Towards an Integrated Analysis of the Public Policy Production Process: lessons from Brazil

• Grant number: 25/14294-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2025
• End date: July 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Political Science - Public Policies
• Principal Investigator: Adrian Gurza Lavalle
• Grantee: Gabriel Oliveira Ferreira
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 13/07616-7 - CEM - Center for Metropolitan Studies, AP.CEPID

Abstract

This thematic project proposes the development of an innovative analytical framework for the integrated analysis of public policy production in Brazil, articulating institutional, ideational and relational dimensions in order to produce cross-cutting and multi-level explanations of policy patterns. Drawing on various traditions and models of analysis, and focusing on different scales and decision-making arenas of government and on the interaction between state and non-state actors, the study examines the production of social, urban and environmental policies with varying time frames since the country's re-democratization, according to public policy sector, both on a national scale and in the cities of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and Fortaleza. The research is organized around five axes - (1) sub-national decision-making autonomy, (2) policy networks and communities, (3) socio-state capacities, (4) budgetary governance and (5) changes in public policies. The thematic project combines qualitative and quantitative methods with the aim of overcoming fragmented explanations and offering an in-depth understanding of the ways in which public policies are produced.