Funding the activities involved in the Public Treasury's legal proceedings

• Grant number: 25/10375-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2025
• End date: May 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Administration - Public Administration
• Principal Investigator: Luciana Romano Morilas
• Grantee: Ana Elisa dos Santos
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade de Ribeirão Preto (FEARP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 24/01122-7 - Multidisciplinary Center for Strategy, Research, and Innovation of the State Attorney General's Office of São Paulo, AP.CCD

Abstract

The constitutional principles of transparency and publicity, combined with the technological and digitalisation of judicial proceedings, put Brazil at the forefront of empirical legal studies, particularly in the field of jurimetrics. An experienced multidisciplinary team analysing data from the Attorney General's Office of the State of São Paulo (PGE-SP) and the Court of Justice of São Paulo (TJSP) will achieve varied results, including: diagnosing and optimising organisational processes; identifying inefficiencies; reducing costs; improving efficiency in public administration; analysing inefficiencies in the PGE-SP's administrative and judicial proceedings; determining costs related to public administration; and creating and analysing large sets of organisational or legal data.The research problems include:a) the cost of legal proceedings involving the Public Treasury;b) decision-making patterns in the Judiciary and Courts of Auditors;c) the de-bureaucratisation of administrative proceedings. The project aims to: identify and analyse organisational and judicial/administrative proceedings involving the Public Treasury; create a database providing evidence-based data for public policies; improve the efficiency of the PGE-SP administration; and promote sustainable access to justice.The results will inform internal processes at the PGE-SP and establish causal relationships regarding incentives for litigation, with the aim of achieving efficiency and the effective use of public resources. The project will address challenges relating to the management of large volumes of data, the standardisation of legal data, and the definition of procedural costs, thereby promoting economy and efficiency at PGE-SP.This project's main characteristics are multidisciplinarity, evidence-based problem solving, the extensive use of big data analysis technologies to process large volumes of unstructured data, and the development of effective public policies.Integrating three different areas of knowledge promotes a multidisciplinary approach between the data science team, the legal team and the management team. The data science team is responsible for collecting, analysing and interpreting data using advanced techniques to derive insights from large volumes of information. The legal team guides the collection of data and evaluates the results, redirecting new collection and proposing legally viable alternatives for improvement.Meanwhile, the management team focuses on optimising processes and resources, identifying areas of inefficiency, and developing strategies to improve the efficiency of public administration. The data collected and the legally considered alternatives are evaluated and combined to provide viable economic and time-efficient solutions.Strategies for communicating the results include participating in conferences, promoting thematic events, disseminating results in scientific articles and on social media, maintaining a website, and creating profiles on social networks. The FEA-RP Communications Office will increase the project's visibility and share relevant information. The impact and effectiveness of the communication strategies will be regularly evaluated.Through multidisciplinary research, big data analysis and strategic partnerships, the project aims to enhance the efficiency of legal processes, minimise operational costs and streamline procedures. Furthermore, the project promotes equal access to justice by removing bureaucratic barriers and developing data-driven public policies, resulting in more efficient public administration and informed decision-making.