In order to assess goals, Rio de Janeiro, like Minas Gerais and Pernambuco had done before, adopted an annual version of the IDEB evaluation and three other evaluations. As well, a career plan for regional directors and principals was established, and a competitive recruitment process was made mandatory to fill those positions. By the end of 2012, all 28 regional directors and 172 school principals had been hired through a competitive selection process, despite the strong opposition from state representatives.

Permeating the reform agenda was a strong focus on data, management and implementation. To allow school directors to focus on education quality, young, information technology-savvy managers were assigned to each school, which improved the timeliness of school data reporting and budget management rapidly. The Secretary established a routine meeting that brought the ― ― entire state management team over 400 people together every six months to review progress, celebrate successes and collectively address problems. The new model put priority on assessing the performance of, and a developing a career plan for, every superintendent and principal.

# _Ceará_

Since the late 1980s, successive governments have reformed Ceará’s public administration and invested heavily in social programs. These efforts have been reflected in economic growth, balanced public finances, sustainable levels of indebtedness, and significant improvements in social welfare. Access to education and health services has improved markedly over the past two decades, and there has also been significant progress in the quality of service provision.

Building on earlier reforms, Ceará has introduced numerous results-based elements in the state management in the last decade, including the adoption of a new strategic government plan in 2003. The plan sought to improve fiscal space and modernize the state’s management practices, and focused government strategic objectives under four programs: _Ceará Empreendedor; Ceará Vida Melhor; Ceará Integração;_ and _Ceará a Serviço do Cidadão_ . A system of detailed indicators was developed to facilitate monitoring and program evaluation and a Committee for Results-based Management and Fiscal Administration _(Comitê de Gestão por Resultados e Gestão Fiscal)_ was established to oversee the implementation of the state’s results management model. The Committee is formed by the secretaries of Planning, Finance, Internal Audit, and Casa Civil and meets in a ‘situation room’. Since then, progress in the implementation of priority programs is regularly reported to the Committee. The introduction in 2007 of an integrated Priority Actions and Projects Monitoring system ( _Monitoramento de Ações e Projetos Prioritários_ ), which allows high-level decision makers to track projects from their design to their implementation, further strengthened the capacity of the state to monitor investment programs.

To date, the model has focused on the implementation of the priority investments and functions mainly as an information tool for the Governor and the Cabinet. However, there are various elements in place that can help facilitate the introduction of a more complete performance-based management model. Ceará has already adopted an effective system for setting framework goals, through a medium-term planning framework, and for transmitting these goals to the heads of the sector agencies. Holding bimonthly meetings has proven to be a useful tool for uncovering 14