# _Pernambuco_

In 2007, a results-based management model was adopted to integrate planning, budgeting, and implementation. The ‘ _Pernambuco para Todos’_ program put a strong emphasis on changing processes and facilitating problem-solving and coordination across the entire state government. Initially, the model was based on three main components: (i) a participatory process for defining priorities, involving consultations with civil society organizations in all regions; (ii) the adoption of high-level monitoring meetings, in which senior officials are held accountable for the achievement of targets; and (iii) the use of data in solving problems, with the continuous monitoring of project performance and outcomes. In subsequent years, additional actions were undertaken, including expanding training opportunities, deploying monitoring and evaluation specialists in front-line teams, and the introduction of group-based bonuses.

Special policies or pacts were adopted in the security sector in 2007 and in the education and health sectors in 2011. These pacts provided a more focused approach to monitor goals. The first one, the Pact for Life ( _Pacto pela Vida_ ), has as primary goal of reducing violent deaths in the state by mobilizing and fostering collaboration among different government institutions and civil society. With specific targets for six areas,<sup>5</sup> data collection and analysis is used to monitor program performance. Sectoral committees ( _Câmaras Técnicas_ ) have been established to coordinate the activities of 12 state secretariats, the Prosecutor’s Office, and municipalities. A bonus is paid to the staff of the secretaries that meet yearly targets. The education and health pacts were created in 2011 with the objectives of universalizing access to education and increasing the supply and quality of health services, respectively.

Prior to the adoption of the education pact, the state had introduced variable pay in the sector in 2009. The system rewards schools for meeting the improvement targets in IDEB scores. Schools that achieve 50 percent or more of their target receive a proportional bonus. The bonus is at least one month’s salary, but depending on the proportion of schools that meet their targets it can be much higher. Targets are set following different rules, depending on which quartile of the performance distribution the school falls into, creating discontinuities in how ambitious targets can be (Bruns, Evans, and Luque 2011).

The state had also adopted several reforms in the education sector. In 2001, a program called Democratic School ( _Escola Democrática_ ) established a new modality to appoint school principals for three-year terms through an election by teachers, parents, and students. The candidates are prescreened, and only the three top-ranked ones are allowed to run for the position. Several additional actions have been taken to improve the quality of the state school system. These include a new curriculum with detailed guidelines on materials to be taught in each grade, improved provision of books and materials, and the posting of teaching assignments and class schedules to incentivize parents to monitor teacher attendance (Bruns, Evans, and Luque 2011). A new cadre of education management advisors ( _técnicos de gestão educacional_ )

> 5 The six areas are: social prevention of crime and violence, qualified repression of violence, institutional improvement, information and knowledge management, training and education, and democratic management.

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