A participação do conhecimento científico na formulação de políticas públicas: o caso do ICLEI

Abstract

In this study I expose the theoretical research that is my dissertation, in which I analyze the process of participation of the scientific community in the Environmental Policy and the role of a network of transnational cooperation, ICLEI, within that process. Modern society has emphasized the need for development, in a search for an ideal society increasingly structured, advanced, economically prepared, democratic, politically consolidated and ecologically less vulnerable. This context has intensified since the advent of globalization, which provided an increasingly intense dissemination of ideas, political models, beliefs, ideologies and knowledge. It provided communication between very distant societies and has led to a spread of environmental impacts, which do not respect geographical boundaries, economic, cultural and social. This development model, pursued mainly by underdeveloped or developing countries, is now being questioned by scientists who have shown negative consequences increasingly prominent. And before these risks of modernity, the academic community and the lay community have spent defending a need for state intervention in the process of facing the environmental problems. Thus, public policies have gained prominence, legitimacy and importance. However, still inserted in extractive development model, intensive, industrial, capitalist, these policies do not have the strength that potentially would have, and my interest in this context arises. The communication among scientists, decision makers and laymen appears fragile and presents a need to intensify these relationships by understanding the role each plays, and the links established in practice. In public policy development through this context, it shows necessarily a contribution from the public sphere, science and decision makers, each with its powers, defending their individual and group interests in this complex decision-making process, generating solutions more effective, democratic and sustainable. The prospect of Environmental Science is referenced in this work because of it s importance during the process of solidification of environmental discussions. Thus, I make a brief exposition of this construction and opinions about what was and is being built, seeking to contextualize the participation of science both in legitimizing environmental issues and participating in practical policy-making. It is through ICLEI who I seek a deeper understanding about the functioning of the construction of public policies, the materials used, the goals set, and principally the actors involved. Seeking to analyze the participation of the scientific community, the analysis part from a group that develops and applies public policy, to understand how this process occurs and compare it with the perspectives of other groups involved in the same goal.