when policies
approximate the ideal of equal policies for all citizens who follow the rules
of reciprocity and participate in government (PUTNAM, 2006). Also according to
Putnam (2000: 132), the most important factor which explains the good
performance of a government “is to what extent the social and political life of
a region approximates the ideal of a civic community”.
In this sense,
Putnam (2006) observes that some regions of Italy are favored by dynamic
patterns and systems of civil engagement that have the capacity to foster the
presence of an efficient and responsible form of government. However, other
regions of the country suffer because the lives of their communities are
characterized by fragmentation, isolation, by vertical politics and by a
culture that is dominated by distrust.
The author further
states that, over the course of history, patterns and systems of civic
participation promoted rather than inhibited economic growth. The regions with civic communities had a
faster growth rate than those regions with fewer associations and a greater level
of hierarchy, which excluded these from achieving higher levels of development
(PUTNAM, 2006). Similarly, there is a strong correlation between civic
associations and efficient public institutions. “In modern day Italy, the civic
community is closely linked with social and economic levels of development.
Generally speaking, those regions that are now civic are also prosperous,
industrialized and have good systems of sanitation” (PUTNAM, 2006; 162).
In the same
vein, according to Franco (2004: 235),
“Of all that is said or has been
said about this matter, only one essential feature should be noted: social
capital is the same as a social network. Social networks are, in essence, the
multiple paths that exist between individuals and groups. However, social
capital refers to the movable configuration of internal connections within a
collective group of human beings, including not only their morphology, but also
their ‘metabolism’ which seems to be one of its characteristics (or at least, a
possible one). In other words: democracy. Thus, social capital is not an
economic concept (as the word ‘capital’ suggests), nor sociological (as the
term ‘social’ might suggest). It is a political concept that has to do with
standards of organization and how methods of regulation are practiced by a
social group’.
According to
Soto (2008: 393), “there exists a certain consensus for defining social capital
as the ability that a community has to build networks of social cooperation
based on interpersonal trust, with the main purpose of producing collective
goods that represent economic prosperity and sustainable development”.
In addition to
these concepts, Putman’s study (2006) includes part of the current concept of
social capital and shows the influence this has had on economic development.
“Social capital has to do with the characteristics of the social organization,
including trust, standards and systems that help increase the efficiency of
that society, making it easier to coordinate actions”. (PUTNAM, 2006: 177). In
other words, when social capital exists in a region, there is a greater
possibility of taking collaborative actions that bring benefits to the whole
community.
Putnam and Goss
(2002) further state that social capital is “a concept that takes into account
cultural characteristics, such as existing trust, reciprocity and solidarity
within a civil society, which are vital elements to strengthen democracy,
communities, people and even political society, the State” (apud PASE; SANTOS,
2008: 45).
In this way,
local and regional development is directly linked to the characteristics of the
social organization and the civic relationships found in the region. Based on
these assumptions, it should be noted that empirical studies carried out in
Europe and in Latin America have provided the matrix for the most widely
diffused ideas in relation to social capital concepts.
2.2.
The Dynamics of Territorial Networks
According to the National Policy of Regional
Development – NPRD - publication (Política
Nacional de Desenvolvimento Regional, 2003), recent world development has
given a renewed boost to the centralization forces of urban articulation, which
demonstrates the prevailing spatial logic of an economic system that has become
far more internationalized.
The trend towards concentrating means of production
and the work force in certain points of the territory is motivated by
circumstances that begin to impose themselves on the dynamics of the market and
on public policies. In the present situation, private sector decisions have become
more accentuated, especially with the move by major international conglomerates
to become increasingly internationalized, easier financing and the
restructuring of the productive sector, all of which are at the root of
so-called “globalization”. As a result, social and regional inequalities were
intensified, increasing the need to propose new policies that were capable of
alleviating those negative effects and to reaffirm the social and territorial
cohesion of the nations and their regional districts.
In this climate, the less developed nations tended to
face greater difficulties, since the major groups of capital and corporations
that represent them gained freedom of movement and structured themselves so as
to be able to move rapidly to the most distant corners of the earth, using
national territories as mere platforms for their operations. These countries
have none of the tools needed to extract greater concessions from those
corporations which are operating in their territories since – as a result of
re-instated rules of “good social and economic conduct” – they are unable to
regulate the flow of movement that mobilizes global networks. In these
circumstances, development tends to privilege certain locations, while
disqualifying or discarding other areas, often taking into greater account the
interests of corporations rather than those of the nations and populations
concerned (GOMES, 2004).
According to Santos (2006), one of the characteristics
of today’s world is the demand for fluidity when exchanging messages, ideas,
products or money, which is of interest to homogenous actors. Current fluidity
is based on technical networks that are one of the pillars that support
competitiveness.
Vieira and Vieira (2007) wrote that fluxes
that are produced internally within the spatial system lead to the
establishment of networks of productive relationships and demographic
expansion. The productive spatial system, supported by a physical-environmental
structure that, during the different stages of economic development, created
standards of production of a systematic structure and, consequently,
established cross-flows between us. In relation to this matter.
The direction of the fluxes, inter-related to production and
consumption, have determined, in local, regional, national and international
dimensions the organization with convenient link systems (…) a fact which has
been generated within a territorial dimension and redistributed to another,
which produces a new fact and returns to the previous territorial dimension
which generates a new line of fluxes, forming an image of the networks (VIEIRA;
VIEIRA, 2007:39).
In this same context, Santos (2006), therefore, argues
that the territory has becomes a stage for a conflict of interests that in
these localities, in the context of globalization, materializes as a
confrontation between local and global space. To understand the dimension of a
socially organized space, it is important to make a distinction between space
and territory. Albuquerque-Llorens (2001) highlights the concept of space as a
geographic support in which social-economic activities develop. In this sense,
this usually implicitly suggests an idea of homogeneity, in such a way that the
fundamental related preoccupations involve distance, transport costs, the
agglomeration of activities or the polarization of growth. However, based on
the perspective of local and regional development, we are basically interested
in another very different type of concept, whichever it is, that concerns
territory, understands the heterogeneity and complexity of the real world,
their specific environmental characteristics, social actors and their
mobilization around various strategies and projects, as well as the existence
and access to strategic resources for productive and business development.
For Sepúlveda
(2005), this focus on a territorial dimension defines the unit of analysis, the
planning and action needed for sustainable micro-regional development. The area
of operation is converted into a territorial scenario where social relations
are processed and economics are historically determined and the frontiers of
which are easily recognizable. The territorial unit presents a certain degree
of homogeneity from the point of view of both its potential and limitations,
which can be ecological and productive as well as social and institutional.
This perspective represents an appropriate scenario to allocate resources that
promote the multi-dimensional transformation thereof.
For this type of process for territorial development,
the networks are configured as one of the central pillars and, according to
Santos (2006), if we compare the networks of the past with those of the present
days, the great difference between them is the relative portion of spontaneity
that exists in their respective elaboration. The further material civilization
advances, the more a deliberative character is imposed on the constitution of
networks.
It is worth remembering that, in the Arrangements
Glossary, productive systems and local innovativeness, taken from the Network
Research into Local Systems published by the Federal University of Rio de
Janeiro (REDE DE PESQUISA EM SISTEMAS
LOCAIS DA UFRJ, 2003:23), business networks refer to “the inter-organization
arrangements based on systematic links” [...]. These networks can be related to
different links of a particular productive chain (which form
supplier-producer-user networks), as well as being linked to different spatial
dimensions”.
The growth range and complexity of our social and
economic challenges are becoming too overwhelming for the institutional and
economic capacities of organizations to handle on their own. In this sense,
cooperation emerges as an area that represents new possibilities. No isolated
unit has all the necessary elements to efficiently deal with an identified
social need. As mentioned earlier,
clusters or local productive arrangements (LPAs), strategic partnerships,
industrial districts, scientific hubs and parks, innovative milieu, consortiums, forums and other
variations are among the main articulators for organizations on a territorial
dimension.
Yoguel, Novick and Martin (2001) “refer to sets of
inter-related agents (clusters, local systems or milieu) as found in literature related to new forms of productive
systems organization and propose a the idea of a productive scheme, that is to
say, articulation between development actors, innovative activities and social
management techniques” (apud FISCHER; MELO, 2004: 19-20).
For Fischer and Melo (2004), the most recent term for
productive schemes is “LPA”. In this way, productive arrangements are
encouraged in federal, state and municipal environments as the most appropriate
method for managing territorial development, and territories are sub-divided as
LPAs.
As may be seen, spatial arrangements do not only occur
as a set of continual points; these can also be constellations of discontinuous
points – which are also interlinked – that define an area of regulating fluxes.
Santos (2006) proposes that the segmentation and partitions present in an area
suggest at least two sub-divisions: vertical and horizontal.
Vertical sub-divisions represent points in space
which, separated from one another, affect global operations and are vectors of
a superior rationality and of a pragmatic discourse between hegemonic sectors,
creating an obedient and disciplined way of life. The horizontal sub-divisions
are for extensions formed by points which group together in an unbroken
pattern; that is to say – in accordance with the traditional definition of a
region – these are as much about the place of purpose imposed from outside,
from a distance and from above, as the counter purpose, generated locally (SANTOS,
2006).
All society is characterized by both formal and informal systems of
inter-personal interchange and communication. “Some of these systems are
basically horizontal, bringing together agents that have the same status and
the same power. Others are essentially vertical, bringing together unequal
agents in asymmetrical relations of hierarchy and dependence” (PUTNAM, 2006:
182-183). Thus, according to Putnam, a horizontal format is understood to be
those organization that give rise to cooperatives, clubs, societies of mutual
assistance, cultural associations, unions; in short, organizations that are
devoid of rigid hierarchies and rules. The advantage of horizontal
organizations in relation to vertical ones is that the former create networks
of solidarity and develop generalized relationships of reciprocity, making
spontaneous cooperation easier and creating an antidote to attempt of special
interested groups and opportunism, which generate limited and asymmetrical
reciprocity.
Thus, according to Fleury and Ouverney (2007), such a diversity of local actors is also beginning to influence the
political process, which signals the emergence of a polycentric society where
distinct articulation nucleus are organized and which, in turn, tend to alter
the vertical nexus between State and society – based on rules and subordination
-, so as to establish more horizontal relationships that favor territorial
diversity and dialogue.
2.3.
Methodological aspects
The research method adopted for this survey was a
content analysis (BARDIN, 1977), that is based on statistical and
interpretative procedures. According to Vergara (2006), a content analysis
consists of three basic stages: (a) pre-analysis; (b) examination of material;
(c) treatment and interpretation of data. The pre-analysis refers to the
selection of material and deciding which procedures to follow. The examination of
material refers to the implementation of these procedures. Treatment and
interpretation, for their part, refer to inferences being allowed to be made
about the results of the investigation.
With regards to types of research, it was decided to
base the present abstract on the taxonomy put forward by Vergara (2007), which
is characterized by the fact that it classifies different types of research
from the perspective of the purpose of the research work, as well as which
investigative methods have been employed. With regards the methods employed,
this research was of a bibliographic nature, since it used information
contained in books and other technical and academic publications, as well as
documental, since it made use of in-house data from a public body, such as
records, newsletters, official correspondence, memorandums and reports, that
are not accessible to the general public.
With regards to the aims of this survey, the research
will be descriptive and applied. It has been classified as descriptive research
since it aims to highlight the importance of inter-organizational networks as
an instrument for regional development. This is termed as applied research
since it aims to associate territorial development, studied in theory by
authors who are renowned for their authority on the subject, with concrete
situations in a given and actual work situation.
A content
analysis allows for quantitative and well as qualitative approaches to be made,
or even both. Thus, a semi-structured questionnaire was used, containing
(closed and open) questions which, after exhaustive examination, made it
possible to identify the central ideas contained in the replies to the open
question (the last), so as to classify these according to their type of nuclei
which articulate the different categories of ideas.
Taking part in this overall aims of this research were
the management body of the Federal Institutes of Education, Science &
Technology who, together with some 300 university campuses located in all areas
of the country, and 41 (forty-one) director generals (CEOs), representing five
(05) macro-regions of Brazil, responded to the questionnaire prepared by this
research project.
2.4.
Results and discussion
Forty-one (41) general directors (CEOs) from over 300
university campuses responded to this survey. The first question was if the
director general believed that the Federal Institutes are actually managing to
“encourage and support educational processes that lead to the generation of
employment and income and to the emancipation of local citizens from the
perspective of local and regional social-economic development”, in accordance
with the terms of objective V of the act that established Law 11.892/2008,
article 7. In reply, it was noted that every one of them responded in the affirmative.
The second question was why the directors believed
that the expansion of the ‘Federal Network of Professional, Scientific &
Technological Education’ is a public policy that promotes local and regional
development. In the case of a negative reply, the respondent was asked to
explain why the Federal Network had been unable to promote development.
The analysis showed that it is possible to condense
some of the answers, emphasizing that the following represent the main
motivational elements given by respondents that led to the conclusions reached
by this survey: the professional qualifications of a person living in the
interior, the generation of employment and income within the territory;
strengthening the LPAs by means of an personal qualifications; the implantation
of a campus, which is attracting many businesses to the area; focus on the
potential/production of the region; management decentralization; meeting local
and regional needs; research and extension activities that apply or innovate
technology; a satisfactory infrastructure; establishing economic activities in
regions of the interior; and promoting social inclusion. These responses were
expressed in many ways, as shown by the following:
[...] In addition, if research and extension
activities exist in an area, either on their own or in cooperation with another
institution, this will promote regional development, either through applied or
innovative technology.
Because this opens up
opportunities for people in the areas where they live. Many companies establish
themselves in the region in the expectation that they will be able to find
qualified people in the area.
Because this makes it
possible to meet regional demands and aspirations with greater specificity and
contextual relevance. Also because this makes it easier for students in the
interior to have access and contact with social actors and local businesses.
Precisely because these
offer professional technical training courses, as well as higher education and
even post-graduation courses for people living in the area. As a result of the
activities of the Federal Institutes, the local productive arrangements also
gain a valuable and qualified local workforce as a result of the professional
training provided for local youngsters, who can continue to live in the area,
although with a new perspective in life.
[...] In addition, the
implantation of training courses should be associated with the local productive
arrangements (LPAs), so that training local people becomes a priority. (...)
[...] The installation of campuses in areas of
the interior is extremely important, since the local productive arrangements
are given a boost by the arrival of professionally trained personnel, something
that has never happened before. In addition, the quality offered by state
education will meet the needs of the more underprivileged communities at all
levels.
This has been caused
mainly by the decentralization of a Federal Institute from the great urban
centers, which will thereby meet the needs of more distant regions.
The move by federal
education institutions to regions of the interior, not only increases access
opportunities for members of the population who are studying for their
qualifications, but also stimulates processes of economic development since,
once you have a qualified work force, these act as an inductor for the economy
by altering the local context of regional economic agents.
With regards to the third question, which refers to
the most important factors that stimulate local and regional development, some
variables were proposed, as indicated in the captions below. Graph 1 shows that
all the factors researched were unanimously quoted as being among the main
instigators for local and regional development.
n Knowledge of the characteristics of the territory;
n Cooperation networks between organizations;
n Professional training;
n Stimulating Local Productive Arrangements (LPAs/APLs);
n Do you wish to highlight any other factor(s)?
GGraph 1: Factors that stimulate development
In the following question (number 4), the CEOs had to
choose only the two main factors that they thought simulated local and regional
development, as shown in Graph 2.
Graph 2: Prioritization factors
On a scale of importance, the CEOs gave their opinions
about the value of alliances, partnerships and inter-organizational
relationships for regional development in Brazil. The results showed that 47%
of the respondents thought this was extremely important and 46% said it was very
important; in other words, 93% of the director generals questioned said that
inter-organizational network management was an essential factor for the
country’s development.
Graph 3: Scale showing the importance of networks
Question 06 consisted of asking the CEOs to evaluate
“network management” as a support tool for the implementation of public
policies aimed at generating employment, income and citizen emancipation, the
respondent marking an ‘X’ on one of the seven options, on a scale of 01 to 07.
In order to make the visualization of this Graph 3 easier to understand, the
caption was converted into a nominal scale of the perceived impacts of this
support tool.
Graph 4: Perceived impacts of networks as a support tool
With regards to Graph 4, it is striking that 40% of
the CEOs gave a rating of 7 (extremely strong) to the issue of network
management as a support tool and its capacity to sponsor public policy
implementation. If we add up all the directors who gave this question a rating
of strong, very strong and extremely strong (ratings 5, 6 and 7 respectively),
this would give a total value of 86% of all those questioned.
The last question, number 07, asks what lessons can be
extracted from the policy implementation process to expand Federal Institutes –
taking into account regional development – and what recommendations could be
made for the future expansion of projects or programs of this nature.
The Institute directors suggested various points and
recommendations, the main ideas being as follows:
a) Professional
training to be given to technicians and actors who participate in the hearings
that decide the appropriate courses to be offered;
b) Decentralized
and democratic administration in accordance with the demands of the local
community;
c) Guaranteed
access to education by low-income members of the population as well as the
promise of development, observing the characteristics of each location;
d) Offer
courses observing the LPAs;
e) Use
criterion, social-economic techniques and not only politics to define the new
expansion phase of the network;
f) Prepare
university rectors, deans, directors, administrative personal, local mayors,
municipal secretaries and even civil society entities so that they understand
and work to attain the social issue proposals embodied by the objectives
outlined by the federal institutes;
g) Ensure that investments are provided for
research scholarships in areas of technological and social development;
h) Coexistence
strategies for new members of staff on the campuses where they are being
allotted, so that new government employees, many of whom will be coming from
other regions of the country, can be helped to “settle into life” in the
interior of Brazil;
i) Offer
training, capacity-building and professional qualifications to meet local
demands, as well as helping and/or promoting the development of new
technologies;
j) Guarantee
that existing schools be given the necessary infrastructure to develop good
work habits;
k) When
gathering together director-generals for the collaborative process of jointly
providing training/capacity building, ensure that the potential of acting as
part of a network is clearly explained and understood. Stimulate this process
on different levels within the Federal Institutes, applying these same forms of
encouragement to other institutions also, as these will produce long-lasting
results for the administration;
l) It is essential that the characteristics of
the place where the institute is to be located are observed;
m) Lessons worth remembering: broaden
opportunities; provide professional capacity building; encourage joint efforts;
prepare students to work and not just for the job market; establish an
entrepreneurial spirit;
n) Recommendations:
take care to cultivate links between the campuses and the Rector of the Federal
Institutes especially in view of their territorial proximity;
o) Ensure
that alliance management is used as the main engine to strengthen the
institutes, so as to maximize the outreach potential of public policies;
p) The
teaching method adopted by the majority of Federal Institutes has been post
middle school technical courses. In our experience, it is very complicated to
work with these students (who have very heterogeneous levels of education). The
ideal would be to adopt a technology-integrated teaching method (middle and
technical teaching combined), with a four-year training period; and
q) Broaden
the scope of social outreach actions/or projects, especially in areas of
education, training a professional labor force and their insertion into the job
market and/or economy, with the purpose of providing opportunities for the
working classes and those segments of society that historically have been
marginalized.
3. CONCLUSIONS
Network participation makes it possible for individuals
or businesses to benefit from their social capital. The impact of forming
business networks in the economy of the region is felt from the moment that
these begin to reorganize themselves on a major scale, by building
relationships between networks already active in the market, bearing in mind
that the results of this type of interaction are associated with the existence
of social capital.
Thus, the aim of this research work was to study the
importance of inter-organizational network management as a government policy
tool to generate employment and income. From the viewpoint of the system into
which the network is inserted, establishing the means to form cooperative
partnerships makes it possible to construct democratic governance involving
actors from different areas, thereby creating new dynamics of social
coordination that are very different from the traditional forms of hierarchies
and markets.
The main conclusions reached in this research work was
that forming inter-organizational networks when implementing public policies,
helps to achieve positive results for local and regional development. To quote
Fleury and Ouverney (2007), the dynamics of shared relationships of power
through formalized channels of cooperation transform a situation of inter-dependence
into a fundamental relationship to construct and strengthen democratic
governance. This makes the network a social arrangement model that is capable
of expanding the potential of the State, both with regards to the effective
outcome of public polices, as well as with regards to policy coordination.
It is up to the State to play an important role in
coordinating economic decisions, in regulating markets and public services,
providing basic social services and developing the less privileged regions of
the country. These responsibilities would be far better performed if they were
planned with the cooperation of civil society. Furthermore, the planning
process tends to be far more effective at a local level, considering the
proximity of the problems to be resolved and the representativeness of the
actors involved.
Soon, institutions and public policies will no longer
be sustainable if they do not have the vision to go beyond their present
barriers. They need to look ahead and discover partners that can help them
achieve greater and more effective results. The tendency, therefore, is for the
processes of articulation and cooperation between institutions and the State,
community organizations and sectors of the market, to grow in strategic
importance.
The limitations of this research study should be
mentioned as follows: (i) the possibility that answers to the survey may not
describe the real opinions of the respondents for conscientious reasons (fear,
for example) or unconscious reasons. Some respondents may also have been wary
of the real purpose of the research. However, all efforts were made to
neutralize these possibilities by providing the respondents with a full
explanatory introduction about the objectives of the study even before the
questionnaires were used; (ii) since a large number of the Federal Institute
campuses have only recently been implanted, the declarations given by the
majority of the CEOs were related more to their experiences in campuses where
they had worked previously, rather than to the present one; and (iii) another
limitation was the constant exchange of e-mails from top management personnel
at the Federal Institutes, as was confirmed after consulting the official BME
website, which meant that most of the e-mails that were sent were returned. In
order to overcome this limiting factor, we were sent a notice to the effect
that: “the director-generals are taking part in a public management
specialization course at the National School of Public Administration (ENAP in Portuguese),
in the Federal District of Brasilia”. Each group consisted of 50 people; so,
our researcher went to ENAP and spoke to the CEOs belonging to groups 3 and 4,
as well as being given access to a list of the personal e-mail addresses for
the directors taking part in group 2. This made it possible to confirm that the
research questionnaires were received by a representative number of directors.
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