Good Practices and Innovations in Public Governance 2003-2011

2004 Category 1: Brazil
Latin America and the Caribbean
Brazil
2004 Category 1 Winner
Citizen Assistance Service Centres (SAC)
General Board for Development of Public Services
and Public Service Delivery, Brazil
Description
Innovating public service delivery by creating a One-Stop-Shop Centre, to provide
citizens with easy access to administrative documents administrative documents.
The Problem
Bahia is the poorest state in Brazil, with 13 million inhabitants, covering 564,273 sq.
km and 417 municipalities. Providing adequate coverage in public services has always
been a challenge in this vast territory.
The Solution
In 1995, the Bahia State Government started the implementation of the first SAC
Unit. The SAC is a pioneering initiative that introduces an innovative concept in the
delivery of public services. By horizontally integrating functions of public services
and forging partnerships with the private sector, One-Stop-Shop Centres have been
created to offer citizens the services they need most.
The SAC are multi-purpose complexes, with partners ranging from federal, state
and municipal agencies, to private companies that offer various services to citizens.
They provide quality services by housing different public service agencies in the
same space, with a common area for support services. The centres comprise of a
back-office, a service delivery area where offices belonging to multiple agencies
are located, an area for ancillary services, and a reception to identify, and organize
the requests for each and every of the services offered. They have been placed in
convenient locations such as shopping malls and major public transportation hubs.
They offer tremendous time savings, while delivering services with greater courtesy
and professionalism.
The Mobile SAC Documents unit provides highly sought-after services such as issuance
of birth certificates, ID cards, and labour IDs. It not only delivers services to
remote areas, but also takes into account the general lack of government resources –
the government cannot open units everywhere and mobility means economy and
flexibility. The Mobile Health SAC unit offers ophthalmology services, including
eyeglasses assembly, a general clinic, gynecological services with cytology lab, and
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