Automating public governance oversight: evidence from the Federal District of Brazil
Automating public governance oversight: evidence from the Federal District of Brazil

Summary/Abstract: This study analyzes how automation can strengthen transparency and governance in Brazil’s public sector through the development and application of the LARA (Automatic Administrative Resource Gatherer) system in the Federal District. Adopting a mixed methods approach, the research combines document analysis, automated data extraction, and content validation across 47 public entities. The findings reveal significant governance gaps:27.7% of agencies lack formal governance structures, and only 57.4% regularly publish minutes from their Internal Governance Committee (IGC) meetings. These deficiencies result from institutional fragmentation, limited standardization, and insufficient digitization. By integrating artificial intelligence and web scraping, the LARA system demonstrates how automation can modernize oversight and improve monitoring of transparency policies. The results align with international guidelines from the OECD and Brazil’s Federal Court of Accounts (TCU), emphasizing the importance of standardization, staff training, and digitized governance processes. The study contributes to digital governance research by proposing a replicable model for automated accountability, applicable to public administrations seeking greater transparency, efficiency, and institutional maturity.

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