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CITY ADMINISTRATION TRANSPARENCY INDEX: A STUDY OF THE MOST POPULOUS CITIES IN RIO GRANDE DO NORTE STATE
Authors: Fabia Jaiany Viana de Souza, Célio da Costa Barros, Fabio Resende de Araujo, Maurício Correa da Silva
Number of views: 358
The general purpose of this study is to analyse the transparency in the most populous cities in
Rio Grande do Norte state by means of a methodology proposed by Biderman e Puttomatti
(2011).In order to achieve this objective, Rio Grande do Norte cities with a population of at
least 50,000 in habitantes were selected. This resulted in a sample of eight cities (Natal,
Mossoró, Parnamirim, São Gonçalo do Amarante, Macaíba, Ceará-Mirim, Caicó e Açu).The
methodology employed to establish a rank of the cities transparencies, by means of analysis of
their websites, included variables such as budget execution, budget classification, contracts,
historical series, optional download, ease of navigation, which are divided in three
parameters: contents, historical series, update and usability. According to the results, among
the eight cities analysed, Natal had the best transparency index, with a 79% score, followed
by Parnamirim (72%) and Caicó (67%). Furthermore, a comparison of the performance of the
cities in the three parameters analysed showed that the cities had higher scores on items
related to historical series and update. The conclusion is that the city administrations subject
to the survey still need to improve their information transparency levels so that citizens may
have a better experience with the contents provided in the official websites and that the
population may bring into effect the social control of the public management practices in a
more effective way