2025 Award "Best Practice in Citizen Participation"

The Mais Comunidade Program is an initiative of the Porto Alegre City Council that strengthens citizen participation and brings the government closer to the population through collaborative and proximity governance. In the last five years, it has consolidated itself as a model based on three pillars: active listening, territorial presence and local pacts for the conservation of public space. Since 2021, under the leadership of the Mayor, with the coordination of the Secretariat of Local Governance and the participation of secretaries from various areas, the government has expanded its presence in the territories, reaffirming its commitment to being in the neighborhoods, listening to the population and experiencing the reality of the city.

Mais Comunidade promotes the co-construction of solutions and direct action to improve urban spaces. Faced with challenges such as disorderly growth, social vulnerability and extreme weather events, the program adopts a strategic approach, integrating data from sub-mayors' offices, the Participatory Budget (PB) and records of citizen demands, ensuring that inspections are aligned with the real needs of the population. The active presence of the mayor and secretaries in the territories reinforces the commitment to participatory management and urban conservation, making public spaces safer, better cared for and conducive to local development, benefiting both residents and traders.

Mais Comunidade is distinguished by its decentralized territorial action, which combines technical visits, service days and community pacts, ensuring rapid and coordinated responses to urban conservation demands. In addition to being a direct channel between the government and the population, the program strengthens collaborative governance, promoting a model in which the public sector and society act together for urban well-being. While the government listens, plans and executes actions based on evidence, the population actively participates, accompanies the transformations and contributes to the conservation of urban spaces. This permanent dialogue strengthens the transparency, co-responsibility and sustainability of actions, making Porto Alegre a more organized, welcoming and attractive city for all.

• https://prefeitura.poa.br/smgov/apresentacao  (External link)
• video (External link)