The citizen groups and organizations that comprise the country's vibrant civil society are essential to the strengthening of the institutions of Brazilian democracy. After playing such an important part in establishing the standards of government accountability set forth in the 1988 Constitution, these groups are now consolidating their new role in assuring responsible, transparent and innovative government practice in favor of the most vulnerable sectors of the population.

Image removed

The Governance and Civil Society Program seeks to promote democratic governance and to strengthen the participation of civil society in public life. To advance these goals, the Program supports efforts to increase the capacity of citizen groups and NGOs to evaluate government policy and make recommendations; to broaden public awareness of the conditions under which responsible governance occurs; to strengthen the philanthropic sector and promote corporate social responsibility; and to foster police and judicial reform.

Governance and Civil Society Program actions involve:

• Applied policy research to promote public security and judicial reform; studies of the potential role of Brazilian philanthropy in promoting good governance;

• Establishment of university and NGO programs to monitor federal and local budgeting processes and to track multilateral loans for development projects; training programs for citizen groups and non-governmental organizations on policy analysis, advocacy and negotiation of policy reform; strengthening of consumer defense organizations; and

• Evaluation of social development programs and dissemination of effective models of democratic state and local governance.