A implantação do serviço de informação ao cidadão na Prefeitura de Juiz de Fora – MG: desafios e proposições

Abstract

The Electronic System of Citizen Information Service (e-SIC) has been offered since July 2014 by the administration of the city of Juiz de Fora (MG). The system consists of facilitating citizens' access to public information using information technology-enabled media. The offer of the service is the result of the enactment of Law 12,527, also known as the Law on Access to Information (LAI), in November 2011, to foster the development of a culture of transparency in public administration, as well as the development of social control. However, since its implementation, the service has been little used by the population. Therefore, the research had as its central question: What variables are associated with the predisposition of citizens of Juiz de Fora (MG) to use the Electronic System of Citizen Information Service? More specifically, it assessed the application of publicity for executive acts in the municipality through the Electronic System of Citizen Information Service (e-SIC). To answer the question, an empirical study was carried out composed of two phases: qualitative and quantitative. In the first phase, documentary research and interviews were conducted with the sector responsible for the implementation of e-SIC in the Juiz de Fora City Hall, as well as with the respondents of the Secretariats most questioned by the population through e-SIC. The interviews pointed to the lack of disclosure of the service and the need for modernization of the PJF archives. In the second phase, 254 questionnaires were applied by electronic form to a non-probabilistic sample of the municipality population. The survey revealed the low involvement and lack of information of the population about the information services offered by the government. The study of the sample also provided variables associated with the greater willingness of respondents to use the Electronic Citizen Information System, namely: age from 30 years; education, understood from high school; and family income from 6 minimum wages; besides participation in groups and associations. Thus, an intervention plan was proposed to minimize the empirical problem.