Public policy management councils in Brazil: how far does institutionalised participation reach?

During the past two decades, Brazil has experienced a wide range of new participatory management instruments. One of the most important are the so called public policy management councils, composed of governmental and non‐governmental members, which have been implemented mainly in social sectors in order to discuss and develop public policies as well as to decide on the allocation of public funds. The practice shows that several structural factors still limit the potential of such a form of institutionalised participation. The most innovative result is without doubt the contribution towards transforming political culture, a prerequisite for the success of the ongoing democratisation process in most of the Latin American countries.