Evaluation functions of the Brazilian Congress: Mapping and parameterization based on the European experience

Abstract

The search for better solutions to public problems encourages discussions about the role that the Legislative Power has played as one of the central actors in the decision-making process. There is also a search for better instruments available to improve their performance. Among the proposals is the use of evaluations as a tool with high potential to provide evidence for qualified decision-making and to assess the results of policies and norms, contributing to a better performance of two typical functions of parliaments: the production of laws and oversight by the executive branch. This work seeks to map the main constitutional, legal and infra-legal attributions of the National Congress and its houses, the Federal Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, in the ex ante and ex post impact assessments. As a result, the research showed that there is no lack of constitutional, legal and regulatory provisions that define evaluative competences of the Legislative Power, but there is a large space to be covered for a more robust level of institutionalization of these practices.