Decision-making and its impact on Public Policy Management: challenges of a Municipal Health Council

Abstract

Councils for public policy management are democratization spaces that enable the inclusion of society's demands in the political agenda. This study examined the incorporation of the Municipal Health Council's deliberations in the city of Chapecó, State of Santa Catarina, Southern Brazil. Data were collected from the Council's minutes in the period January 2005 to December 2010 and from interviews with key informants. The implementation of the decisions depends on different organs or on other government levels, not only on the council representatives' competence to formulate or defend their proposals, or the municipal manager's interest, commitment and engagement. The limited time available for discussion in the Council's meetings often results in decisions that do not consider important factors such as installed capacity, available resources and forecasts for the maintenance of the incorporated activities. The impact of social participation on public policies in the area of health requires qualifying the decision-making process, forecasting the multiple factors, both technical and political, involved in its implementation.