Data-Driven Implementation: The Role of Information and Technology in Public Responses to Social Emergencies

In April 2020, the Brazilian Government established an Emergency Payment to minimize the economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. This ad hoc policy strengthened the Brazilian welfare network to cover low-income, informal workers. During this period, social protection reached its historical peak in Brazil; however, to implement this massive policy, the federal government had to revisit its own institutional configuration and operations. This chapter presents an overview of this governance challenge to explain the implementation of the Emergency Payment. It assesses how the Brazilian federal government used ICT (information and communication technology) and large administrative databases to build a prompt response to an unprecedented emergency. We address this topic on two fronts. First, we develop a critical approach to discuss the limitations faced by traditional policy structures when dealing with a novel kind of public emergency. Secondly, we assess how governmental agencies managed to incorporate new technology-based routines in order to design and implement a new public policy. Most importantly, we focus on the adoption of ICT solutions in the implementation of the Emergency Payment. We argue that ICT solutions were pivotal to define (1) how many people were eligible to the new benefit; (2) how to reach these public; and (3) the design of a public policy. Besides, ICT solutions were essential in the governmental response since the usual implementation venues were blocked by lockdowns and other restrictive measures. However, these new technology-based routines interacted with preexisting infrastructure and policies. More precisely, we argue that ICT solutions require a set of informational, technological, and institutional conditions that shape the extent in which data can be helpful in designing and implementing rapid responses to large-scale crises. Moreover, we argue that, despite its positive impacts, ICT solutions may empower system-level bureaucrats and impose serious threats to accountability and democratic values.