RA 2019

Annual Report

2019

Connecting diversities
to transform realities

Message

Our passion,
at the Arapyaú,
is to promote
changes.

Gather people and organizations around ideas, and actions that can make the world a fairer, prosper and healthier place for everyone. In almost 12 years on this path, we have expanded our knowledge, refined our perception, and deepened our commitment. We have also had the opportunity to gain experience and co-create with partners who, just like us, believe that transformation is possible.

The experiences of 2019 showed us that, to move forward, it is necessary to leave our comfort zone and face the new with courage and boldness. More than ever, we realized the profound complexity of sustainability challenges. As we advance in tackling a given issue, we always discover new ones, which require new learning, new strategies, and coordinate efforts. We have learned to be flexible at work while maintaining concrete results, transforming difficulties in inputs for creativity.

At Arapyaú, we have the privilege of being able to bet on cutting edge initiatives, to experiment formats, and to evaluate ideas. This freedom has generated positive impacts that reinforce our conviction in this modus operandi. In all of our areas of work – the territorial development in the south of Bahia, the climate change and the cities and territories – we wanted to go further and discover the critical issues, those “acupuncture points” from which it would be possible to contribute to systemic and long-lasting changes. The diverse partnerships that we built to strengthen the Cocoa’s productive chain in the south of Bahia, the fourth phase of the MapBiomas project and the creation of the Fórum Inova Cidades (Innovation Cities Forum) are some of last year’s examples which we are proud of.

Having in our DNA the desire to act through networks has proven to be a competitive advantage. We have always known that solutions for sustainable development could only be built by several hands. Thus, we will continue to focus on promoting dialogue among diverse sectors and on bringing people and institutions that think differently together. We consider the presence of public managers in this construction to be essential. Our main purpose is to create multi-party instances that, due to their diversity, can discuss fundamental themes and generate innovative ideas.

For the future, we will continue to support initiatives that tackle climate change, reduce inequalities, and promote a new economic model. We look forward to a profound sense of urgency, sharing with various actors in society the desire to rapidly advance the promotion of a sustainable and resilient society. A little over a decade ago, when we started, we did not have complete clarity of what would be the best way to move forward. Today, we know that the path is renewed with each step – and that the destination only makes sense if we get there together.

Pedro Villares
President of the Council

introduction

2019 was a year of
accomplishments for
the Instituto Arapyaú

In 2018, we dedicated ourselves to develop new strategies to address sustainability challenges, and, in 2019, we obtained palpable achievements. Successes occurred throughout our operation fronts. The decision made in 2018, for example, to incentivize innovation in the Cities and Territories Program resulted in the creation of the Fórum Inova Cidades (Innovate Cities Forum), in partnership with the Frente Nacional dos Prefeitos (National Mayors Front), whose proposal was to connect municipal leaders in search of solutions to management issues. Additionally, it was this decision that led to the development of the Aliança pela Inovação e Sustentabilidade (Alliance for Innovation and Sustainability), initiative that united actors interested in collectively finance city projects.

It was also in 2018 that the decision to focus our actions on the areas of public education and institutional strengthening of the cocoa chain was made inside the Southern Bahia Territorial Development Program. As a result of such decisions, last year a program for continuous development of educators to improve the learning indexes was brought 2019 was a year of accomplishments for the Instituto Arapyaú. to life. Preliminary results demonstrated an improvement of at least 2% throughout all the elementary and primary school years in the region, regarding the subjects of Portuguese and Mathematics.

Furthermore, Arapyaú has improved its recognition as an important articulator for the cocoa productive chain by bolstering a set of actions in the region, that culminated – among other things – on the inclusion of Brazil in the narrow list of Fine Cocoa Exporters of the International Cocoa Organization.

We also managed to have a relevant role with the Climate Change Program. The program was fundamental in dealing with the challenges in a year that the Amazon deforestations rates have increased. In this context, we firmly maintained our partnership with the MapBiomas project, which is a system for mapping the cover and use of soil. Data made available by the project guided the national press and turned the system into a reliable source for validating information. Another support that revealed to be essential was the one given to the Coalizão Brasil, Clima, Florestas e Agricultura (Brazil, Climate, Forests and Agriculture Coalition) due to the fundamental importance that the coalition had in qualifying the dialogue around the Brazilian Environmental Law, assuring the organization’s position as an unreplaceable articulator among the productive sector, the academy, and the civil society.

The launch of Possible Amazon, at the peak of the wildfire crisis in Brazil, demonstrated that, although the Arapyaú has a predefined strategic agenda, the institute is flexible enough to promptly respond to unprecedented demands. In 2020, the Arapyaú will work to amplify its results. We will prioritize our acting strategy and remain open to unexpected demands and opportunities, with coherent objectives and flexibility to act.

Programs

Climate Change

Territorial Development of The South of Bahia

Cities and Territories

Climate Change

With a focus on the Amazon region, we supported initiatives, contributed with data and expanded our participation on international agendas.

In 2019, wildfire and deforestations rates in the Amazon were the highest registered over the last years, with an increase of at least 30%. The generation of reliable data about this context was fundamental to organize debates around the environmental agenda. Arapyaú’s operation, together with other social organizations, allowed for the creation of spaces for dialogue with the new government for the collective construction of a low-carbon economy.

MapBiomas​

The mapping of cover and use of soil, bolstered by Arapyaú’s support, kept its significant role in generating data about the transformations of Brazilian territory, especially in the Amazon. The system detected, for example, that 95% of deforestations registered over the Amazon region last year were illegal. This data was used by various actors, including the federal government, to guide discussions and influence specific actions like cooperation with official agencies.

The capacitation of various representatives from State Offices and Public Federal Ministry in different states was initiated for the proper use of MapBiomas’ data. Such a formation process allows for the creation of actions to prevent and combat illegal deforestation in Brazil. It is also under construction, a model to automatize data collection from state governments, Ibama, and the Public Ministry, that should be operational in 2020.

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“It was extremely important to have a project like MapBiomas, which has data, with precise information and the best resolution available to not only support the data but to put the latest information on the table. Our problem in Brazil today is not lack of information but lack of attitude.”

Tasso Azevedo,

general coordinator at MapBiomas

Among the main results of the project, we highlight:

  • The release of annually updated maps of cover and use of soil in Brazil, from 1985 to 2018, in addition to original deforestation and regeneration data for all Brazilian biomes.

  • The release of the MapBiomas Alert system, with validated alerts of deforestation and complete reports for all Brazilian biomes. Altogether, 17.937 alerts were validated, which corresponds to almost twenty times the Ibama’s production in 2018.

  • The start of MapBiomas expansion to other regions, such as Caribbean, Africa, Indonesia and Uruguay
15000

alerts were validated, which corresponds to almost twenty times the Ibama’s production in 2018.

In 2019, we also developed the MapBiomas Cocoa pilot, the first map of cover and use of soil in the South of Bahia with an emphasis on the forest, cocoa production, and farming areas. This mapping is essential to promote better territory planning, one that considers a balance among economic use of the land, forest preservation, and ecosystem services. The map also subsidizes the implementation of public policies, specifically the Cabruca Decree.

Possible Amazon

The initiative, launched during Climate Week, in New York, aims to become a movement of the Brazilian business sector that is committed to (I) zero illegal deforestation in the Amazon region; (II) 100% trackability of production chains; and (III) the promotion of a standing forest economy in the region.

Having as main supporters of the initiative Arapyaú Institute, Brazil Climate, Forests and Agriculture Coalition, Conselho Empresarial Brasileiro para o Desenvolvimento (CEBDS) (Brazilian Corporate Committee for Development), the Brazil Network for the UN Global Pact, the B System, and Ethos Institute, the Possible Amazon proposal was taken to the COP 25, in Madrid, and promoted an important debate on the meat productive chain trackability, which is a crucial point to avoid deforestation in the region.

Brazil Climate,
Forests and Agriculture Coalition

Facing the sensible environmental agenda, in 2019, the Coalizão Brasil (Brazil Coalition) played an essential role in the process of building dialogue with the new government. We have reached December with more than thirty meetings conducted with ministries and congressmen, consistently carrying the proposal to articulate the agribusiness and the environment sectors towards the sustainable development agenda.

We had an intense operation of the Coalition on the defense of the Forest Code under the context of MP 884, that resulted, among other things, on the creation of an agri-environmental subcommittee associated to the Comissão de Meio Ambiente e Desenvolvimento Sustentável (CMADS) (Environment and Sustainable Development Committee) of the House of Representatives. This operation was fundamental to avoid dismantling the Brazilian environmental legislation. 

Initiated this year by the Coalition, the articulation surrounding MP was another step in defense of the Brazilian Forest Code. Such movement represented the consensus of the organization’s members that implementing the Code is the first and essential step to enable environmental conservation and to strengthen agricultural production. 

Another important accomplishment was the monitoring of the payment for environmental services bill, which started to advance in Congress in 2019. In such a decisive moment, the Coalition contributed with technical subsidies and promoted dialogue among representatives from the congress and the various actors involved.

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In 2019, the Brazil Coalition faced the great challenge of building dialogue with the new government. Since its creation, the Coalition focused its efforts on dialogue with the Executive Branch of Government, but this year we realized that greater action on the Legislative Branch was fundamental. At the Congress, we were decisive in positioning ourselves against provisional measures and bills that threaten the Forest Code. We, additionally, demonstrated our support for positive agendas, such as the Payment for Environmental Services. In 2020, we want to intensify our work in Congress to further consolidate our agenda with representatives.

André Guimarães,

cofacilitator of the Coalition

Among some of the relevant actions conducted by the movement, there are:

  • The initiation of the study on the destination of public forests. In partnership with the Brazilian Forest Service and the Government Property Agency, we mapped not designated public forest areas and initiated a dialogue to find a destination for them, discussions will continue in 2020.

  • The promotion of meetings among ministries (Economy, Agriculture, and Environment) to debate means to improve the criteria for granting rural credit so that lending is directed to more sustainable agricultural activities and tied to practices that comply with the Forest Code.

  • The launch, in September, of the Seja Legal com a Amazônia campaign (Be Nice with the Amazon), which brings agribusiness and environmentalists together to fight the grabbing of public land in the Amazon region. The goal of such movement is to ask for effective measures to end land grabbing, which is one of the main causes of illegal deforestation, violence, corruption, and economic backwardness in the region. The initiative was presented to the international community during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 25) in Madrid.

For 2020, the Coalition objectives are to get even closer to the Congress, to request for more support from private sector entities to the environmental causes, and to build an international strategy to strengthen the dialogue on the climate and the biodiversity agendas.

Climate Change

Support

In the context of the Tax Reform, a subject discussed throughout the year, we supported Instituto Escolhas (Choices Institute) in publishing a study that pointed the opportunity to utilize subsidies from the Zona Franca de Manaus for bioeconomic development in the state of Amazonas.

The Amazônia 4.0 focuses on placing the Amazon at the forefront of technological innovation and bioeconomy, converting the region into a source of distinct knowledge, which combines scientific and technological progress with the experience of the peoples of the forest. The project represents a new way of producing and organizing knowledge and aims to be a forerunner preparing rural producers with modern technologies to scale entrepreneurship that keeps the forest standing.

Territorial Development
of the South of Bahia

Dynamize the cocoa productive chain, improve the quality of municipal education and contribute to the increment in public management continues to be our strategy.

We believe that among the vocations of the South of Bahia there is the power to build a prosperous future. And we want to contribute by turning the Cocoa Coast a reference in sustainable development. In the Territorial Development of the South of Bahia Program, we work with a network of partners on central areas for promoting sustainability: economic development, public management, and education.

Strengthening the Cocoa Chain

In the Cocoa Coast, there is intense action performed by several organizations to strengthen the cocoa’s productive chain. These are institutions that work with technology, that generate knowledge to improve production while promoting conservation, and that capacitate and empower local communities besides promoting peoples ́ access to credit and financial services. Dedicating to this region for more than ten years, our institute has been acting to establish networks, influence public policies, and generate knowledge.

Cabruca’s Viability

To support small, medium, and family farmers in the cultivation of cabruca cocoa (production of cocoa blended with Atlantic Rainforest trees) with higher financial returns, we invested in the production of knowledge. In 2019, we delivered two studies: the economic viability of cabruca and the financial modeling of an agroforestry system (SAF) with cocoa.

The first study demonstrated that the cabruca system is financially viable with proper farm management and plant renovation. However, the dependency on cocoa sold as a commodity makes the cultivation system risking its viability on high productivity. To overcame risk, it is necessary to diversify production whether by accessing the higher quality market, by achieving certifications, or by possible payments for environmental services, using benefits to the ecosystem that cabruca has such as the conservation of the Atlantic Rainforest. 

Parallelly, the second study pointed out that the production of cocoa can be made in other sustainable ways, such as the SAF model, implemented on degraded lands in the region. This system proposes a crop diversification that reduces risks and increment revenues. In the study, we also identified and validated two production models that are possible to implement, and that will be piloted in the next year in partnerships with producers, government, and private companies. 

These studies were conducted and validated together with various actors from the cocoa chain, such as technicians, academics, chocolate and mill companies, public sector representatives, investors, and cocoa producers.

MapBiomas Cocoa

Arapyau participated in the construction of an extensive map to identify the distribution of cabruca trees over the municipalities of the South of Bahia, creating a baseline for the monitoring of these areas that should be ready in the second semester of 2020. From this data, it will be possible to identify native cabrucas (coca trees planted under the original Atlantic Rainforest), exotic cabrucas (cocoa trees cultivated under forests that appeared after a deforestation period that happened in the region), forests, degraded areas, and pasture areas. And, with all of this information, contribute to sustainable expansion of cocoa culture.

Quality Cocoa

Production of high-quality cocoa is a fantastic opportunity for producers in the region because it generates higher revenues and ensures the economic viability of the cabruca system. To make this production system feasible, we have been focusing our actions in expanding supply and demand, in creating quality standards, and influencing public policies. Next are some of our initiatives.

Centro de Inovação do Cocoa (Innovation Centre for Cocoa) (CIC)

CIC is a laboratory with cutting-edge technology that makes physical, chemical, and sensorial analysis of cocoa seeds and provides capacitation and consulting for cocoa producers, small chocolate producers and the miller industries.

Among the main achievements of CIC in 2019, we have:

  • Brazil’s inclusion in the select list of high-quality cocoa exporting countries of the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO).
  • Provided services to 3.200 small producers
  • Organization of the First National Contest for Quality of Cocoa, with the second edition scheduled for 2020

IG Stamp – Geographic Indication

In partnership and joint efforts of CIC and IG, a traceability system using QR Code technology was created specifically for the cocoa from the South of Bahia. With the system, buyers of cocoa seeds will be able to have access to the analyses made by CIC, as well as certify the georeferenced origin of products.

Another major step taken by IG was the signature of a contract with the government of Bahia, through the Rural Development Office/CAR, to execute the Productive Alliances project. Covering around three hundred agricultural families, with production around a hundred and fifty tons a year, the project offers support to associations and cooperatives, keeping – among other things – focus on the commercial relationship between these organizations and buyers from the private sector.

Consortium of Producers

CBS Consortium – Cocoa Bahia Special – had our support to its foundation in 2018, reunites medium and large cocoa producers with the mission of increasing the reputation of Bahia’s cocoa and qualifying the business model of the region. Nowadays, ten producers participate in this network and expectations are that quality national and international markets are accessed, thus incentivizing more producers to join the network.

The main results of 2019::

  • Market analysis in partnership with Sebrae to find new commercial opportunities
  • Evaluation of possible innovative lines of financial credit
  • Definition of a governance model
  • First collective sell made to a Brazilian chocolate factory

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The Innovation Centre and the Geographic Indication Stamp helped us to reach the quality standard that we have today. They are our big partners to bolster the cocoa chain here in the South of Bahia. We were only trying to survive from the land, but now we can to think this settlement from the gate out and increase the income of our families

Rubens Dário,

Dois Riachões Settlement’s representative, the first venture of familiar agriculture to receive the Geographic Indication Stamp in the South of Bahia and the first to receive financing from Tabôa.

Improving Public Education

This year we initiated the phase of qualification of educational professionals in the municipalities of Una and Uruçuca intending to enhance students’ learning.

Qualification of professionals of the education public system

As part of the qualification process, we organized in 2019, five meetings on best pedagogical practices with each education public: municipal secretary teams, school managers, and elementary and primary school teachers. To measure the effects of the project in the classroom, an evaluation was conducted with students at the end of the year and a 2% improvement on student’s grades was demonstrated through all years of primary school in the subjects of Portuguese and Mathematics.

There was a learning improvement through all years of primary school in the subjects of Portuguese and Mathematics of at least

0 %

New School

An important milestone was achieved in 2019 which was the beginning of the construction of the Integrated Centre for Integral Education, in Serra Grande. With funding from the federal government via Fundo Nacional de Desenvolvimento da Educação (FNDE) (National Fund for Education Development) and from the Ministry of Education, construction is running fast and expectations are that the launch will occur in 2020.

In parallel, our institute kept supporting the Education Office of Uruçuca with updates on the pedagogical project to be implemented by the Integrated Centre. For this implementation to happen, a multidisciplinary group – with representatives from two schools, parents of students, and members of the community – was created for the collective elaboration of the Politic Pedagogical Project, which had its first edition delivered. Among the premises, the proposal considers local culture as a part of the learning program.

Another front of work was also organized to straighten community bonds with the City Hall. Altogether, nine open meetings were made to share updates and current news about construction, clarify the roles and responsibilities to all involved and open for discussions.

Institutional Strengthening

Two key fronts stood out over this period: one on fiscal balance and the other on structuring the Agência de Desenvolvimento Regional (ADR) (Regional Development Agency). Both have the same common objective of advancing territorial development in partnership with public management.

Fiscal Balance

In partnership with GOVE, an organization that works on projects that support the municipal government to gain efficiency, it was possible to implement enhancement actions on fiscal balance over four municipalities: Canavieiras, Itacaré, Una, and Uruçuca. Altogether, the project achieved an impact of R$ 8,2 million in the reduction of expenses and an increase in revenues. From this total, 65% were already captured by the City Halls and the remaining value should be collected until the end of 2020.

This resource can be reinvested on service improvements for the population and local development. In Una, for example, various transformations were already possible, such as the construction of a new route for the school transportation system, the paving of streets, and the construction and renovation of squares and urbanization of deprived areas. During the year, workshops were developed with other cities from the South of Bahia to exchange experiences.

Fiscal Balance: an eye for Education

An exclusive front focused on education over the four cities also gained strength. In an effort organized with Education Offices, the action was able to amount, in a reduction of expenses and revenue opportunities, R$2,3 million.

R$ 0 million

of reduction costs only in the education area

Agência de Desenvolvimento Regional (ADR) (Regional Development Agency)

This year we consolidated the ADR, established by Instituto Arapyaú and regional partners, like Sebrae. The initiative connects various professionals from municipalities around the Cocoa Coast to promote and implement a regional development plan. We helped customize the model and map political and institutional forces to drawn strategies to engage the population on the project.

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The agency enters as a component that dynamizes, gathers professionals, mobilizes and stimulates dialogues so actions could be developed with an interest in the sustainable development of the region.

Adélia Pinheiro,

Secretary of Science, Technology, and Innovation of Bahia.

The ADR acts under four main sectors:

  • Economy
  • Environment
  • Infrastructure
  • Education

Additionally, we collaborated with the integration of the Agency with the Scientific Technological Park, to constitute a strong and representative governance, that can support the development and execution of projects aiming at the improvement of the lives of the population.

Territorial Development of the South of Bahia

Support

The network’s efforts resulted in the insertion of four hundred and thirteen farmers on the Cadastro Nacional de Produtores Orgânicos (National Registry of Organic Producers) and the inclusion of more three hundred productive units under the process of agroecological transition. These numbers show that, with support, the Network presents a constant increase of certified producers year after year.

The Arapyaú has supported and strengthened the operation of community foundation Tabôa, which offers credit and capacitation programs to small entrepreneurs, incubation of new business, and support to socio-environmental projects chosen by the community. In rural areas, the NGO has been recognized by the offer of credit tied to rural technical assistance for cocoa producers with relevant results on the increase of revenues for the families.

The professional master’s degree, which has a partnership with Arapyaú, graduated its seventh class in 2019, with 40 applicants and 15 students selected with good grades and a diverse professional profile, including regional leadership. This was the first year that the course was realized at the RPPN Estação Veracel (Veracel Station), in Porto Seguro. We started promoting a network of graduates in the region through invitations, partnerships, and the execution of the first meeting to exchange experiences and establish collaborations. We also received a seed investment for the next out-of-campus class, that should commence activities in 2020.

Cities and Territories

Stimulating public management innovation to promote more sustainable cities.

Cities concentrate the human, economic, and technological resources needed to develop improvements in people’s lives. At Arapyaú we understand that such changes will be achieved through the promotion of innovation on public management at the municipal level. In 2019, we established cooperation agreements with five Brazilian municipalities; we brought to reality a unique initiative focused on municipal managers, the Fórum Inova Cidades (Innovation Cities Forum); and we structured a group of partners around a positive agenda of Innovation and Sustainability for cities.

Innovative Solutions for
Sustainable Cities

We initiated the implementation of a pilot-project named Innovative Solutions for Sustainable Cities in five municipalities, distributed over three regions of Brazil: Caruaru (PE), Aracaju (SE), Una (BA), Cachoeiro de Itapemirim (ES) and Blumenau (SC).

In 2019, we started working on comprehending the public management process of innovation and identifying the main challenges that needed to be addressed in the mentioned cities. We, then, gathered 21 — Cities and Territories Innovative Solutions for Sustainable Cities efforts to implement Innovation Units inside City Halls and structured programs focused on finding the necessary solutions for each city.

In the creation of Innovation Units, according to international experiences, it is important to consider local context and the priorities of citizen and territory managers. Therefore, each city must define the organizational structure of Innovation Units according to their particular challenges.

CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS

In the infographic, it is presented the main challenges and the respective strategies to overcome them for the five municipalities participating in the project.

Municipalities to highlight on the map:

  • 1 Caruaru/PE
  • 2 Aracaju/SE
  • 3 Una/BA
  • 4 Cachoeiro de Itapemirim/ES
  • 5 Blumenau/SC

1. CARUARU/PE

Challenges

Education: Open new vacancies at kindergartens. Reduce evasion and retention rates at schools.
Health: Watch prenatal care indicators. Reduce waiting for lines

Proposed solutions

Education: Prototype a system to monitor school attendance, with action protocols for cases of high absence. For such cases, the project predicts actions from other actors as the Guardianship Council or Social Workers to guarantee access to schools for students.
Health: In partnership with the Municipal Health Office, it was developed a process to analyse and monitor prenatal indicators as well as a study to determine the main causes of absences and bottlenecks creating waiting lines for exams and consults.

2. ARACAJU/SE

Challenges

Education: Reduce retention rates at schools.
Health: Improve prenatal service.

Proposed solutions

Education: Capacitating school professionals to elaborate frequency control spreadsheets of students and monitor the indicator. Planning and monitoring actions in schools with high retention rates incentivizing the school management group and students to diminish absences.
Health: Organizing the panels for monitoring of prenatal services on the electronic medical record, anticipating the first prenatal appointment, and ordering the follow-up consults for monitoring until birth.

3. UNA/BA

Challenges

Economic Development: Diagnose and capacitate the Agriculture, Environmental, and Tourism areas of government to stimulate the municipality’s economic development.

Proposed solutions

Structuring and hypothesizing within the mentioned sectors, considering the rural producer’s challenges, and identifying bottlenecks that could be solved by the City Hall.

4. CACHOEIRO DE ITAPEMIRIM/ES

Challenges

Education: Increase teachers’ presence in the classroom and improve the quality of education.
Health: Reduce the incidence of strokes by undertaking preventative measures with hypertensives and diabetic individuals.

Proposed solutions

Education: Analyse and define criteria for which high teacher absenteeism happens, proposing changes and incentives to increase teaching presence.
Health: Expanding means to identify hypertensive and diabetic patients with the help of Family Health Teams and data analysis and prevention actions performed by the Municipal Health Office.

5. BLUMENAU/SC

Challenges

Education: Expand bilingual education in the public municipal school system.
Health: Fight mortality rates caused by avoidable causes. Improve intersectoral services to homeless people.

Proposed solutions

Education: Diagnose and deepen the knowledge of management processes with a focus on teacher’s hiring, institutional assessments, and learning evaluations.
Health: Enhance communication with patients. Listening workshops conducted by intersectoral teams to identify opportunities to improve services provided to homeless people.

Complementarily, since innovation demands investments, we analysed city budgets for optimization opportunities and trained municipal secretaries on the subject. In Cachoeiro and Blumenau, we identify gains of more than R$ 40 million in each city ́s annual budget.

Additionally, in Caruaru, Aracaju, Cachoeiro do Itapemirim and Blumenau, we managed to incorporate innovation and regulatory optimization projects into their management processes, confronting one of the main obstacles for public innovation: regulation. The strengthening of both fiscal capacity and regulatory environment allows for the incorporation of effective technological tools, which in turn improves citizen’s life.

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Technology has been a tool that allows humanity to develop itself and to achieve better results. Advances based on innovation are also needed in public management, which has always remained one step behind. And it is this step forward that we wanted to take in Aracaju’s City Hall, improving our processes and the results we deliver to society.

Edvaldo Nogueira,

Mayor of Aracaju, who created an innovation counselling connected to his office with the role of developing projects in many subject areas of the municipal administration.

Fórum Inova Cidades
(Innovation Cities Forum)

In partnership with Frente Nacional dos Prefeitos (FNP) (National Mayors Front), we created the Fórum Inova Cidades (Innovation Cities Forum) that connects municipal managers who are looking for innovative solutions for their management challenges. The Forum is unprecedented and fundamental for the discussion of innovation in the municipal sphere.

Intending to engage the community of municipal secretaries, we launched the 23 — Cities and Territories Fórum Inova Cidades (Innovation Cities Forum) Forum’s website, initiated a communication plan, and created a series of webinars to discuss innovation in public policies on subjects of interest of the members of the group.

The Forum was also present at the main national events of innovation where members promoted dialogues with distinct actors from the federal government. As a result of this participation, the Forum received an invitation to integrate the Smart Cities Council under the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communication (MCTIC) and participated in the Brazilian Directive for Smart Cities, being recognized as a representative of municipal interests in the innovation agenda of the federal government. Actions will continue in 2020 pursuing the goal of sustaining the Forum as a strategic place for articulation with the elected for the term commencing in 2021.

Innovation and Sustainability Alliance

Formalized in 2019, the Alliance between Brava Foundation, Humanize Institute and Arapyaú consolidated a protocol of intentions among the organizations to strengthen the agenda of innovation and sustainability in cities and to finance projects collectively. Being a Pioneer initiative, the Alliance became a space for continuous learning and had its relevance recognized by partner institutions belonging to other investment alliances that wanted to replicate the implemented model.

It is expected that the Alliance will grow in 2020, increasing investments by more than three times in comparison to 2019, concretizing the group ́s agenda of fostering projects that effectively reach the population.

Cities and Territories

Support

The Sustainable Cities Program finished the year with 212 signatory municipalities comprising a population of 61 million people, approximately a third of the Brazilian population that lives in cities. These are city halls that have committed themselves to work towards sustainable development and took the first step to undertake the transformations needed by citizens.

In 2019, 59 municipalities approved the Lei das Metas (Goals Law), which demands managers to deliver their management plans to demonstrate the status of their respective cities before and after their four-year term. This law improves municipal governance by increasing management transparency and providing clarity to society on achieved results.

“A cycle is formed by the program deliveries. Firstly, knowledge is produced through indicators, then public management is mobilized. The program greatly mobilizes public policies and the civil society, and that is key to any transformation we want to have in scale”

Jorge Abrahão, general coordinator of the Sustainable Cities Program

Currently, the network is composed of 676 leaderships from 29 political parties and representing all states of the federation. Among these, 176 members are exercising their mandates in cities, states, and in The National Congress:

  • 2 governors
  • 7 senators
  • 33 federal
  • representatives
  • 2 district representatives
  • 40 state representatives
  • 17 mayors
  • 5 vice-mayors
  • 70 city representatives

The RAPS Leaders Program is the main gateway for entering RAPS and has its purpose focused on developing political leaderships apart from the stage people find themselves on their public career or the electoral process. In past editions, there was an expressive growth on the number of applications for recruitment process – an indicator of the network consolidation and relevance:

Going from less than a thousand, in 2017, to about 3 thousand in 2018, and more than 7 thousand on the last selection made at the end of 2019. Due to high demand and the municipal election of 2020, for the first time, two recruitment processes took place in the same year (2019), totalling more than 10 thousand applications and 162 new leaders to the network, collaborating to further increase the diversity of people and ideas.

For the first time in its history, RAPS organized thematic meetings exclusively targeted to leaders with mandates in Brasilia – representing 7% of the National Congress -, to disseminate the sustainability agenda. Additionally, in partnership with the Instituto Clima e Sociedade (Climate and Society Institute), the Network participated in COP25 with a delegation of six RAPS leaders. The organization also publicized the Multi-party Manifest for the Climate Agenda, in which 50 leaders from 14 parties placed the climate agenda as a priority for the country.

2019 was a year of growth for the Em Movimento (On Movement), a network of organizations that provide support to youth so they can change the world and make more young people engage in the cause, develop themselves, have access to opportunities offered by the social field. We strengthened the project and achieved incredible results, such as:

The Development and launch of a new On Movement website to publicize actions and establish a direct communication channel with the country’s youth.

The conclusion of the first phase of the Youth Atlas, quantitative research about Brazilian youth. Conducted in partnership with FGV- Social, the research describes major characteristics of more than 50 million young people, ages 15-29, in Brazil. The biggest research on the subject in the history of Brazil.

Strengthening the network governance with the entry of Grupo +Unidos (+United Group) (a collaborative fund of American enterprises working in Brazil) on the management group to raise the relevance of the movement and of improving the relationship with the private sector.

Management
and people

The continuous search for processes enhancement represents the will to amplify the impacts of our actions

In 2019, we consolidated some processes, implemented improvements, and had a meaningful growth of investments in our projects, always focusing on generating greater impact. We dedicate ourselves to practice our beliefs and to keep collaborators motivated and engaged. We also Implemented the institute’s Knowledge and Advocacy area, which has been of strategic support to our programs.

Human Resources

Detailing of capabilities of the Instituto Arapyaú (Arapyaú Institute), implementation of processes for the individual development plan (IDP) with performance evaluation, training, and gratification for collaborators programs.

Finance and Administration

Implementation of suppliers’ evaluation process. Based on which was possible to create a managerial analysis report that has improved the quality of our hires.

Knowledge and Advocacy

Structuring the knowledge management area to improve our political influence in defence of and in advocating for the institutes’ causes and to act upon strategic actions to support our programs.

Projects Management

For the first time, an external evaluation of results was conducted. The Associação Tabôa (Tabôa Association), that we helped to create in the South of Bahia region, was the evaluated project. A mixed-method approach, uniting quantitative and qualitative data, was implemented and the results, very positive, served as the basis for the definition of future action and strategies.

Implementation of a project and knowledge management system, that provided more dynamism, functionality, and efficiency to internal processes.

Communication

Launch of a new website with more resources and innovative design to facilitate browsing and efficiently advertise our projects and actions.

Identity and institutional positioning revision, which positively influenced the way Arapyaú thinks and executes its external exposition.

Financial Information

R$ million

In 2019, Arapyaú invested R$ 24,4 million in initiatives directed towards promoting sustainable development in Brazil.

For 2020, the budgeted amount is estimated to be R$ 22,4 million.

Resource distribution by each program in %:

0 %

Southern Bahia

0 %

Climate Change

0 %

Cities and Territories

Co-investments

Working in a network and mobilizing resources to expand our impact has always been one of our priorities. For this reason, in 2019 we began monitoring our co-investment index. We achieved a positive result of approximately R$ 2 in co-investments, that is, for each R$ 1 invested by Arapyaú, R$ 1,98 was mobilized from other partners (public and private resources).

Co-investment and investment ratio

for each

R$
0

invested

R$
0

is co-invested

Production Team

Instituto Arapyaú

Annual Report 2019

MANAGEMENT
Thais Ferraz
Sabrina Fernandes

TEXT
Angélica Queiroz
Thaisa Pimpão

REVISION AND EDITING
Alexandre Mansur
Cássia Christe

ART
Bruna Foltran

DEVELOPMENT
Geiber Dias
Raincake

PHOTOS
Ana Lúcia Menezes
Ana Sales
Biscos Comunicação
Elói Corrêa
Mariana Cabral
Ricardo Ferrari
Sandro Kakabadze

IMAGE LIBRARY
IStock
Shutterstock