XI Conferência Municipal de Assistência Social de Ponta Grossa/PR: uma avaliação de processo da materialização de suas deliberações

Abstract

This research aims to carry out a process evaluation of the materialization of the deliberations of the XI Ponta Grossa Municipal Social Assistance Conference, held in 2017, which were incorporated into the Municipal Social Assistance Plan (PMAS) 2018-2021. Through this objective, it was intended to investigate what the practical effects of the deliberations of the conferences have been and whether these participatory spaces have been effective in influencing the management of the Municipal Social Assistance Policy. It is a qualitative and quantitative research, of an exploratory character, which methodologically was developed through the following instruments: bibliographical, documentary research and semi-structured interview. The field research for data collection took place in two stages: first, interviews were conducted with five professionals from the technical team of the Municipal Foundation for Social Assistance (FASPG), responsible for forwarding the deliberations of the XI Conference; as well as documentary research, in order to check their progress. The analysis of this information took place under a qualitative and quantitative aspect. In a second moment, interviews were carried out with members of the organizing committee of the XI Conference: a governamental counselor, a non-governmental counselor and the Executive Secretary of the Municipal Council of Social Assistance (CMAS), directed to the specific objectives of the research: to identify the evaluation of the XI Municipal Conference of Social Assistance, from the perspective of members of the organizing committee, who work within the scope of the CMAS; identify how civil society participated in the XI Conference and whether it accompanies the materialization of its deliberations; identify whether there is follow-up of the developments of the XI Conference's deliberations by the interviewed subjects, as members of CMAS, as well as by CMAS, as an organ; to identify, in general, the evaluation of the Municipal Conferences of Social Assistance as channels of participation and social control, by the significant subjects involved. To promote the analysis of these interviews, the technique of content analysis was used, through the organization of analytical categories. The dissertation is organized in three chapters. The first chapter is entitled “Fundamentals on the State, civil society and participatory democracy”. The second chapter is entitled “Contextualization of the National Social Assistance Policy”. Finally, there is the third chapter “Evaluation of the process of materializing the deliberations of the 11th Conference of Social Assistance in the Municipality of Ponta Grossa”. The results point, in general, as positive the direction given the deliberations and the process of materialization of these. Specifically with regard to participation in the space of the Municipal Social Assistance Conferences, there is still a gap in relation to the category of users, as, historically, the phenomenon of the participation of these subjects in public policy decisions is very recent.