In addition to teaching and research, the relationship with society completes the triad of Unicamp's core activities, considered the best higher education school in Latin America, according to a ranking recently released by the British publication Times Higher Education (THE). The link with the citizen, which helps finance the institution through their taxes, occurs in several ways, including through the transfer of knowledge and the provision of services to the population in different areas, notably health. It also occurs through the provision of correct and responsible information about the institution's decisions and actions, in an exercise of transparency that contributes not only to strengthening social control over public administration, but also to the advancement of democracy in Brazil.
Unicamp already has a tradition of making data relating to its management publicly available. The measure took shape with the advent of the internet. Currently, a huge set of data about the University can be found on the websites of its teaching and research units and bodies. There is information about budget, salaries, tenders, academic policies and administrative decisions, among others. However, this content is not properly organized and gathered in a single environment, in order to facilitate consultation by interested parties.
It was with the commitment to facilitate access to Unicamp data that the Rectory decided to adopt a series of actions, including the creation of the Transparency Portal, which is in the final phase of construction. “The idea is to make information relating to the life of the University available to society, in a systematic and uncomplicated way. This dialogue with citizens is fundamental to the practices of a public higher education institution”, says rector Marcelo Knobel.
The construction of the Transparency Portal is under the coordination of professor Rodolfo Jardim de Azevedo, director of the Computing Institute (IC). The interesting thing about the project is that it was born from the initiative of students, who wanted to expand the volume of information for society to consult, from a collective called Transparência Unicamp. As the measure was also included in the management plan of the Current Higher Administration, the University understood that it should provide institutional support to students and involve them in formatting the Transparency Portal.
The first measure in this regard was the offering of an undergraduate course on Data Transparency, which had around 50 enrollees, from different courses. Of these, at least 90% completed the activities. “It was a very enriching experience, as we had the opportunity to encourage students, through individual and collective work, to seek solutions for this tool. Among the challenges proposed were both the development of software and the search, analysis and systematization of data”, reports Azevedo.
Furthermore, a Hackathon, a kind of programming marathon, also focused on the topic of Data Transparency. The purpose was to encourage students to create software that could be incorporated into the effort to make information related to Unicamp more accessible to the general population. “Throughout the activities we were able to notice that, although the culture of transparency is not yet fully ingrained at the University, it is part of the routine of several units and bodies. Many data linked to the functioning of the institution are available. The problem is that they are not systematized or stored in a single consultation environment”, recognizes the professor.
Azevedo explains that Unicamp's Transparency Portal will not function as a repository. In other words, it will not be an environment that will host information relating to the University. What it will do is “take” the interested party to the location where the content is available. A fundamental aspect in relation to searches, points out Azevedo, concerns the vocabulary used by the institution, which is not always the same used by citizens.
As an example, the professor cites the fact that information about the subjects of a course is contained in a catalogue. “Most likely, a person outside the university environment would not use the word 'catalog' to search for this data. This is a challenge that we will have to overcome. One idea is to record and analyze queries to adapt the terms to users' needs”, considers the IC director.
The model for Unicamp's future Transparency Portal, which should go into operation in the next few days, is based on the same software used by Harvard University, in the United States. The North American institution's repository brings together administrative and academic data. “On the journey we took, we also analyzed other very interesting experiences, such as the São Paulo State Government Transparency Portal. We look for good ideas that proved to be suitable for our needs”, says Azevedo.
An issue that is still being defined is which Unicamp body will be responsible for managing the Portal. Regardless of the choice, says Azevedo, technicians will have no difficulty operating it, because the tool is very user-friendly. “Obviously, operators will undergo brief training, but nothing that is outside the scope of professionals in the Information Technology area.” Another important point highlighted by the teacher concerns the classification of information.
Although it is a public entity and must account for its activities to the public, Unicamp holds information that is considered confidential, that is, it cannot be disclosed. “This is an aspect that needs to be clarified. Not all data can be made public, especially those that could put the security of the University's activities at risk and those related to people's privacy”, warns the professor.
Scientific data
In addition to administrative and academic information, there is a strong outcry, particularly from the scientific community, in favor of opening up data related to research, as stated by Professor Azevedo. The topic has been discussed by universities and research centers, Unicamp among them. “Normally, we scientists collect and record data related to our studies on the computer. Our equipment digitally stores calculations, images, graphs, simulations, etc. Once made available, these contents can have great value both for researchers from Unicamp itself and from other institutions”, explains Professor Azevedo.
The São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Fapesp) has led a movement among research institutions that generate and store this data with the purpose of creating networks that provide the exchange of information and, as a consequence, faster advancement of science. An example of how valuable this experience can be comes from Petrobras. Due to the serious financial and institutional crisis it has been facing, the company has significantly cut investments in prospecting in recent times. However, based on accumulated research data, the state-owned company has developed new algorithms that are allowing it to identify with greater precision the areas where new drilling should be carried out.
Among the issues that must be resolved to establish this data sharing network, notes the IC director, is the definition of digital protocols, which allow information to be reliable and understandable. “Obviously, the data needs to allow the research to be reproducible. One aspect that I consider particularly important is also recording the methods and processes that did not produce results during the study. This can save a lot of time for those who were eventually thinking of following the same path”, ponders Azevedo.
Ombudsman and SIC receive thousands of complaints a year
While the Transparency Portal is being completed, Unicamp uses the structure at its disposal to improve dialogue with society. A new experience in this sense occurred in the context of the recent strike of technical-administrative employees. For the first time, all negotiation meetings around the category's specific demand agenda were recorded journalistically in texts, photos and videos and published on the University Portal. At the same time, several clarification notes were issued, and the institution's spokespersons gave numerous interviews on the subject to newspapers, radio stations, television stations, websites and magazines. The objective was to keep the population correctly informed about the direction and implications of the movement.
Outside of specific situations such as a strike, Unicamp maintains two important communication channels with both the internal and external communities, which are the Ombudsman's Office and the Citizen Information Service (SIC), the second of which is subordinate to the first. The Ombudsman's role is to mediate issues involving the University and employees (teaching and non-teaching staff), students and also people who do not belong to the university community. It is also up to the body to propose improvement processes to avoid the recurrence of issues presented.
According to ombudsman Maria Augusta Pretti Ramalho, demands can reach the body in person or via email, phone call, correspondence and filling out a form available on the São Paulo State Ombudsman System portal. Each manifestation generates a protocol number, which allows the interested party to monitor the progress of their case. “In our daily lives, we receive reports, compliments, complaints, requests for information and suggestions, among other cases”, says Maria Augusta.
The latest consolidated data, referring to 2017, proves the importance and scope of the work carried out by the Ombudsman's Office. In the second half of last year, 751 manifestations were received, with the topic of complaints (37,28%) leading the contacts, followed by complaints (29,56%) and requests for information (22,77%). Among the topics listed in these items are issues such as access, service, server conduct, inspection, infrastructure, etc. The majority of those who make contact, according to the ombudsman, are members of the university community. In the first half of 2017, for example, of the 814 requests filed, 539 came from Unicamp students, teachers, employees and retirees.
Maria Augusta clarifies that the agency works within a period of up to 20 days to resolve the issues presented, although in the vast majority of cases this occurs much earlier, between three and ten days. “Obviously, more complex cases sometimes require much more time, such as demands that involve the opening of an Inquiry Committee or a Permanent Processing Committee (CPP), whose purpose, respectively, is to judge administrative disciplinary proceedings relating to teaching staff and non-teaching staff and investigate irregularities committed within the scope of Public Administration. In any case, our case resolution rate is extremely positive, over 90%”, explains the ombudsman.
This result, according to her, is also related to the commitment of the units and bodies to resolve any problems. More than having a complaint or report accepted, continues Maria Augusta, many people who turn to the Ombudsman's Office want to be heard. “Sometimes, we play the role of psychologists. We receive the person, sit with them and listen to them. There are situations in which citizens already feel supported by this type of welcome”, she reports.
An important action launched in 2017, she adds, was the “Ombudsman goes to you”, an initiative that led the organization to provide services initially at the Faculty of Dentistry of Piracicaba (FOP) and later at the Faculty of Applied Sciences (FCA), located in Limeira. “The measure was very well received by both units. At FOP, we provided 39 services and at FCA, 22. Although people have online access to the system, they need face-to-face assistance. The idea, now, is to also take the experience to technical colleges and the Faculty of Technology (FT, in Limeira)”, says Maria Augusta.
A measure that should have a positive impact on the work carried out by the Ombudsman's Office, says the director, is the implementation of the Mediation and Collaborative Actions Chamber, a proposal that was part of the current Rectory's management plan and is in the final stages of preparation. The objective of this instance is to minimize investigations and legal actions. “The idea is to resolve a series of conflicts internally, through negotiation between the parties. Membership in the Chamber will be voluntary, but we hope that it will serve as a stimulus for formulating agreements and overcoming differences”, predicts Maria Augusta.
Active and passive transparency
Although it also fulfills the mission of clarifying and receiving demands from the public internal and external to Unicamp, the SIC works differently from the Ombudsman's Office and receives equally different manifestations. The body operates with what it describes as active and passive transparency. In the first case, the University itself takes the initiative to make a series of information of public interest available. In the second, data is provided upon request.
Manifestations to the SIC can be made in person, over the telephone, over the internet or by correspondence. In 2017, the organization provided 41.783 consultations, 34.444 of which were made over the telephone. The most requested topics were related to General Administration (24.409), Assistance (8.324) and Maintenance and Installation (3.150). “At SIC, many issues are resolved immediately, especially when they relate to requests for information. Others, however, may take longer to resolve, due to their complexity. The body works with a response period of 20 days, extendable for a further ten. If the citizen is not satisfied with the answer, they can file an appeal. As the applicant receives a protocol number, they can monitor how their case is being processed”, informs Maria Augusta.
The ombudsman points out that Unicamp should soon publish a resolution in which documents will be classified, which will distinguish those that can and cannot be made public. “When citizens contact the Ombudsman and SIC, they assume that, as it is a public University, Unicamp has to provide all types of information. However, it's not quite like that. Personal and banking data or aspects involving patents and clinical examinations of patients, for example, are confidential and must be protected by the institution. It is important that people know that the refusal to provide certain information is based on an imposition of legislation”, points out Maria Augusta.
