Progestão Acre: Public Sector Management Efficiency

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The Proposed Project is the fourth operation in a Series of Projects (SoP) under the Program designed to assist Brazilian States implement reforms to improve efficiency in public resource management. The objective of Progestão Program, as stated in the Memorandum of Understanding between the National Secretariat of Treasury (Secretaria do Tesouro Nacional, STN) and the World Bank, is to develop the fiscal budget and asset management of the Brazilian governments through actions that aim at reducing and rationalizing public spending with long term results to contribute to the fiscal sustainability of subnational entities. The Proposed Project addresses five whole-of-government functions (human resource management, pensions, public investment management, asset management, and procurement) and three strategic sectors (health, education, and social protection). These focus areas were selected applying the Progestão Program selectivity criteria: strategic alignment, implementation capacity, and impact on beneficiaries.The Progestão Program recognizes that the subnational fiscal crisis is largely a result of structural problems in public sector management. The Program, available to all Brazilian States regardless of their fiscal situation, will provide technical assistance to help participating States modernize and improve the following whole-of-government functions through investments in management reforms and information systems: human resource management; pensions; public procurement; public investment; debt management; state-owned Enterprises; and asset management. Specific interventions in sectors were selected after consultation with government officials and based on their contributions to improvements in efficiency and implementation readiness. The project will have three components:Component 1. Whole-of-Government Management Systems comprises six subcomponents.Sub-Component 1.1: Human Resource Management (US$7.5 million). Implementing Agency: SEAD. Activities include: (i) carrying out a technical assistance program for strategic workforce right-sizing of selected agencies and departments; (ii) design and implementation of a workforce right-sizing platform integrated with the human resource management system to identify core competencies of public officials and the appropriate hiring needs of organization; (iii) implementation of a personnel management dashboard, including dynamic distribution of the workforce, replacement alarms and automated reallocation documentation; (iv) development and implementation of a management analytics and artificial intelligence system for automated payroll audit to reduce errors and fraud; (v) automation of human resources management services and other processes identified through the strategic workforce planning; (vi) redesign and implementation of human resource services and processes based on strategic workforce planning; (vii) design and implementation of new functionalities to the State’s HRMIS; (viii) implement periodic staff surveys to assess reform implementation and support change management; (ix) carry out communications and capacity building to activities to support the rollout and implementation of the above mentioned activities; and (x) procurement of hardware to support the rollout and implementation of the above-mentioned activities.Sub-Component 1.2: Pensions (US$2 million). Implementing Agency: AcrePrevidencia. Activities include: (i) design and implementation of pension management system functionalities that support pension payroll audit, unify management of benefit concessions for all branches of government (legislative, judiciary, and executive), and improve the users‘ interface and access to services through the digital platform; (ii) expansion and update of the pension record management information system to increase efficiency and enable operational, actuarial, and financial analyses, thus reducing costs and allowing for better long-term financial planning; (iii) procurement of hardware to support the implementation of the above-mentioned activities.; and (iv) capacity building to support the deployment and implementation of new system and management tools.Sub-Component 1.3: Public Procurement (US$7 million). Implementing Agency: SEAD. Activities include: (i) development of a procurement strategy and an implementation plan to help embed procurement efficiency across the State's purchases; (ii) development and implementation of an integrated digital system for processing and analyzing data and managerial information in public procurement and contract management; (iii) redesign and automation of key processes and flows to ensure cost-effective acquisitions; (iv) design and implementation of an inventory management system integrated to procurement; (v) design and implementation of a strategic sourcing methodology to help identify demand for goods and services across the government; (vi) application of artificial intelligence using electronic invoices to identify and reduce fraud and corrupt practices; (vii) development and implementation of a system that certifies enterprises and automatizes data aggregation; (vii) capacity building and certification program for officials working in procurement across the state; (ix) development and implementation of digital systems that support contract management functions and procurement of low value, non-complex goods and services; and (x) procurement of hardware to support the deployment of the above-mentioned activities.Sub-Component 1.4: Public Investment Management, Transfers and Debt Management (US$7.2 million) Implementing Agencies SEPLAN and SEFAZ. Activities include: (i) development and implementation of a public project management system for State’s investments, integrating project preparation, screening and appraisal; (ii) preparation of a portfolio of technically appraised, implementation ready projects; (iii) design and implementation of a governance strategy to manage the project portfolio execution; (iv) design and implementation of a methodology for sustainable budgeting systems and practices for projects; (v) redesign and implementation of the processes and systems oriented to the development of public-private partnerships; (vi) development and implementation of a management system for the transfer of resources from the State of Acre to municipalities and organizations, thus allowing for digital monitoring of project preparation, implementation and accounting; (vii) design and implementation of a cash management information system; (viii) development and implementation of a debt management information system, including a guarantee and a contractual module; (ix) capacity building for State and municipal government officials on efficient public investment and expenditure management practices, to support the rollout and implementation of new tools; and (x) carry out periodic staff surveys to assess reform implementation and support change management.Sub-Component 1.5: State Owned Enterprises (US$2 million). Implementing Agency: SANEACRE. Activities include: (i) implementation of an information management system for sanitation, including modules of billing, charges, registry entries, financial, debt, and service interface; (ii) implementation of georeferencing software to integrate information regarding availability and customer usage; (iii) design and implementation of a telemetry system, including a governance strategy to reduce losses and increase efficiency of the operation; (iv) introduction of communication and capacity-building activities to support the rollout and implementation of these systems and management tools; and (v) procurement of hardware to support the rollout and implementation of the above-mentioned activities.Sub-Component 1.6: Asset Management (US$6 million). Implementing Agency: SEAD. Activities include: (i) technical support to assess up-to-date information of real estate properties, including geospatial data, area, occupa