On 12/6, the general director of RNP Nelson Simões presented details of the social organization's activities, its accountability and controls, at the public hearing on school connectivity held by the Science and Technology Commission of the Federal Senate.

Simões spoke about the role of RNP in developing school connectivity models. Simões spoke about the role of RNP in developing school connectivity models. And he highlighted that the initiatives are possible given the set of actions promoted in the RNP Interministerial Program (Pro-RNP). Composed of the ministries of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), Education (MEC), Communications (MCom), Health, Culture and Defense, Pro-RNP invests mainly in the digital platform offered by the Brazilian academic network, the RNP System, which connects around 4 million students, teachers and researchers across the country, being the first internet network in Brazil.

We took advantage of the topic to chat with the director about the activities of the RNP Social Organization, its legal and regulatory framework. Check it out below.

Why does RNP receive public financing resources?

RNP was qualified as a Social Organization in 2002 for the technological development of networks and signed a Management Contract with MCTI to serve the beneficiary community (universities, institutes, teaching hospitals, innovation environments, institutions with cultural collections, innovative companies) supporting the public policies of the RNP Interministerial Program (Pro-RNP). Among its strategic objectives are ICT research and development, human resources training, digital services and solutions for education and research, cybersecurity and digital infrastructure for communication and collaboration.

What is the origin and value of the RNP Management Contract with the Union?

The current Management Contract is in its fourth multi-annual cycle, 2021-2030, with annual funding values estimated at R$270 million. These values were prefigured when the parties signed the contract and are rectified annually through the budget planning of the ministries that make up the Pro-RNP (Action 212H of the Annual Budget Law, LOA). 

Does Pro-RNP provide roles and responsibilities for the RNP in implementing public policies?

RNP complies with strategic guidelines defined by the Supervisory Body and is responsible for achieving the strategic objectives of the Management Contract. For this reason, it supports public policies in education, science, technology and innovation, and their sectoral applications, associated with Pro-RNP. In this sense, different intersectoral public policy initiatives in education, communications, health, culture and science have been implemented by RNP since 2002, within the scope of the RNP System and aligned with the objectives of the Management Contract.

What is the reason for transferring funding resources to a Social Organization like RNP?

The 1988 Constitution established the modality of providing public services with the participation of civil society, in certain fields, such as science and technology. Law 9.637/1998 defined the framework for certification of these organizations, the premises of contractualization and social control, which is not outsourcing, but the transfer of the execution of activities of public interest to a legal entity, under private law, non-profit. The federal model of Social Organization has been a success for 25 years in ST&I, with significant results in promoting large research infrastructure projects and applications in various areas of knowledge, such as information technology, sustainable development, mathematics, materials, prospective studies and industrial innovation. 

What is the control over the use of funding resources received by RNP? 

The execution, monitoring and evaluation and inspection of development resources follows the legal provisions and regulations that establish social control mechanisms (Administrative Council, with the participation of the Public Authorities and the benefiting community; Independent External Audit), institutional (Management Contract Supervisory Body, Monitoring and Evaluation Committee, with external experts) and public external (Federal Audit Court and Public Prosecutor's Office) assigned to a federal Social Organization of Science, Technology and Innovation.

How does RNP contract goods and services and manage people to achieve the results of the Management Contract? 

To achieve the goals financed by the promotion of Pro-RNP, the Social Organization follows the legal provisions and its own Procurement Regulation, defined and approved by the Board of Directors. Expressly, this regulation establishes the same basic principles of Public Administration of Legality, Impersonality, Morality, Publicity and Efficiency. People management, in the same way, constitutes the organization's most important asset and is regulated by the Human Resources Regulation.

What information is made available by RNP for active public transparency?

Information on initiatives, evaluations, audits and reports on RNP are published in www.rnp.br/acesso-a-informação. The most recent and relevant are the following:

a. Management Report 2022, containing results of annual goals and indicators;
b. Independent External Auditors' Report on Financial Statements;
c. Audit Report on Previously Agreed Procedures (salaries, taxes, revenue and remaining balances, leverage, monitoring of government audits, relevance of contracts, adequacy of expenses, etc.);
d. Audit Report on Limited Assurance (transfers, bank accounts, income, expenses incurred, etc.);
e. 2022 Annual Report of the Monitoring and Evaluation Committee (half-yearly performance reports).

What is the benefit to society and the community benefiting from the actions of Social Organizations such as RNP?

RNP's 2011-2020 multi-annual report, relating to the last cycle of the Management Contract, carried out by the Monitoring and Evaluation Committee, attested to a very positive performance (average 9.9) and extremely relevant for the organization's contribution to the development of research and education in the country. Similar results are found in all federal ST&I Social Organizations and are also confirmed by independent studies. The Ministry of Management and Innovation in Public Services after recent study (Spending Review SEGES-MGI with the European Union, IPEA and BNDES) on Federal Social Organizations, confirmed that there is greater efficiency in the application of resources, greater participation of society in the execution of public policies, scale gains in the provision of services and greater transparency through social control and external monitoring.

See also the RNP Transparency Policy.

If you didn't find any information or have any questions, be sure to send us your question to atendimento@rnp.br.