Digitalization of Public Services in the Municipality of São Paulo
- Country /
- Brazil
- Services /
- Strategy and foresight
- Year /
- 2020 - 2021
- Topics /
- Public innovation, Participation and collaboration, Public / Municipal Services, Public management and transparency, Participatory design, Digital transformation
This project not only succeeded in digitizing key public services, but also empowered municipal teams to lead public innovation and digitalization processes with a people-centered design approach.
Context
With more than 11 million inhabitants, the city of São Paulo faces increasing demand for efficient and accessible public services. Since 2017, the municipality has driven the creation of the Municipal Secretariat for Innovation and Technology (SMIT), leading efforts to digitize over 500 services. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for a more effective and sustainable methodology led to the development of the "Innovation and Digital Government" project, funded by CAF.
The project had two central objectives:
- Digitize essential services for citizens.
- Build public servants’ capacities to ensure long-term organizational change.
Methodology
The program, led by Unit in collaboration with States of Change, followed a fully remote, experiential learning model structured in two main phases:
Prototyping phase:
- Six workshops held with 19 officials from five different secretariats.
- Initial design and testing of the program, gathering key insights.
Final implementation phase:
- Virtual sessions with 30 officials from ten secretariats.
- Use of human-centered design methodologies to identify and redesign public services.
The approach prioritized the knowledge and experience of public servants, promoting a collaborative, experimental, and user-centered organizational mindset.
Impact
- Eight key services were digitized, directly benefiting São Paulo’s residents, while two additional services remain under development.
- More than 45 public officials gained tools and skills in public innovation and digitalization, preparing them to autonomously address future challenges.
- The methodology developed has the potential to be replicated in other Latin American cities facing similar digital transformation challenges.
The project went beyond technical digitalization to adopt a strategic vision of organizational change. As Beatriz Hasbún, Unit’s project lead, explained:
“This process made it possible to identify users’ real problems, redesign services based on their needs, and shift the institutional work logic.”
Brenton Caffin, Executive Director of States of Change, added:
“We’re helping to cultivate new thinking paradigms: what does it mean to be agile, experimental, and participatory? This approach not only modernizes processes, it transforms how we serve citizens.”
