A Decade of The New Regulatory Framework for Partnerships in Brazil

• In Event: Civil society regulations

Abstract

The complex relationship between civil society organizations (CSOs) and public authorities has been a subject of immense interest in third-sector studies. Indeed, the regulatory and political environments within which CSOs operate play a crucial role in shaping their functioning, governance, accountability, and overall impact (Appe & Barragán, 2017; Irvin, 2005; Williamson et al., 2022).
This study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the initial ten years of the Regulatory Framework for Civil Society Organizations (MROSC, Federal Law 13.019/2014) in Brazil. Its objectives are to assess the implementation of MROSC, offer insights that can guide public administrators and CSO managers in enhancing this process, and enrich empirical and theoretical discussions surrounding partnerships between public authorities and CSOs.
Due to the importance of partnerships, the MROSC regulation caught the attention of academics from different areas of knowledge, with this study cataloging 60 works between 2017-2023 on the topic. There are challenges for local public administrations, and CSOs have adjusted to MROSC. (Holanda & Mendonça, 2022; Lopes, 2017; Mendonça, 2017).
There is a resumption of the partnership agenda, and incremental improvements must be made in its regulatory environment with the arrival of the new federal government in 2023. This scenario presents an opportune moment to undertake this study and inform decision-makers.
This study is based on an exploratory approach, primarily relying on a comprehensive literature review of materials produced regarding the implementation of MROSC since its inception. This process involves systematic collection, analysis, and synthesis of relevant information available in the literature on the topic (Creswell, 2009; Gazley, 2021).
The endeavor involves identifying and selecting scientific articles, books, theses, dissertations, and other pertinent sources. Sources are retrieved from diverse platforms such as Google Scholar, Scielo, institutional repositories, theses and dissertations databases of leading Brazilian universities, digital libraries of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, and digital archives of Brazilian government schools. The time frame between 2017-2023 was adopted, the work base is still being fed, and currently has 56 documents that are being reviewed. The gathered content is critically examined, considering the framework of theories or methodological approaches, research methodologies employed, and the main outcomes achieved (Galvao et al., 2017; Siddaway et al., 2019).
By evaluating the first decade of MROSC, the study has the potential to shed light on the challenges, achievements, and future possibilities, ultimately contributing to the enhancement of partnerships and informed policy decisions for a more robust civil society sector.

References

Appe, S., & Barragán, D. (2017). Policy Windows for CSOs in Latin America: Looking Outside Legal and Regulatory Frameworks. Voluntas, 28(4), 1812–1831. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-015-9666-z
Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (3rd ed.). Sage.
Galvao, M. C. B., Pluye, P., & Ricarte, I. L. M. (2017). Mixed methods research and mixed reviews of literature: concepts, design, and evaluation. InCID: Revista de Ciência Da Informação e Documentação, 8(2), 4. https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2178-2075.v8i2p4-24
Gazley, B. (2021). The Systematic Literature Review: Advantages and Applications in Nonprofit Scholarship. Voluntas. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-021-00410-1
Holanda, B. M., & Mendonça, P. (2022). The implementation of the Regulatory Framework for Civil Society Organizations: dynamics between the institutional logics of the State and society and their implication in co-production. Administração Pública e Gestão Social, 14(3).
Irvin, R. A. (2005). State regulation of nonprofit organizations: Accountability regardless of outcome. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 34(2), 161–178. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764004272189
Lopes, L. F. (2017). A Implementação da Lei Federal no 13.019. de 2014: novas lentes do Estado brasileiro para as parcerias com a sociedade civil organizada e a experiência de Belo Horizonte em doze passos. Revista Da Procuração-Geral Do Município de Belo Horizonte, 9, 147–169.
Mendonça, P. (2017). Partnerships between the State and CSOs: Challenges in building collaborations for the implementation of Law 13,019/ 2014. ICNL LEEP Fellowship.
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Williamson, A. K., Kingston, K. L., & Bennison, L. (2022). Similar or Different? Downward Accountability Across Civil Society Organisational Forms. Voluntas, 33(5), 1002–1014. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-021-00441-8

Authors

• Patricia Maria E. Mendonça, Universidade de São Paulo

• BRUNA M HOLANDA

• Laura Neves, USP

• João Victor Freitas Machado, USP